The Water Consortium of Lanzarote has given the green light to the granting of 148,139.64 euros in aid aimed at the primary sector of the island, with the purpose of reducing the cost of water that farmers, ranchers, and other professionals linked to production pay.
The definitive resolution of the call includes subsidies for 171 supply policies, belonging to 118 different holders who meet the conditions set out in the regulatory bases.
In a note, the president of the Cabildo of Lanzarote and of the Water Consortium, Oswaldo Betancort, emphasized that this aid "is yet another demonstration of the commitment we have made to our primary sector, because we are aware that water is one of the main costs that our farmers and ranchers have to face and we must continue to put all possible resources to facilitate their activity."
Betancort added that the hydraulic strategy promoted in recent years "cannot be limited solely to producing more water or renewing the networks, but must also attend to those who need this resource to keep our fields, our agriculture, and our livestock alive."
The call has been managed through a competitive bidding system and aims to partially compensate for the cost of water consumed by the primary sector, thus contributing to reducing the production costs of the farms in Lanzarote.
For his part, the water counselor of the Cabildo and head of the Water Consortium, Domingo Cejas, stressed that "our commitment is to pay the agricultural water subsidies for all the years."
"Now we are paying those for 2024, but because when we entered the Cabildo there was a significant delay and lack of control with the aid and not even the subsidies for 2022 had been paid to the farmers," he said.
The resolution sets aid of different amounts depending on each policy and the justified consumption, up to a final amount of 148,139.64 euros. At the same time, the Consortium has rejected 57 applications or policies that did not meet the conditions set out in the bases.
Among the main reasons for exclusion are not reaching the minimum required volume of water, not proving the minimum required area, the policy not being in the name of the applicant, the absence of computable consumption in the established period, or the lack of sufficient documentation to demonstrate compliance with the requirements.