Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Sustainable Agriculture and Integrated Water Resources Management:

Encouraging Joined-Up Thinking

Agriculture is the single largest user of water in the world, accounting for 70% of all withdrawals worldwide. It is therefore impossible to have a conversation about agriculture without having a conversation about water, and vice versa. The achievement of sustainable agriculture requires efficient use of water to avoid the depletion of groundwater resources. Conversely, reaching international targets on integrated water resources management requires the implementation of water use efficiency and demand management among agricultural producers so that often precious resources can be divided equitably among competing interests.

By: Hannah Stoddart, Stakeholder Forum

CSD-16 offers a valuable opportunity to bring discussions on water and agriculture together, as agriculture is one of the five thematic clusters under discussion and there will be a parallel review of water and sanitation commitments in the second week. These two issues come together under the shadow of the looming food crisis, which can only be confronted meaningfully with a consideration of how best to use increasingly strained water resources for agricultural production.

It is unfortunate that during CSD-16 discussions so far an explicit focus on integrated water resources management and water use efficiency in relation to agriculture has been lacking – the long term sustainability of agriculture is fundamental for sustained poverty alleviation and food security, and this requires effective management of the very resources upon which this sector relies. This article draws on some of the findings from the Global Public Policy Network in relation to agriculture, as well as a number of reports from UN agencies, research bodies and NGOs , as well as drawing on some examples of best practice as presented at side events at CSD-16. It is hoped that these issues will be drawn out further in the conversations around that cross-cutting issues and interlinkages so that there may be policy implications for CSD-17, and that delegates can support some of the recommendations made.

Irrigation

Irrigation extracts a huge amount of water from the world’s river basins. Whilst irrigation is integral to sustainable agriculture in areas of climate variability where rain-fed agriculture is not viable, irrigation practices are often inefficient and contribute to intensive and unsustainable water usage, extracting a disproportionately large percentage of total water resources. This presents a serious problem in water stressed areas, where groundwater resources are already depleted, whilst pressure for increased food productivity remains. Initiatives to encourage reduced water use by agricultural producers are therefore integral to the sustainability of the sector, as well as accelerating achievement of IWRM targets. Irrigation service charges remain controversial especially where poor farmers find it difficult to meet costs – this said, the continued subsidization of unsustainable irrigation is not in the interest of farmers in the future. A combination of irrigation service charges, as well as financial in centives to support water-saving technologies can help to manage demand, thus releasing water for use in other sectors. Simple technologies such as rainwater harvesting can be initially prohibitively expensive for poorer farmers, so support for a shift to such systems at a national and sub-national level can help to empower farmers in the long run. The Water for Food movement in South Africa represents an example of this. High-tech solutions can also be implemented, such as drip irrigation and precision irrigation, which in combination with lower tech solutions can produce win-win-win scenarios on social, economic and environmental fronts.

Increasing productivity

Running parallel to the necessity to reduce water use in agriculture is the important requirement of increasing productivity, or enhancing ‘crop per drop’. As food prices are rising sharply due to increased demand and the diversion of land from food production, it is necessary for existing yields to be increased in a sustainable manner to cope with the mounting food crisis. Fertilizers play a role in increasing productivity, but a holistic and integrated approach is also required in which the quality of the soil is assessed as part of a wider eco-system. The preservation of forest areas, for example, is often crucial to prevent ir­reversible shifts in areas in which productive non-saline soils become unproductive salt-drenched and waterlogged as a result of deforestation.

There are a number of other measures that can be used to enhance productivity without degrading the soil and contributing to irreversible shifts in eco-system stability. Critical to increased productivity is ‘smart’ distribution of plants and animals to avoid soil degradation and the planting of crops which allows room for roots to breathe. A case-study of a solutions-oriented approach to increasing rice yields is the System of Rice Intensification (SRI), which combines a number of techniques such as planting seeds younger, applying minimal water at the vegetative stage and using natural composts and manure to produce 50-100% yield increases and 25 – 50% water savings.

Measuring the suitability of water intensive products

An understanding of the amount of water in agricultural goods can encourage more sustainable practices, and identify where subsidies are supporting crops that would be better to import. It is imperative that governments develop and use tools for measuring the water footprints of agricultural products their long-term sustainability or potential threat to the delivery of water for domestic use can be assessed: WBCSD should be asked to report in 2012 on the use of the Global Water Tool and how it has changed private sector approaches to water use and water management. Such developments should be seen in a wide context of virtual water trading, in which water-scarce countries import water-intensive agricultural products, thereby freeing up valuable water resources for other sectors and avoiding the need for costly and energy intensive measures such as desalination, or unsustainable depletion of groundwater sources and rivers.

Enhancing sustainable consumption patterns

So far all the recommendations have focused solely on decreasing water usage at the early stages of the agricultural supply chain. Equally important and complementary is the need to manage unsustainable consumption patterns within countries which are both excessive and wasteful and place undue pressure on the agricultural sector to produce more and more at lower prices. A combination of awareness raising campaigns about the ‘water footprints’ of different supermarket products, alongside a reflection of the water impact of a product in its price could both encourage more sustainable consumption patterns.

The issue of water and agriculture is a complex one that has implications for almost every sustainable development policy area, as water and food at the most basic level are integral to human survival, whist also providing millions of people worldwide with livelihoods and the opportunity for development. It is therefore imperative that these issues are not considered in isolation from one another, or indeed as removed from wider debates about sustainable development and the achievement of human, economic and environmental security. The measures outlined above represent just a fraction of the many progressive approaches to sustainable agriculture and integrated water resources management that are possible if we can muster political will, encourage linked up thinking and call for pro-active implementation. And where better a place to achieve this than CSD-16?

This article was based on findings from the Global Public Policy Network on Water Management, SIWI Policy Briefing Papers, UN Water and FAO publications and the presentation on System of Rice Intensification at the side event on Sustainable Agriculture in Africa at CSD-16.