Javier Cancela: «In Galicia, the forecasts of reaching desertification levels are far away»

The Earth is not called a blue planet by chance. Water is essential for life, but it is also an increasingly scarce commodity. In this context, the search for ways to achieve sustainable management of this resource has become a priority. For this reason, on World Water Day, we talked to Javier Cancela Barrio, a reference in this field.

Twenty years have passed since Javier Cancela published his thesis, Integrated water management in the upper basin of the Miño River, and became a Doctor in Agricultural Engineering at the Universidade de Santiago de Compostela. Since then, he has continued to develop his professional career in this field.

Throughout these two decades, Javier Cancela Barrio has researched the water needs of different crops in Galicia, such as fodder corn, avocado, apple, hops, and vineyards, focusing on the effects of water and nutrients.
As he explains below, the work aims to maximize crop quality and production, improve irrigation system management, and promote responsible and sustainable water use.

Talking to him is an absolute pleasure, especially on a day like today.

-According to the WHO, 2.2 billion people lack access to safely managed drinking water services. What can we do to change this situation?

Unfortunately, the lack of access to drinking water is a reality in many regions of the world, where overpopulation, a lack of water resources, or non-existent water management generate critical situations for life.

From our territory, and based on the experience in the management of water resources organized in Spain through the basin organizations (Hydrographic Confederations), we must facilitate the transfer of knowledge and the application of water governance in its broadest sense, allowing those regions with problems of access to water resources to improve their current situation. Therefore, transferring and training personnel responsible for water management is a critical aspect in which it is possible to contribute from Galicia.

We must remember the need to improve water Digitalization in all its sectors. The technology developed in Galicia is transferable and applicable in those territories where its development is not feasible due to a lack of means. Given that the water cycle extends globally throughout the planet, awareness and responsible use of water resources in our territory will facilitate the sustainability of water use, primarily when it is carried out from an integrated vision of its management.

-Galicia has always been a land with abundant water resources. Climatic and natural reasons aside, this reality has been maintained over time thanks to a sustainable economic ecosystem. What are the keys to this production model that takes care of such a precious resource as water?

-The critical aspect of water management in our territory has been water availability, which is almost continuous throughout the year. The volumes of available water resources are related to the significant annual rainfall. However, it should be noted that the irregularity in rainfall in recent years and its intensity have generated critical situations in the water supply for the population, such as at the end of 2023.

The different water employer sectors in Galicia have coexisted without conflicts until the present day, beyond the impacts derived from the hydroelectric infrastructures executed in the middle of the last century. The availability of water resources and the sustainable use of water resources have allowed the economic model to be maintained in recent decades.

In recent years, there has been an increase in climate alert situations due to a lack of resources, either for drinking water or for agriculture, which has led to the need to improve water management (sustainable/responsible use, storage structures, flow regulation, water reuse, etc.) to ensure the availability of water resources at the right time. The high tourist pressure and water demand of crops in the summer require effective measures to guarantee water resources and maintain the sustainable ecosystem we have had so far in Galicia.

-Currently, water pressure is reaching critical levels, making sustainable management impossible. What measures can be taken to reverse this situation?

-The incorporation of Digitalization of the water sector, applying predictive models of future situations, will help anticipate the measures to be used. This aspect, linked to the orderly use of water resources, where special emphasis is placed on ensuring the availability of quality water for the population without forgetting to cover the demand for water for livestock and food production, is key.

The recent entry into force, 26 June 2023, of Regulation (EU) 2020/741 of  the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 May 2020 concerning minimum requirements for water reuse, consolidates the possibility of reusing water in its broadest sense, giving a second, third... use in a sustainable and resilient way. This line of work has been little studied in our territory, so its detailed analysis will be crucial for its implementation, as intended by the I-REWATER project (INTERREG SUDOE) recently initiated and led by the PROEPLA Research Group of the Campus Terra of the USC.

-Desertification is a pressing problem: symptoms are already beginning to show in historically humid areas. What can be its effects in the short term? Can some of its most harmful effects be alleviated?

-Desertification is fundamentally generated by human actions, intensive soil exploitation (overproduction), deforestation, and climate change. In Galicia, the forecasts of reaching desertification levels are far away in time, at least when we compare our reality with that of southern Spain. This aspect is due to sustainable and resource-friendly agriculture and the presence of forest masses that preserve the soil and fulfill their function within the hydrological water cycle.

The main actions to be carried out include maintaining conservationist agriculture, which respects the limits of Galician soils, employing agronomic practices such as using plant covers, and minimizing the use of chemical products that alter the soil's properties, limiting its future production.

-In your latest research, you discussed the need to implement irrigation in crops that need it now. Is Galicia ready to implement these techniques on a large scale?

-The water needs of crops are influenced by climatic conditions, increases in temperatures and the erratic distribution of rainfall, which have generated a growing need to provide water through irrigation systems. Traditionally, Galicia has been a region with supplemental irrigation that supplemented the rainfall. However, crops such as fodder corn, as the basis of animal feed in many dairy cattle farms, require water during the summer months to achieve developments that guarantee their economic sustainability.

The irrigation structures available in Galicia are limited to catchments in watercourses or wells, which, in the summer season, cannot recharge to the level of the necessary water requirements. The existence of large irrigation infrastructures through the modernization of the Irrigation Communities (CCRR) is limited to actions in the province of Lugo (Terra Chá) and two actions in Ourense (Limia), with a new action in progress.

Therefore, it is concluded that there is a need for investment in irrigation facilities (CCRR, in Galicia, there are more than 400 registered, although most of them are small) or the improvement of water storage systems during the winter/spring for use in the summer season. All the improvements in the facilities should entail a rearrangement of land ownership, aiming at obtaining efficient exploitation units and minimizing investments in community irrigation systems.

-You have also researched and published on using drones in the viticulture sector. To what extent is this technology helping wineries and winegrowers optimize their vineyards?

-We are in a phase of using drones to perform intra-plot characterization of a vineyard, obtaining a mapping of the vineyards, which helps to obtain differential management zones. In progress, actions are being carried out to apply phytosanitary products, aiming to reduce the quantities used, according to the previous diagnosis derived from images acquired with drones.

There are other fields of application, such as crop estimation and fertilizer needs or terrestrial drones for different uses, all with great potential for improvement based on learning processes using artificial intelligence.

-In recent years, we have seen severe drought episodes. Do you think we will see drastic changes in crop distribution?

-I totally agree. Climate change and the existence of a global market will mean changes in the crops we currently produce in Galicia. As an example, we can mention the introduction of avocado in the south of Galicia and, more recently, in the north of Galicia, which is a clear indicator that a subtropical crop adapts to the current conditions.

The population is increasingly demanding a local product, which represents a clear opportunity for Galicia. There is the capacity to produce a greater variety of crops. We must focus on regional and sustainable production, which must sustainably use the available resources.

The use of environmentally friendly techniques, complying with the parameters established in ecological agriculture or regenerative agriculture, are cultivation options that have a place in our land and that we must apply in the search for a model of proximity production, maximizing the benefit of the products/food obtained and guaranteeing the availability of the soil for future generations.