Launch of the Operational Group “Axarquía Sostenible”

On July 11, a key event was held in Algarrobo Costa (Málaga) to deal with the scarcity of water in the region of La Axarquía.

The reason behind this meeting was the launch of the “Axarquía Sostenible” Operational Group, an innovative project recently approved by the Andalusia Goverment, which over the next two years will expand knowledge about the use of reclaimed water for key crops in the region and will develop a fertigation management tool that guarantees the safe use of reclaimed water and optimizes the use of fertilizers.

This Operational Group, coordinated by BIOAZUL, includes other key partners in the territory such as TROPS, the CSIC-IHSM La Mayora and the Algarrobo Irrigation Community. Other highly relevant entities such as the Villa de Algarrobo City Council, the Spanish Association of Tropical Fruit Producers, the Commonwealth of Municipalities of the Costa del Sol – Axarquía, AXARAGUA, SERAGRO INTEGRAL, ASAJA Málaga and the Rural Development Center of the Axarquía will also collaborate in the development of the activities.

Thanks to the approved funding from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (FEADER) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Sustainable Development of the Junta de Andalucía, the Operational Group proposes a series of experimental activities, evaluation of the results obtained and their dissemination.

With this aim, part of an existing experimental plot will be used right next to the Algarrobo Costa WWTP (Málaga) which will allow the development and study of various crops by applying reclaimed water for fertigation. The energy consumption of the treatment and regeneration processes will also be evaluated and optimized, irrigation patterns will be defined according to the specific needs of the crops and an automated system will be developed for the introduction of nutrients through a software application.

During the presentation day of “Sustainable Axarquía” the main facilities for the experimental part of the project were visited and the different lines of research were presented. The members of the Operational Group took the opportunity to express their commitment to this promising project, emphasizing the growing need for this type of solution in a context of climate change and water scarcity, limiting factors for crop production in the region.