FEADER 73.07 — Aid for agricultural hydraulic infrastructure in the territories

References: FEADER 73.07 Notice V1, entered into force on 18 December 2025; FEADER Guadeloupe regional strategic plan V6, April 2026 version. Managing authority: Région Guadeloupe.

1. PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVE

The 73.07 intervention finances collective hydraulic infrastructure that secures the water supply of farms. It aims to make Guadeloupean agriculture more resilient to periods of heat and drought, while preserving the quantitative balance of water bodies. Projects must promote balanced management of the resource and support quality, diversified and competitive agriculture.

The notice notes in particular a significant storage deficit for irrigation and favours projects involving the substitution of abstractions, water saving and more efficient use of the resource, in line with Guadeloupe's SDAGE (water management master plan).

2. FINANCIAL PARAMETERS

FEADER budget for 2023–2027: €10,000,000.
Minimum projected expenditure: €15,000 excluding tax. Failure to meet this threshold makes the application ineligible.
Maximum public aid rate: 100%.
FEADER co-financing: 85% of the public aid amount.
Possible advance: up to 50% if the aid is covered by an agreement.
Selection terms: calls for projects or rolling submission.
Minimum selection threshold: 150 points under Notice V1.
Completion deadline: by 30 June 2028 at the latest, under Notice V1 and the terms of the award decision.

The maximum rate of 100% is a ceiling, not a guarantee of full funding. The amount actually awarded depends on eligibility, assessment, selection and the terms of the award decision.

3. ELIGIBLE OPERATIONS

A. Reserves and substitution structures

Creation or enlargement of substitution or recharge reserves intended to support low-water flows.
Creation or extension of reserves disconnected from watercourses, fed by abstractions outside the low-water period, to secure agricultural production.
Storage structures helping to reduce pressure on watercourses during the dry season ("carême"). Projects must contribute to the quantitative management of water and comply with the objectives of the SDAGE and environmental regulations.

B. Collective agricultural hydraulic networks

Creation or extension of collective networks associated with eligible reserves.
Distribution networks enabling farms to be served upstream of irrigation outlets.
Water transfer operations from a balanced management unit to a deficit area.
Creation of a network and, where applicable, an associated reservoir to secure the resource during the low-water period.
Modernisation of collective networks with the aim of saving water and/or energy.

73.07 covers collective hydraulic infrastructure. Plot-level irrigation equipment, such as hose reel irrigators, pivots and surface pipes, falls under 73.01 and is excluded from 73.07.

4. ELIGIBLE BENEFICIARIES

Public authorities and their groupings.
Authorised syndicate associations (ASA).

A farm or private business must not be considered a direct beneficiary of 73.07 solely on the basis of its irrigation needs. It may benefit indirectly from a collective network carried by an eligible body, depending on the project's conditions.

5. TECHNICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS

Projects must comply with the conditions of Article 74 of European Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 and the requirements of the SDAGE.

Main conditions:

A water consumption measurement system must exist or be installed as part of the investment.
For the improvement of an existing irrigation installation, an ex ante assessment must demonstrate a water-saving potential of at least 5% for the installations concerned.
For water bodies whose quantitative status is below good status, additional conditions apply, in particular an effective reduction in water use corresponding to at least 50% of the potential saving in the cases covered by the regulation.
A net extension of irrigated areas is only possible in situations authorised by the regulations, in particular where the quantitative status of the water body and the environmental assessment allow it.
The creation or extension of a reserve must not cause a significant adverse environmental impact.
A technical study justifying the project's merit and its environmental impact must be provided.
The use of recycled water must comply with the applicable European rules where planned.

The application must document the origin of the water, the volumes stored, transferred and distributed, the farms served, the project's value for securing the water supply, the expected water and/or energy savings, the effects on water bodies, compatibility with the SDAGE and the necessary administrative authorisations.

