Rice growers in the Guadalquivir marshlands are poised to plant this year after a 2023 drought emptied water reserves and halted sowing. The dry spell caused losses exceeding 700 million euros and about 5,000 jobs in the previous season, according to the Sevilla Rice Farmers Federation.
As the calendar turned to 2024, fears of a repeat empty season lingered. Then the Nelson storm system swept through, and mood shifted quickly. What seemed almost impossible a month ago—getting fields ready for sowing—has become a cautious path to renewal. Growers now feel a renewed sense of opportunity, trading earlier pessimism for guarded optimism.
“People’s outlook has changed”
Isla Mayor’s mayor, Juan Molero, called the recent rainfall a blessing for the town, noting faces once weary now show hope. “There is light at the end of the tunnel,” he said, expressing a hope to see the whole town planted with rice this year.
He acknowledged ongoing work: tilling the soil and preparing everything for sowing. “But the rice farmers know how to do it,” he added with calm confidence.
37% of the general regulation reservoirs capacity
As of April 1, the general Regulation System reservoirs used for irrigation stood at 37% capacity. Just 40 days earlier, when the Guadalquivir River Basin Authority held the first Desalination Commission meeting, the system was at 21.9% fill. In about a month and a half, there has been a 15-point rise, signaling a slow but steady restoration of water reserves.
50% planting guaranteed
Eduardo Vera, managing director of the Sevilla Rice Farmers Federation, called this a very good sign. He explained that with this trend, at least half of the arable surface is assured for planting this year, with cautious optimism that water levels will continue rising since sowing typically starts in May or June.
“If the water allocation can exceed 50%, that would be ideal,” Vera added, describing the ongoing land preparations. He estimated that around 5,000 jobs could be reinstated, jobs that were left uncertain after the drought.
“Until the land dries, we cannot start the necessary work that in other years would have begun earlier to plant,” he noted, adding that the farmers know how to manage the process well.
To confirm whether the 50% figure will hold, officials would wait for the next Desalination Commission meeting, expected at the end of April, according to sources from the Andalucian River Basin Authority. The discussion will set the season’s allocation.
“For the growers, the campaign cost is nearly the same whether planting 50% or 100%, which is why we aim for the maximum possible allocation,” Vera affirmed.
Needed infrastructure
The Isla Mayor mayor emphasized that rain alone cannot distract authorities from essential infrastructure that guarantees yearly planting. “Maintenance cannot be neglected just because there has been rain,” he warned, noting that a period of abundance must be backed by reliable systems.
Earlier this year, the Guadalquivir River Basin Authority announced a tender for five projects with a total investment of 240 million euros. These works, coordinated with the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, aim to support rice cultivation in the marshes. A separate project focuses on rehabilitating the starting stretch of the Bajo Guadalquivir Canal as part of ongoing improvements.
Officials expect these works to wrap up in about five years, by 2029. They will enable water from the Peñaflor dam near Seville to reach the rice zone in the marshes by enlarging the capacity of the Bajo Guadalquivir Canal and introducing new distribution channels along the marsh’s right bank. The project will lower salinity levels in irrigation water compared with water near the river mouth. It is important to note that tides up to Alcalá del Río influence salinity in the Guadalquivir and, by extension, crop yields.