The Ministry of Environment and Energy announced on March 13 the delivery of technical approvals, compliance reports, and administrative resolutions to enable irrigation and drainage projects worth more than USD 3.3 million in the provinces of Loja and Zamora Chinchipe. These initiatives are led by local governments to strengthen agricultural production and ensure access to water in rural areas.
The ministry said that in Zamora Chinchipe, two agricultural drainage projects presented by the Provincial Government will be developed with an investment of USD 949,698.20. The projects include expanding and improving agricultural drainage systems as well as constructing new drains for productive units. According to the announcement, these efforts will benefit 175 families and rehabilitate over 503 hectares of productive land across several communities including Machinatza Alto, Wachapa, El Padmi, Nanguipa Bajo y Alto, Nuevo Quito, Los Almendros, San Francisco, Bellavista, and Santa Cruz.
During the events, administrative resolutions and enabling documents were also delivered for community water management. These included legal status recognitions for organizations, registrations for potable water board leaderships, and authorizations for use of water resources—measures that allow communities to regularize their status and access financing or cooperation processes.
In Loja province, two irrigation projects submitted by the Provincial Government were approved with a total investment of USD 2,422,731.98. The initiatives involve building secondary networks for the Cera–Buenavista–Ingapirca Canal Irrigation System and improving the Chuchuchir Irrigation System (Phase I). These interventions are expected to rehabilitate irrigation infrastructure on more than 382 hectares directly benefiting 555 families engaged in family farming in Loja and Saraguro cantons.
Additionally, authorities delivered 44 enabling documents related to water resource management in Loja province—including legal recognitions for organizations, leadership registrations, technical approvals, terms of reference, and improvement plans for potable water boards. The actions also included processing 25 administrative procedures for community organizations that benefit over 2,200 families (about 9,000 people), along with technical processes aimed at supporting future water projects reaching up to nearly 16 thousand families (over 77 thousand people) throughout the province.
According to the ministry’s statement, these measures aim to strengthen integrated water resource management through technical and administrative authorizations that allow local governments and community organizations to develop projects improving access to water supplies as well as agricultural production—and ultimately enhance rural wellbeing in southern Ecuador.
