When the rain in Spain is not enough

In the middle of nowhere, the only things you can depend on are air and daylight. The SQFlex pump is fully operational from only one or, for greater peace-of-mind, a combination of these energy sources.

This clear advantage has come to the attention of many Spanish agriculture growers. The benefit of the environmental and energy friendly SQFlex system has also come to the attention of Spanish authorities. This means that local authorities subsidy agriculture growers that install the SQFlex system.

Huge demand
To the Spanish company the demand underlines the position as a market leader and emphasises that the Grundfos brand is clearer in the awareness of Spanish end users than ever before. Francisco Torres, General Manager of Grundfos Spain, explains:

“In general the Spanish company has experienced impressive growth during recent years. In average more than 12 per cent. The SQFlex solution has made its important contribution to this development. Especially in the dry areas in southern Spain there is a huge demand for irrigation throughout most of the year. This demand along with focus on sustainability and energy consumption has made our products very attractive for a lot of people”.

Higher capacity
The economic significance of irrigation in farms is demonstrated by the fact that an irrigated acre produces six times more than a dry one and generates an income four times higher a ration, which is even higher in the case of greenhouse and plastic-film crops.

The higher productive capacity of irrigated areas is fundamental not only for farming and for raising the income of farmers, but also for meeting the growing demand of foreign markets, in which the irrigated crops of the Mediterranean Arc and the Atlantic south are strongly placed.

Contribution to development
Irrigation also makes a very significant contribution to rural development: it maintains the population, creates employment – in both the farming sector itself and related areas – diversifies occupational structure, and provides a land use framework.

Irrigation therefore plays a multifunctional role, which represents a vital element in the current rural development model of the Common Agriculture Policy of Spain.

National plan
At present Spain is experiencing an important change within its irrigation sector. A National Irrigation Plan has been approved to modernize irrigation activity and improve water use efficiency. The plan contains a comprehensive study of the starting situation, a planning framework reaching to the year 2016, and a list of projects to be completed by 2008.

“The National Plan is set to be more than a catalogue of works and seeks to give priority for funding to areas in need of rural regeneration or for the protection of natural resources. This fact opens even more business opportunities for Grundfos in general and especially for our energy friendly products. We are very optimistic for the further development of the Spanish Company”, states Francisco Torres.