6. ELIGIBLE EXPENDITURE

Reserves and structures: earthworks, sealing, supply systems, drainage, flood spillways and safety devices.
Water intakes and civil engineering: water intake structures, access routes, walkways and civil engineering works.
Pumping: pumping stations, re-lift basins, hydraulic and electrical equipment.
Collective networks: buried pressurised pipework, irrigation outlets, protection and regulation equipment.
Modernisation: adaptation of pumping units, speed variation, automation, remote management, adaptation of electrical and hydraulic installations.
Existing networks: replacement of pipe sections, interconnection, extension, protection and regulation equipment.
Metering: sectorisation, metering systems and remote transmission modules.
Studies: feasibility, efficiency diagnostics, impact assessments, preliminary studies for the creation of reservoirs, public inquiries.
Project management: project management assistance, works supervision, regulatory files, geotechnical and topographic studies.
Staff assigned to project coordination, under conditions.

Eligible overheads are not subject to a specific ceiling in Notice V1. All expenditure must be directly linked to the operation and justified. Calls for projects may provide for a more restricted list of eligible costs.

7. INELIGIBLE EXPENDITURE AND CEILINGS

Notably excluded:

Plot-level irrigation equipment falling under 73.01, including hose reel irrigators, pivots and surface pipes.
Like-for-like replacement of equipment.
"Octroi de mer" taxes.
General expenditure excluded under applicable FEADER rules.

Land acquisition is limited to 10% of eligible expenditure, except for regulatory exceptions provided for certain land intended for environmental protection or the preservation of carbon-rich soils. The managing authority may cap the aid where the applicable ceilings are reached.

8. SELECTION OF PROJECTS

Selection is carried out through calls for projects or on a rolling basis. Notice V1 sets a minimum threshold of 150 points.

Criteria and weighting:

Value for regulating and securing the water supply: 40 points.
Value for securing the supply outside the low-water period: 40 points.
Contribution to environmental protection and water quality: 20 points. Total weighting: 100.

For the environmental criterion, the notice notably states that the water must replace at least 20% of water taken from a water intake, or represent at least 20% of the farm's needs following an opinion from the ARS (regional health agency), under the conditions described by the notice.

9. COMMITMENTS AND ADDITIONAL RULES

Where the aid is covered by an agreement, the beneficiary must comply, for five years from the final payment, with the minimum environmental, hygiene and animal welfare standards required for the investment. Common FEADER rules, environmental authorisations, public procurement obligations where applicable, and the terms of the award decision must be complied with.

The notice states that the intervention falls under Article 42 of the TFEU and is not subject to a separate State aid scheme.

10. OPERATIONAL READING FOR CAPITAL OS

Matching family: Agriculture / Water / Collective infrastructure / Climate adaptation.

Sub-categories:

Storage and substitution: water reservoir, dam, substitution reserve, low-water flow support.
Collective networks: collective irrigation network, network extension, service to several farms.
Water transfer: transfer from a balanced unit to a deficit area.
Modernisation: collective network, loss reduction, water or energy savings.
Water management: metering, sectorisation, remote management and pump regulation.
Studies: hydraulic study, impact study, network efficiency diagnostic.

Qualification filters:

The applicant is a public authority, a grouping of local authorities, or an ASA.
Projected expenditure reaches at least €15,000 excluding tax.
The project concerns collective hydraulic infrastructure and not individual irrigation equipment.
The territorial agricultural need and the farms served are documented.
Water savings, volumes and environmental impacts are assessed.
Water consumption metering is planned.
Compatibility with the SDAGE and the necessary authorisations are demonstrated.
The application reaches the selection threshold of 150 points.

False positives to avoid: individual borehole, purchase of a hose reel irrigator, installation of a pivot on a farm, drip irrigation at plot level, or like-for-like replacement of equipment. These operations should not be directed towards 73.07 without analysing their possible eligibility under another scheme.

11. OFFICIAL SOURCES

Official Europe Guadeloupe page: https://www.europe-guadeloupe.fr/financement/feader-region-guadeloupe_infrastructures-hydrauliques-agricoles/
FEADER 73.07 Notice V1, entered into force on 18/12/2025: https://www.europe-guadeloupe.fr/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Notice_73.07_IT16_0.0.0_v1_251218.pdf
FEADER Guadeloupe PSR V6, April 2026 version: https://www.europe-guadeloupe.fr/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/PSR_FEADER_V6.pdf
EURO-PAC submission portal: https://europac.regionguadeloupe.fr/

Written content, currently under editorial review — this is not an eligibility assessment; only your personalised report applies your company's actual criteria.