Water shortage

Eastern Styria learns from Europe’s driest region

Pupils from LFS Kirchberg am Walde visit Murcia(Bild: zVg)

It is getting hotter and drier - a challenge for Styrian agriculture too. The students at the Kirchberg am Walde technical college are therefore learning from one of the driest regions in Europe: Murcia in south-eastern Spain.

A completely dry, brown soil. You might think that the photo Wolfgang Fank is showing was taken in the middle of a desert. But it comes from Murcia in Spain and was taken a few days ago by one of his students, says the director of the Kirchberg am Walde Agricultural College. Another picture shows a student digging his hands into the light brown, dry earth.

How do you get by with as little water as possible?
"In Murcia it rains an average of 240 liters a year, in Hartberg 900," explains Fank. "It's currently 32 degrees there." The conditions are of course very different - but Fank is nevertheless convinced that his 222 students can learn a lot. 26 of them are currently in Spain with two teachers for this reason. "It's a completely different world. The main thing we're learning there is how to use water efficiently: it's about watering as many plants as possible with as little water as possible." This is "miles away" in this country. 

Provincial Councillor Simone Schmiedtbauer and Director Wolfgang Fank in conversation on the occasion of World Water Day(Bild: Maximilian Gutjahr)

As only 1.7 percent of the land in Styria is irrigated, in practice it is mainly about storing rainwater. "Humus soil stores ten times the amount of water and also CO₂. However, it takes five to ten years to build it up." Another option that has been tried and tested in Spain is smaller catch basins that store water between two trees. 

Try and study
The technical college also sees itself as a "laboratory" for the future. "We can try things out here, fall on our faces and then pass on the knowledge to the farmers. I wanted the students to think outside the box," says Fank. Agriculture in particular needs to prepare for climate change, high temperatures and extreme weather, says Simone Schmiedtbauer (ÖVP), Member of the Provincial Council for Agriculture: "You have to deal with the soil in order to know what it needs and to be able to take precautions." 

Water must remain in public hands. We want to give people security, but also raise their awareness.

Agrarlandesrätin Simone Schmiedtbauer (ÖVP)

Because in Styria, where there is enough for everyone, where drinking water is used to flush toilets and water lawns, there is all too often a lack of awareness of this resource. "140 liters per capita consumption per day is a lot. A billion euros have been invested over the past 50 years to guarantee the supply, especially in the south." And more money will be needed: Talks are currently underway to further expand the large north-south pipeline.

The director of the Spanish school, Pedro Angosto Cano, recently paid a visit to Eastern Styria. "He almost couldn't believe how green it is here at the time," says Wolfgang Fank. The Spanish students will also be coming to Grafendorf near Hartberg in October.