CER is at the same time the main local agricultural water stakeholder (Emilia Romagna) and a private institute undertaking research on agricultural water management and governance, offering extension services support to farmers and other water stakeholders. 

CER is a Consortium of Consortia involving all the agricultural water stakeholder of the region. CER has been carrying out researches on water resources since 1959 and on water quality and contamination risk since 1992. CER has become involved in various projects financed by the EU since 1990.

The main fields of research are the following: crop response to water; shallow groundwater table monitoring and modelling, ditches a seepage and drainage, subsurface drainage systems, studies about the circulation of nutrient and plant protection additives in the ground and in the water; fertigation and chemigation; irrigation technologies and design of irrigation systems; water treatments in constructed wetland at the farm scale; water quality and treatment for reuse in agriculture; extension services support.

CER is the point of reference for the national association of irrigation boards (ANBI), Emilia Romagna Government, Institutional water stakeholders and Grower Associations for what concern the rational use of water in agriculture, water quality for irrigation both for the agriculture and urban landscape, and for the evaluation of possibility to reuse treated waste water (TWW) for irrigation purposes. CER is member of the EIP water (DG Env.), is taking part to the preparation of the EU Guidelines on water reuse in agriculture and of the EU regulation about the water reuse minimum quality standards. CER extension service provides daily irrigation management to over 11000 farmers and training to of about 2500 students and farmers. CER is managing the shallow groundwater monitoring of EmiliaRomagna of 140 monitoring sites. CER is charge of technical management of IRRIFRAME.

https://consorziocer.it/it/