10.3 Drought Issues and Competing Sectors’ Risks
for Agriculture
Balancing the water needs and demands of the agricultural sector with those of the
other water user sectors is a challenging task in many countries. Achieving this
balance becomes a greater challenge due to the risks associated with drought. As
illustrated by the findings from the six case studies, the relative importance of the
agriculture sector in the regional economy is a significant factor that influences the
resources that are made available to the actors of agricultural production and water
use. In all the regions these actors mainly include the farmers, their organizations,
and the water authorities.
In Flanders, current discussions on drought and water scarcity issues generally
include many different perspectives, e.g. from farmers, nature conservation organizations, drinking water companies, etc. However, especially groundwater issues is
a well-developed topic in Flanders and the focus in these discussions is mainly on
agriculture and economic developments, where as other perspectives such as nature
conservation, are less integrated. Various measures were developed for groundwater, but problems still exist with instruments such as source protection (quality),
which requires land use changes or change of agricultural practices. Here local
authorities are not enforcing and implementing such measures, because they would
affect the economic development in the agriculture sector. Advisory services for
farmers seem to be quite developed and they work towards water saving. Via the
EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), investments in more water efficient
technologies, such as water reuse, are supported. Furthermore, farmers are taking
initiative to build water retention basins on farm level, but the permission process is
mostly quite lengthy because farmers need to prove in the application process that
the basin will not in reality end up capturing groundwater.
In Eifel-Rur, the water board is not responsible for delivering water for agricultural use/irrigation. Therefore, industries and drinking water companies are
members of the water board, but not farmers and farmers’ associations. Because of
this structure, the agricultural water users can not influence the discussions as much
as other users. However, this structural problem is offset by the fact that there is a
growing culture of exchange and collaboration with smaller stakeholders, such as
farmers, which all sides see as a productive relationship that is developing positively over time. Farmers agreed voluntarily to contracts, e.g. addressing nitrogen
use, and are therefore cooperating with national conservation organizations, especially the national park authority.
Agriculture is a key economic sector in the Salland region, and therefore balancing the water needs of the agriculture with other water uses, particularly the
environment, has been and is a crucial objective for many stakeholders, including
the water authority, farmers, province and nature conservation organizations.
Historically, the risk of flooding has been felt more commonly by the farmers, thus
leading to prioritizing the discharge of excess water, rather than water scarcity and
drought. However, some measures are taken, such as the irrigation bans during
10 Cross-cutting Perspective on Agriculture
207
for Agriculture
Balancing the water needs and demands of the agricultural sector with those of the
other water user sectors is a challenging task in many countries. Achieving this
balance becomes a greater challenge due to the risks associated with drought. As
illustrated by the findings from the six case studies, the relative importance of the
agriculture sector in the regional economy is a significant factor that influences the
resources that are made available to the actors of agricultural production and water
use. In all the regions these actors mainly include the farmers, their organizations,
and the water authorities.
In Flanders, current discussions on drought and water scarcity issues generally
include many different perspectives, e.g. from farmers, nature conservation organizations, drinking water companies, etc. However, especially groundwater issues is
a well-developed topic in Flanders and the focus in these discussions is mainly on
agriculture and economic developments, where as other perspectives such as nature
conservation, are less integrated. Various measures were developed for groundwater, but problems still exist with instruments such as source protection (quality),
which requires land use changes or change of agricultural practices. Here local
authorities are not enforcing and implementing such measures, because they would
affect the economic development in the agriculture sector. Advisory services for
farmers seem to be quite developed and they work towards water saving. Via the
EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), investments in more water efficient
technologies, such as water reuse, are supported. Furthermore, farmers are taking
initiative to build water retention basins on farm level, but the permission process is
mostly quite lengthy because farmers need to prove in the application process that
the basin will not in reality end up capturing groundwater.
In Eifel-Rur, the water board is not responsible for delivering water for agricultural use/irrigation. Therefore, industries and drinking water companies are
members of the water board, but not farmers and farmers’ associations. Because of
this structure, the agricultural water users can not influence the discussions as much
as other users. However, this structural problem is offset by the fact that there is a
growing culture of exchange and collaboration with smaller stakeholders, such as
farmers, which all sides see as a productive relationship that is developing positively over time. Farmers agreed voluntarily to contracts, e.g. addressing nitrogen
use, and are therefore cooperating with national conservation organizations, especially the national park authority.
Agriculture is a key economic sector in the Salland region, and therefore balancing the water needs of the agriculture with other water uses, particularly the
environment, has been and is a crucial objective for many stakeholders, including
the water authority, farmers, province and nature conservation organizations.
Historically, the risk of flooding has been felt more commonly by the farmers, thus
leading to prioritizing the discharge of excess water, rather than water scarcity and
drought. However, some measures are taken, such as the irrigation bans during
10 Cross-cutting Perspective on Agriculture
207