How the Spanish Government Funds Irrigation Modernization
T
he State Society for Agricultural Infrastructure (Sociedad Estatal de Infraestructuras Agrarias, SEIASA) is the agency that funds irrigation modernization projects across Spain. The agency is mandated by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food to help finance various modernization projects in irrigation communities (which are similar to U.S. irrigation districts) across Spain that have been declared to be in the general interest. It generally advances half of the total cost of these projects and holds title to the systems constructed until its initial investment is paid back, 50 years later. In its 20 years of existence, SEIASA has facilitated the investment of more than 2 billion euros ($2.37 billion) in irrigation modernization. In this interview, Victor Morales Godoy, SEIASA’s technical director, tells Irrigation Leader about the importance of the agency’s activities.
Olive trees in Jaén in the southern Spanish region of Andalucia.
Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about your background and how you came to be in your current position as technical director of SEIASA.
Grain cultivation in León in north-central Spain.
Berry cultivation in Huelva in the southern Spanish region of Andalucia.
Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about SEIASA and its history. Victor Morales Godoy: SEIASA was formed 20 years ago. It is a public company that is wholly owned by the General
12 | IRRIGATION LEADER | October 2020
Greenhouses in Almería in the southern Spanish region of Andalucia.
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PHOTOS COURTESY OF SEIASA.
Victor Morales Godoy: I was trained as an agricultural engineer at the Superior Technical School of Agricultural Engineering at the University of León (Spain). From among the fascinating range of disciplines that an agricultural engineer can pursue in their professional career, I chose a path intimately tied up with hydraulics and with irrigation in particular. I took my first steps as an agricultural engineer at TRAGSATEC, a Spanish engineering firm that forms part of the TRAGSA Group, a national and international standard setter in irrigation projects. At TRAGSATEC, I had the opportunity to develop and direct important irrigation projects throughout Spain. Since November 2014, I have held the position of technical director of the state-owned company SEIASA. I joined SEIASA when it was founded in 2000 and have carried out a number of roles and responsibilities within it, participating actively in the various irrigation planning efforts conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food, under whose responsibility SEIASA falls. I feel fortunate to be part of this organization. As technical director, my mission is to carry out, along with my team, the modernization projects that the ministry entrusts to us, from the development stage to their final execution and operation by our customers, the irrigation communities. The technical section of SEIASA employs the best professionals in these fields.
