Las fuentes de información en agricultura. Estudio y evolución de la superficie de olivar de riego en Andalucía. Comparación con la provincia de Jaén.

Abstract

Know and determine with the major possible precision the crops irrigation surface is a necessary starting point for further research studies of characterization of the facilities from the perspective of water and energetic analysis. It is also necessary to take into account other aspects such as the origin of the used waters, watered irrigation, system of irrigation, differences in levels, number of structures of storage/regulation, characteristics of irrigation networks, number and power of the systems of pumping systems, etc. Having this information becomes more interesting in view of the possible transformation of the cultivation mode with the adoption of intensive systems, or in the applicability of deficit irrigation strategies in large regions. The consultation of different Public Organizations shows, in a habitual way, that they present different criteria and use a different methodology to determine the surface of irrigation, making difficult the comparison of the obtained information, so that in most of the occasions the results they are not coincidental. To this situation could be added the discretion with which data are published. The different methodologies of data collection and treatment, as well as the main sources thereof, are exposed in the present work, with the objective of determining the irrigation surface of olive groves at Andalusia, and particulary at Jaén´s province, for further studies from the optics of water and energy efficiency.