Uruguay
Uruguay announced a one-stop shop and tax incentives to boost irrigation works
The Interministerial Executive Commission for Irrigation Affairs presented new measures to facilitate investments and water storage projects. These include tax changes, a seasonal energy tariff and progress toward enabling multi-property schemes.
The Uruguayan government presented new tools to strengthen the National Irrigation Strategy, with a focus on speeding up private investment and expanding facilities for water storage projects. According to Caras y Caretas Uruguay, the announcement was made during the 5th Agriculture and Irrigation Conference at Expo Prado 2026.
In that context, the coordinator of the Interministerial Executive Commission for Irrigation Affairs, Tabaré Aguerre, announced the launch of a one-stop shop for investments, the updating of tax incentives and new facilities for multi-property initiatives linked to water.
According to what was published by Caras y Caretas Uruguay, Aguerre said that during this period the political decision was made to create a cross-cutting institutional framework for the issue. The commission is chaired by President Yamandú Orsi, who was present, and is made up of the ministries of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries; Industry, Energy and Mining; Economy and Finance; and Environment.
According to Aguerre, the goal is to promote a national strategy that drives productive growth based on the country’s natural resources. He also argued that irrigation should act as a driver of productive chains linked to exports and employment, with a shift in focus toward storing and managing water.
Among the measures listed by the Uruguayan outlet is the creation of a one-stop shop to speed up irrigation investment procedures. It also recalled that in December 2025 irrigation was declared a strategic activity for projects in the agricultural sector under decree no. 329, which changed the Comap evaluation grid and raised the IRAE exemption to a minimum of 72%.
In addition, a seasonal irrigation energy tariff is planned with better conditions and lower fixed costs, along with an increase in the threshold for moving from medium to large consumer, from 250 to 800 kW. According to the report, the measure aims to prevent producers from resorting to diesel as an alternative.
The strategy also includes the regulation of tax benefits provided for in the Irrigation Law no. 19.553 of 2017, which created the Agrarian Associations with Irrigation Purpose to facilitate shared-use reservoirs. Added to that is the drafting, within the Ministry of Environment, of a decree to authorize permits for multi-property projects that share water reserves for irrigation beyond a single property.
Sources
About this note. Written by El Notero with assistance from artificial intelligence, based on what was published by the cited outlet. El Notero did not conduct its own reporting on this event.
