Resilient Irrigation Solutions
What’s the situation today?
Over 40 % of the EU’s water use is on agriculture, and most of the freshwater abstraction is for agricultural use in countries like Greece, Spain, and Cyprus.
Approximately 84% of the economic impact of drought falls on agriculture and farmers, which often results in smallholder farms having to stop their activity or to transition to more drought-resistant crops.
Under a 2°C temperature rise scenario, droughts are estimated to cause €12.2 billion losses per year.
82% of the Greek population and GDP currently come from areas of high or extreme drought risk and 74% of Spanish lands are in risk of desertification.
If we are not doing
anything, what will be the
situation by 2050.
Water scarcity will lead to €12,2 billion losses per year and affect 17% of EU population.
Up to 13% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of EU industries will be at risk due to water scarcity.
17% of EU population will face high risk of water scarcity
50% of the losses will affect southern EU and Mediterranean regions, with countries like Spain and Greece expected to face severe droughts.
Discover RAINS
The RAINS project is tackling water scarcity and extreme weather conditions in EU agriculture by testing practical solutions like biofertilisers, improved soil water retention, and smart tools such as Optifangs-IA and WaterIQ. Working across demo farms in Greece and Spain, it aims to improve water efficiency by 50% on 12,700 hectares, support over 500 farmers, and save €6.1 billion, 244 million litres of water, and 35 tonnes of CO2 emissions by 2050.
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What’s the News
Event
EXPO SAGRIS 2025
The Agriculture and Livestock Show has the aim of bringing together the entire agri-food sector in order to address the current challenges facing the sector, with land, technology and people as the three main pillars that will...
RAINS Project in Greece: Driving Sustainable Water Management in Agriculture
RAINS Project team visits Greece to study water and nutrient efficiency in Mediterranean farming, testing...
RAINS Project: Kick-Off in Valencia & 2nd General Assembly in Madrid Driving Sustainable Agriculture
Discover how the EU-funded RAINS project is transforming agriculture with smart water and nutrient management....
Partners
Coordinated by SAV and comprising 17 partners from 6 countries, this 4-year (2024-2028) €4.8 million Horizon project contributes to an improved water efficiency and support farmers in transitioning to more sustainable irrigation systems.
