ISO 14046 water footprintPrecision agricultureExpert reports

I put a number on the water your company uses. And a realistic plan to bring it down.

I'm Marco Antonio Oltra Cámara, an Agricultural Engineer with a doctorate. I run Orcelis and Aquafides, two companies dedicated to measuring, certifying and reducing water use in agriculture and industry. For more than two decades I've been turning field data into decisions you can explain, stand behind and defend.

Tell me about your case How I work →
PhD Agricultural EngineerDoctoral thesis awarded cum laude
CEO of OrcelisPrecision agriculture and plant health
Director of AquafidesWater footprint certification
Expert witness and consultantSpain, Andorra and remote

Limited availability. I take on few projects at a time, so I answer personally but sometimes it takes me a few days. If your case is a fit, I'll tell you right away; if it isn't, I'll tell you that too.

ISO 14046 Water Footprint Network CSRD · ESRS E3 Remote sensing and vegetation indices Degree-day models Spain · Andorra · Latin America
Context

Why a badly built water figure has become a problem.

Measuring water is now compulsory.
Measuring it well, not yet.

Sustainability reports aren't written any more: they're audited. Declaring consumption, withdrawal and discharge with full traceability is a very different thing from filling in a spreadsheet.

Regulation

Your industrial customer asks for litres per kilo of product. Your field technician talks to you in millimetres of irrigation. It's the same question in two languages, and almost nobody has the inventory to answer it.

Value chain

Farm digitalisation is usually bought in pieces: a sensor here, an app there. You end up with data that doesn't talk to itself and decisions that are still made by eye.

Operations

And when the dispute arrives — crop damage, a residue, a claimed level of consumption — you need someone who can hold the calculation up in front of a third party, not just run it.

Expert reports

My work starts exactly where the software ends: building the methodology, checking the data and putting in writing something that somebody can defend.

Why me

What usually makes the difference in this kind of work.

What I bring that a generic report doesn't

I don't advise from theory

I run the two companies that apply this methodology every day. What I propose to you is what I'm doing, not what I've read.

Rigour that survives review

Behind every criterion there's a doctoral thesis, publications and research projects. If an auditor asks where a number comes from, there's an answer.

From the field to the board

I can talk irrigation doses with your technician in the morning and water risk with your management in the afternoon. Without losing anything along the way.

I'll tell you no

If your case isn't a fit for me, I'll say so on the first call and, if I can, point you towards someone who can solve it.

Services

Three levels of depth. You start with the first one and decide afterwards.

How you can work with me

One-off sessionOne hour

Express Diagnosis

A working session on your specific case: what data you have, what you're missing, where the risk sits and what I'd do over the next few months. Useful for testing an idea, unblocking a stalled project or deciding whether investing is worth it before you invest.

For technical and general management who need an outside opinion before committing budget.

You take away
  • A map of your situation and your data gaps
  • Three priorities ranked by impact
  • A written action plan
  • Notes from the session
Book a session
Most commonProject

Implementation and technical direction

A full project, from data collection to the signed report. Water footprint calculation under ISO 14046 and the Water Footprint Network standard; farm digitalisation with a digital field record, remote sensing and vegetation indices; irrigation and fertigation plans; degree-day models to anticipate treatments.

For agrifood companies, cooperatives and industry that have to certify their water use or professionalise the way they manage agronomy.

You take away
  • A verifiable inventory and water balance
  • A methodology report an auditor can trace
  • Technical rollout and training for your team
  • An indicator dashboard and a reduction plan
  • Support all the way to certification
Outline the project
One-off or ongoing

Expert reports and technical advice

Expert witness reports in agronomic and water resource disputes: crop damage, use of active substances, residues and maximum residue limits, consumption claims, gaps between the advice received and the result obtained. I also sit permanently on technical committees and product advisory boards.

For law firms, insurers, public bodies and companies that need a technical opinion that holds up in front of third parties.

You take away
  • A report with methodology and sources cited
  • Testimony in court and technical defence
  • A second opinion on opposing reports
  • Regular advisory sessions, if it's ongoing
Check availability

Teaching, conference talks and in-company training are arranged separately: write to me with the dates.

Method

The sequence is always the same. No phase gets skipped.

Four phases, in this order

The order matters: certifying without an inventory gives you a pretty, indefensible number.

PHASE 01

Inventory

We set the scope and the functional unit. We gather consumption, withdrawal, discharge and agronomic data, and decide how to cover whatever is missing.

PHASE 02

Calculation

Blue, green and grey water footprint. A balance by process and by product, plus an analysis of which assumptions move the result the most.

PHASE 03

Implementation

We set up continuous data capture, train your team and adjust irrigation, fertilisation and processes around the hotspots we've found.

PHASE 04

Certification

A traceable report, critical review and support throughout certification. From there, a reduction plan with measurable targets.

Cases

A sample of recent work. The detail comes in conversation.

Recent work

Peru · Latin America2025

Taking a water certification scheme into another market

The challenge
A scheme designed for European industry can't be copied and pasted into a country with different data availability, a different water framework and a different counterpart.
What I did
An agreement with a local partner, adapting the methodology to the local agri-export context and training the team that would certify there.
What was left behind
A service structure that now works as a template for the rest of the region.
Agrifood2023

Water footprint in agrifood production

The challenge
Reaching a litres-per-unit-of-product figure that would survive external review, starting from records scattered between plant and field.
What I did
Inventory by process, blue, green and grey water footprint calculation, hotspot identification and a full methodology report.
What was left behind
A documented methodology that I later published as a technical reference for the sector.
Mediterranean crops2023

Digitalising irrigation in Mediterranean crops

The challenge
Farms irrigating by calendar and habit, in a basin with tighter and tighter restrictions.
What I did
Irrigation models built on soil, climate and vegetation index data, integrated into the digital field record.
What was left behind
A training programme that has since been repeated with technicians and cooperatives.

See work, talks and publications →

Companies

The two companies where this methodology is used every day.

Two companies, one problem: measuring water properly

CEO and founder

Orcelis

A precision agriculture and plant protection digitalisation platform with more than two decades in the market. End-to-end crop management in a single system.

  • Digital field record and plant protection traceability
  • Irrigation, fertigation and dose planning
  • Remote sensing and vegetation indices
  • Degree-day models for pest control
orcelis.com ↗
Managing director

Aquafides

Our own water footprint certification scheme under ISO 14046, based in Spain and Andorra with a growing presence in Latin America.

  • Product and organisation water footprint certification
  • Methodology aligned with the Water Footprint Network
  • A network of auditors and partners by territory
  • Training and accreditation of certifiers
aquafides.org ↗
Who I work with

If you recognise yourself in one of these, the conversation starts faster.

Who I'm usually useful to

Agrifood and export

Companies that have to evidence their water use to a customer, a retailer or a sustainability report.

Industry

Plants with water-intensive processes that need a defensible figure and a credible reduction plan.

Cooperatives and irrigation communities

Organisations managing basin allocations and looking for real efficiency, not declared efficiency.

Law firms and insurers

When you need an agronomic or water expert report that holds up in front of a third party.

Agtech startups

A product that needs genuine agronomic judgement before it scales or raises funding.

Universities and technical centres

Teaching, supervision of theses and collaboration on research projects.

Half an hour is usually enough to know whether there's a project here

Tell me your situation in three lines. If I can help, I'll say so; if I can't, I'll tell you who can.

Get in touch