FR: extension of the national Agricultural Water Fund to 2026 with a €20M budget

"We are financing climate adaptation with a renewed commitment of €20M to the French national Water Fund for 2026. This was my red line, because without water there can be no agriculture. It's a start-up fund: we'll have to go much further, with European aid and aid from the regional authorities", declared Annie Genevard, Minister for Agriculture, Food and Food Sovereignty, on 19/11/2025.

the French Senate's Economic Affairs Committee as part of the Draft State Budget for 2026, which has been under review by the National Assembly since 20/10/2025.

Launched by Marc Fesneau, Minister for Agriculture and Food Sovereignty from 2022 to 2024, and Christophe Béchu, then Minister for Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion, at the French Sia (Salon International de l'Agriculture) in 2024, the Water Fund supports investment in agricultural hydraulic infrastructure intended exclusively for the irrigation of agricultural plots.

The first call for projects saw 48 projects selected, including 17 for water reservoirs, 11 for the creation or extension of irrigation networks and 11 for the…