During the Portuguese National Agricultural Show, on 14th June Irrigants de France participated in the launching of the new European Association of Irrigation Professionals, Irrigants d’Europe. The aim will be to represent the European Union’s irrigation sector and create an awareness of all the challenges facing irrigated agriculture in Europe.
Therefore, the association constituted in this way will have three main objectives: promoting and representing irrigation and the management of water in Europe, encouraging the cooperation of the main players in this sector and developing European expertise in irrigation and water management for the main European institutions.
Éric Frétillère, President of Irrigants de France, will hold the post of vice-president of this new body, alongside Massimo Gargano from Italy and Andrés Del Campo Garcia from Spain, the presidency being held by José Nuncio from Portugal, all three being presidents of their national associations and responsible for issues relating to irrigation and water management in their respective countries. The formal signing of the statutes took place in the presence of Mr. Capoulas Santos, former MEP and Portuguese Minister of Agriculture.
“At the time when the emphasis of the European issues is focusing more and more on the use of water, the creation of Irrigants d’Europe is good news: in terms of exchanging information with our counterparts and benefitting from their experience, particularly in matters concerning water storage and also with regard to the European institutions who must make a greater effort to face up to the challenges posed by the quantitative management of water within the context of climate change”, stated Éric Frétillère, President of Irrigants de France.
