Addendum signed in La Unión by Santiago Rojas and Luis Penchuleo, national directors of both services respectively, extends the validity of the 2020 agreement, incorporating improvements in objective, type of works, rights issues and mode of execution. It is especially aimed at the regions of Los Ríos, Los Lagos, La Araucanía and Bío Bío.
With the inauguration of 3 water extraction wells that will solve the irrigation needs of two farmers and a woman farmer from La Unión Yesterday, Tuesday, the signing of the Extension of the Indap-Conadi Transfer and Collaboration Agreement was held with the aim of delivering comprehensive access and distribution solutions to at least 800 indigenous producers or their communities with a focus on the Bío Bío, La Araucanía, Los Lagos and Los Ríos regions.
The national directors of the Institute for Agricultural Development
(INDAP) , Santiago Rojas, and from the National Corporation for Indigenous Development
(Conadi), Luis Penchuleo, came to the property of producer Rodencio Cárdenas -Traiguén sector- to sign this agreement that extends the validity of the original agreement that concluded in February 2023 until 2025, and incorporates more solution possibilities, changes to the administration mode to ensure execution and complements the tasks related to water use rights.
“There are more than nine billion that we are going to execute between Bío Bío and Los Lagos and, in particular, today we see the first fruits of this agreement. In summer this family could not produce because they did not have access to water, and now they will have water throughout the year, thanks to this new deep well of more than 30 meters that will deliver a flow of 1.4 liters per second&# 8221;, said the national director of Indap.
“We have expanded what was financed, now we also have other irrigation works, such as rainwater harvesting systems, renewable energy systems to strengthen the pumps, training issues in the use and efficiency of water, and also legal advice because today we have a new water code,” added Rojas.
For his part, the national director of Conadi commented that “the lands have to be accompanied by habilitation, in this case the irrigation structure that allows giving economic potential to families, in this case Mapuche, and being able to make them much more productive.” the lands”.
More resources and tools from the agreement between Indap and Conadi
The agreement establishes the transfer of $9,600,941,910 by Conadi, from its programs, Subsidy for the Construction of Irrigation and/or Drainage Works for Indigenous Peoples and Subsidy for the Acquisition of Water Rights for Indigenous Peoples, to Indap, who will execute them through its regular instruments to promote Irrigation such as the Program of Associative Irrigation (PRA), Intra-Farm Irrigation Program (PRI) and/or Legal Water Bonus (BLA).
The available resources, which are broken down into $8,100,941,910 for the execution of works and $1,500 million for regularization of water rights, when administered through the Indap Irrigation programs have greater possibilities of a more effective and timely execution.
In addition to this, the amounts that beneficiaries can access are amplified, since said programs raised their project coverage ceilings, reflecting the increase in general costs of the works to make them viable.
The extension of the agreement also diversifies the type of works that can be built, with which producers will no longer be limited to exclusively requesting wells, but will be able to consider different collection and irrigation works according to the technical feasibility of each one (extraction from other sources , rainwater collectors, among others).
The accompaniment regarding water use rights, in addition to legal advice for regularization, now includes general training for beneficiaries in legal aspects (based on the new Water Code) and dissemination of public programs that support the management of the various legal procedures related to irrigation and communities of use.
Territorial variables
Key geographical issues are also incorporated, such as the correction of the season for the geophysical studies of the water table, so that they provide accurate information on the resource surveyed in the tender processes (in the previous one it was limited to winter, a period with a level of depth less than summer), and the consideration of the climate and access conditions, for example, for the programming of the works.
The bet is that the indigenous users who benefit from the construction and/or or authorization of works, both off-farm and on-farm, improve access, efficiency, availability and quality of water for their productive agricultural projects with efficient and sustainable use in harmony with the environment. It will be the executives of Indap Irrigation in the regional offices and Area agencies who will raise the demand among those who require it.
The water that Rodencio Cárdenas can already extract from the deep well inaugurated this Tuesday in his property will be conducted to a guatero type accumulator from where it will be redistributed to irrigate an orchard, a greenhouse and animal drink. Daniel Azócar, meanwhile, projects it for his cattle and eventual irrigation of a meadow, while Rosa Reyes, in addition to using it for irrigation and his animals, will use it for human consumption.