Drought. Climate change. Population growth. Endangered fish. Mandated reductions in water allocations. Adjudicated water rights. Pressure to reduce ag waivers. The forces coming to bear on water supply for agriculture have never been so significant. Water availability will be one of the most prominent forces shaping the future of agriculture in California. California agriculture has a great opportunity at this time to innovate new solutions, demonstrate leadership towards achieving multiple benefits, and forge new partnerships to address these challenges.
Agriculture is an activity that serves the public good by providing food, an economic driver for rural areas and many other benefits. Water is a basic and necessary input of food production, yet declining water supplies mean that many producers are facing tough choices. In the face of insecure water resources, it is essential that we find ways to reduce reliance on this potentially unsustainable resource. Reducing growers’ dependence on dwindling water supplies will help protect the future viability of agriculture and food production for California and beyond. Smart water use – agricultural water stewardship – helps producers lower costs, maximize productivity and improve soil health. These practices are core to the ethics and values that characterize sustainable agriculture.
In 2007-8, the following organizations came together to examine ways in which agriculture can, while remaining profitable, be a better steward of available water resources through better water management, reduced on-farm demand and/or improved water use efficiency and other strategies.
• Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association
• California Institute for Rural Studies
• Community Alliance with Family Farmers
• Ecological Farming Association
• Polaris Institute
• WATER Institute of the Occidental Arts & Ecology Center
We have identified both the need and the opportunity to develop water stewardship strategies that benefit and protect farming while also sustaining the health of the ecosystems upon which we depend. This work led to the production of Water Stewardship: Ensuring a Secure Future for California Agriculture, a white paper that lays the foundation for agricultural producers and policymakers in California to take a water stewardship approach in response to insecure water supplies.
We hope that you will engage us on the ideas and proposals in Water Stewardship: Ensuring a Secure Future for California Agriculture. Please visit the tabs to the left for more information and resources on agricultural water stewardship. Contact us to offer feedback on Water Stewardship: Ensuring a Secure Future for California Agriculture or join our listserve.
