Spain: Murcia will bring its experience in water management and technology to Chile

24/05/2016

The Region of Murcia will export its experience in water management and technology in Chile in order to optimize the water resources associated with food production, said the president of the community, Pedro Antonio Sánchez, after meeting with the Minister of Agriculture of Chile , Carlos Furche.

Pedro Antonio Sánchez said that this meeting "will derive a bilateral agreement between the Government of Chile and that of the Region of Murcia for the exchange of knowledge and technology in water management", which will be carried out through the Technological Centers of the Region and the Euro-Mediterranean Water Institute.

The Chilean Minister of Agriculture showed his interest in the use of desalinated water for agriculture, the technical management of water, R & D carried out in the Region of Murcia, and experiences in hydroponics and irrigation systems, as well as of water reuse and purification.

In this meeting a bilateral collaboration has been proposed to develop a technical conference, the business sector and public agencies of Chile and Murcia, to advance in the search for concrete cooperation actions. It has also materialized the signing of a protocol or memorandum by which to establish a long-term cooperation to explore these issues, as well as others of great interest to Chile and Murcia in sanitation, accumulation, and modernization of water use.

The first step will be the organization of a Chilean mission to Murcia to learn about business skills and public water management. This action will be followed by another mission of Murcia businessmen to Chile, and the signing of the protocol.

Opportunities in Chile in agricultural technology

Chile's opportunities in this field "They are very interesting", according to what the president of the community said after this meeting with the Chilean Minister of Agriculture, who stressed that "the country has a clear vocation and opportunity to increase its food production and we have a lot to learn from what they are doing in Murcia and take advantage of their knowledge".

Pedro Antonio Sánchez highlighted that the Region of Murcia "has applied innovation, research and technology that has made us more competitive and job creators associated with the agri-food sector". “With Chile we can move forward to generate opportunities for our companies and to be able to collaborate together in this area”, highlighted the president of the community.

The regional chief executive pointed out that "In the primary sector, in technology and in investment we can increase commercial relations with Chile in the short term" and added that the export figures to Chile "are good for the Region and have increased in the last three years." In 2015, Murcian exports to Chile reached 39,18 million euros, which represented an increase of 22 percent over the previous year. There were 177 companies in the Region that exported their products to this country, with a total of 1.362 commercial operations.

The meetings are part of the institutional visit that begins today the president of the community to the southern country together with a Murcian delegation with the aim of strengthening the commercial alliance. The tourist and agricultural sectors, in which the Region of Murcia is an international benchmark for its good management, are of great interest to the Chilean Executive.

Only last year, the Region of Murcia sold to Chile machinery and equipment for the agricultural industry for more than two million euros, which places it as the second most exporting Spanish province, second only to Navarra.

Source: Europa Press