Irrigation emerges as Chile’s next big water challenge

Modernizing irrigation systems is poised to become Chile’s next big water challenge, especially for smaller farmers who are behind in adopting mechanized irrigation due to lack of resources, which the government is trying to address through an increase in incentives for projects. 

“For 40 years the irrigation [incentives] law benefited large fruit exporters,” agriculture minister Esteban Valenzuela told BNamericas after his presentation at Expo Agua Santiago 2023.

In July congress passed a modification to that law that increased the range of irrigation projects that can access financing from the national irrigation committee (CNR) and provided subsidies of up to 95% of a project’s cost in the case of producers with low incomes. 

The new norm also allows small farmers to present projects as a group. 

Valenzuela said these changes would increase financing for small and medium producers by 250%.

“We will be seeing a project revolution in the coming years to bridge those gaps,” the minister added, adding that large fruit producers have over 90% of their planted surface under tech irrigation, while in the case of small and medium producers that falls to around 15%.

At the same event, former public works minister Carlos Cruz said that while Chile has made major advances in securing water for human consumption for large settlements, irrigation and other water usages are not as consolidated.

“Everything related to water for other productive uses and human consumption in less populated areas has advanced very little, and another type of incentive, another view regarding water resources generation is needed,” Cruz, who is currently executive director at infrastructure think tank CPI, told BNamericas during the same event.

It is estimated that as of 2020 agriculture and livestock represented 73% of Chile’s water consumption, while human consumption accounted for 11.8%, industry and energy generation 11.2% and mining 3.4%, according to the environment ministry.

The country has suffered a more than decade-long drought that has left authorities and the private sector looking for new water sources, boosting investments and interest in desalination and water reuse, though some have questioned these alternatives due to their high costs.