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Representatives of the Government of the Canary Islands, Tenerife Island Council, and the Ministry of Agriculture inaugurated today this meeting that brings together expert research personnel in agricultural irrigation advice and crop adaptation to climate change in Puerto del Cruz for two sessions.
The IX edition of the ‘Agrometeorology Days, Knowing the climate, cultivating the future’ started today in Puerto de la Cruz with an event attended by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, and Food Sovereignty of the Government of the Canary Islands, Narvay Quintero; the insular councilor of the Primary Sector and Animal Welfare, Valentín González; the director of the National Center for Irrigation Technology (CENTER), Carlos Garrido; and the councilor for Tourism and Culture of Puerto de la Cruz, Desiré Torres. Over two sessions, this event organized by the Government of the Canary Islands and the Tenerife Island Council under the supervision and coordination of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food, brings together specialists in climate and agriculture from different regional advisory services to discuss efficient irrigation practices and adaptation to climate change.
In this regard, the councilor Narvay Quintero stated, “In a context of precipitation deficit and adaptation to climate change, agrometeorology is a necessary tool to ensure efficient water resource consumption with the aim of minimizing the socioeconomic impact on the rural areas of the Archipelago in the current water emergency situation.” “Water is a vital element and climate change is a palpable reality that affects our primary sector; it is not the first time that our islands have faced a scarcity of this resource, as they have been marked by this scarcity many years ago; therefore, this technical forum is crucial for the joint search for more efficient irrigation systems for different crops,” he added.
Valentín González referred to the work that has been carried out by the Island Council in this area, with the implementation of meteorological stations and the Irrigator’s Office, more than two decades ago, “which laid the foundations for the declaration of a water emergency.” He also thanked the professionals leading these services, “providing tailor-made, useful, reliable, and real-time technical information.” “A support and advisory element that contributes to energy and water savings and the sustainability of our primary sector,” he pointed out.
Desiré Torres expressed her gratitude for “the willingness of the present administrations to continue promoting and consolidating the improvement of irrigation efficiency, a fundamental issue for sustainable development and the primary sector, through agricultural practices and innovative solutions that enhance agriculture and the environment. “We are also committed to this cause,” she added.
During today’s session, Thursday the 19th, the facilities of Lago Martiánez Island host this meeting focused on agrometeorology as a discipline that studies the interaction between climate, atmospheric weather, and agriculture. Through the study of these factors, research personnel and experts can establish a climatic forecast for crop planning, as well as efficient irrigation strategies, protection against extreme phenomena, optimization of fertilizer and agrochemical use, or pest and disease management.
After welcoming and receiving attendees, the meeting continued with the presentation of the Sustainable Fertirrigation book, by the technician from the Tenerife Island Council and researcher from ULL, Domingo Ríos. Next, the director of the Research and Transfer Center in Irrigation and Agroclimatology at the University of Talca (Chile), Samuel Ortega Farias, gave a presentation on agrometeorology applied to fruit growing; and then, the director of the INIA Intihuasi Regional Research Center in Chile, Claudio Balbontín, discussed micrometeorology in monitoring crop evapotranspiration.
After the break, the meeting resumed with a series of rapid interventions. The researcher from the Valencian Institute of Agricultural Research, Luis Bonet, discussed the influence of the reference surface in the stations of the Agroclimatic Information System for Irrigation of the Valencian Community; followed by the member of the Murcian Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Research and Development, Manuel Caro, who spoke about the rainfall regime in the Region of Murcia and the drought of the 2024 agricultural campaign; and the expert from the Alameda el Obispo Center, José Daniel García, mentioned the advantages and limitations of standardized reference evapotranspiration on an hourly and daily basis.
Next, the director of the CENTER, Carlos Garrido, discussed the upcoming developments that will be implemented in the Agroclimatic Information System for Irrigation (SiAR) network, while the technician from Tragsatec, Iván Cilleros, presented the new SiAR website. Subsequently, the technician from the Technological Institute of Renewable Energies (ITER), Javier Hernández, talked about the applications of artificial intelligence for optimizing irrigation in banana and avocado farms in Tenerife, within the framework of the Irrigation Project.
In the afternoon session, interventions will continue with the expert from the Agroclimatic Information Service of La Rioja, Joaquín Huete, discussing weighing lysimeters; the member of the Murcian Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Research and Development, Juan Antonio López, will address the digital transformation of the Agricultural Information System of Murcia; while the winemaker from Bodegas Viñatigo, Jorge Méndez, and the representative of the company Ecovitis, Juan de Dios López Rienda, will discuss the application of artificial intelligence in Canarian viticulture.
Also, the researcher from the Valencian Institute of Agricultural Research, María Amparo Martínez, will present seven methods for estimating irrigation needs; the expert from the Navarre Institute of Food Technologies and Infrastructures, Natalia Murugarren, will talk about Navarre’s adaptation to climate change within the LIFE project; the technician from the Technological Institute of the Canary Islands (ITC) Baltasar Peñate, will address the role of desalinated and regenerated irrigation waters in the face of the challenge of climate change; the expert from the Alameda del Obispo Center, Natividad Ruiz, will discuss irrigation, fertilization, and water footprint in berry production in the province of Huelva; and finally, the researcher from the Agroclimatic Information Service of La Rioja, Vanessa Tobar, will explain the calculation of bioclimatic indexes in agroclimatic information applications.
As a conclusion to the first day, a roundtable discussion, coordinated by Carlos Garrido, will be held as a meeting to draw conclusions among the members of the different irrigation advisory services and offices.
Tomorrow, Friday, the attendees will move to the La Quinta Experimental Farm in the municipality of Garachico, where the technician from the Island Council, Domingo Ríos, will present the projects and research lines being developed in these facilities. Also, before starting the guided tour, a video about the history of irrigation in Tenerife, made by Andrés Borges from the Institute of Natural Products and Agrobiology (IPNA-CSIC) for the MAC-INTERREG Ahidagro project, will be screened.
After the guided tour of La Quinta, where the activities, experiments, and ongoing research conducted on the farm will be explained, the participants in this meeting will conclude the day with a visit to Bodega Viñátigo in the municipality of La Guancha.
During these days, the attendees also participated in a tribute to the specialists in agriculture and irrigation advice José Manuel Hernández Abreu, Bernardo de la Rosa Vilar, Jesús Rodrigo López, Antonio Pérez Regalado, José Francisco González Hernández, and Francisco Menéndez Díaz, in recognition of their outstanding contribution in the field of efficient irrigation practices, both through research and academic publications and through their professional work.
