Agriculture approves aid for irrigation communities affected by the weather

The Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food (DARPA) has approved the regulatory bases for aid addressed to irrigation communities that have suffered damage to their hydraulic infrastructures due to adverse climatological episodes. The regulation, Order ARP/177/2026, of September 10, is published in the Official Gazette of the Generalitat de Catalunya (DOGC) no. 9752, of September 16, 2026, under the reference CVE-DOGC-A-26257042-2026. The bases enter into force the day after publication, and the corresponding call for applications will determine the financial allocation, the deadlines, and the specific episodes that entitle the applicant to the aid.

The measure is framed within the Agrarian and Livestock Fund created by Law 1/2025, of January 8, the transitional provision of which enables the department competent in agricultural matters to allocate the funding of this fund to alleviate the effects of drought and climatic adversities. The aid line has the code PES25-28 ARP0146 of the DARPA Strategic Subsidy Plan 2025-2028. The order is signed by the Minister Òscar Ordeig i Molist and, by assignment of the office (Decree 158/2026, of September 4, DOGC no. 9748, of 9.9.2026), the Minister of Economy and Finance Alícia Romero Llano.

The preamble justifies the intervention due to the exceptionally high increase in accumulated precipitation in Catalonia, which has caused flash floods, river overflows, and the intrusion of saltwater into coastal lands. These phenomena have damaged irrigation infrastructures and drainage networks, and the irrigation communities do not have sufficient financial capacity to assume the reconstruction with their own resources.

What can be subsidized

The objective of the aid is the reconstruction and restoration of hydraulic irrigation infrastructures, both distribution networks and drainage networks, damaged by an adverse climatological effect. The storm episodes that entitle the applicant to the aid will be specified in the call for applications.

The aid is established in the form of modules, according to base 22.1, and the economic justification will be carried out by accreditation per module according to Order ECO/172/2015, of June 3. Subsidizable expenses include works directly linked to the action, common general expenses, the purchase or rehabilitation of inventoriable assets, and consultancy, notary, or auditing expenses.

Who can receive the aid

• Irrigation communities or other water user communities, in accordance with articles 81 and 82 of the revised text of the Water Law (Royal Legislative Decree 1/2001, of July 20), that manage hydraulic irrigation infrastructures.
• Entities that have suffered damage to these infrastructures as a result of an adverse climatological effect determined in the call for applications.
• Entities that possess the corresponding water rights.

In the case of irrigation communities with irrigable surface area across several autonomous communities, the benefited surface area must be within the limits of the territorial competence of the Generalitat de Catalunya. If the beneficiary is a general irrigation community, the basic collectives or communities that form part of it cannot apply for the aid individually.

How to process it

The granting procedure is of non-competitive concurrence: applications that meet the requirements are granted according to available funds, without being compared. Applications are submitted by digital means through the Canal Empresa or Tràmits Generalitat de Catalunya, using the standardized form of the electronic office.

• If the application has defects, the managing body requires correction within a period of 10 business days.
• The provisional resolution proposal is published on the Electronic Board of the Generalitat de Catalunya and a period of 10 days is opened to submit allegations.
• Requests for modification of the resolution are resolved within a maximum period of 15 business days.

The aids are incompatible with other subsidies granted for the same purpose by any administration or entity, national or international. The beneficiaries must maintain the activity for five years following the grant and must present to DARPA, within two years from the payment, a certificate accrediting the destination of the funds.

The order provides regulatory coverage for a subsidy regime designed to avoid the economic unviability of the affected irrigation communities and to guarantee the continuity of irrigation, an essential element for agricultural activity and the economic development of the territory. The text also responds to climate change projections, which point to more frequent and intense extreme episodes, and reinforces the resilience of infrastructures essential for the management of water concessions.

Source: Official Gazette of the Generalitat de Catalunya, no. 9752, of September 16, 2026, General Provisions (official reference: CVE-DOGC-A-26257042-2026).