Innovation in Irrigated Fields in a Semi-arid Region: Southeastern Spain Case

In Spain, in the last 25 years (1996–2020), more than a million and a half hectares of irrigated land have been modernised with irrigation systems. Almost half of this irrigated surface is immersed in a second generation of modernisation in order to be more efficient and save water and energy. This represents a strategic issue in a climate crisis scenario, to assure the quantity and quality of the productions of these irrigable areas, bases of market supply, agro-industries and sources of employment. Throughout this process, innovation was experienced (pressure irrigation, deficit irrigation, accurate irrigation, fertigation and nutrient solution, energy self-consumption, new crop varieties, hydroponic cultivation with or without substratum, etc.). The drivers of these innovations are the harvesting-exporting companies and the irrigation communities. This research is a diachronic study of regional geography; data are provided by official statistics and through extensive fieldwork and interviews with managers. The objective is to explain the irrigation innovation techniques undertaken in the semi-arid environment of Southeastern Spain, one of the driest regions in Europe.