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Water Uncertainty: What Innovations Can Help Smallholder Farmers?
Water Uncertainty: What Innovations Can Help Smallholder Farmers?
Smallholder farmers are arguably the most susceptible group of people to climate change and, in particular, unpredictable rainfall patterns.
March 22 was World Water Day, an annual initiative by UN Water to highlight the importance of water. The theme for World Water Day 2018 is exploring nature-based solutions to the water challenges the world faces in the 21st century.
“In recent times, the weather has become less predictable,” says Simon Jan de Hoop, Vice President for Research & Development at East-West Seed (EWS).
“This impacts on testing new vegetable seed varieties for drought or flood resistance. This is a very difficult process because if you test under controlled conditions, how representative is that of real farming conditions?”
Instead, de Hoop says, plant breeders can focus on natural plant features which perform well in both high- and low-rainfall situations. He says East-West Seed has done so for several years, selecting genetic material that results in stronger root systems.
Under water-logged conditions, these plants have greater stability to withstand the higher water content in the soil. During droughts, strong root systems are better able to find and push up water and nutrition from the soil to the shoots and fruits.
“In Thailand the Petch Dam F1 varieties of hot pepper is an example of selective breeding of desired genetic material to improve the root systems,” de Hoop says.
Water efficiency
While genetics and breeding are important to helping farmers through water challenges, de Hoop believes there should also be a greater focus on water efficiency. Water efficiency will become increasingly important, especially in areas with low rainfall, according to de Hoop.
He points to studies which have found that vegetables not only produce higher yield volumes than other crops, such as rice, but also provide greater protein and calories per cubic meter of water respectively.
Greater certainty
Looking toward the future, de Hoop says farmers will need to move to farming systems where crops are grown with less water and which allow for better control of pests and diseases.
“I believe there is going to be a greater focus on protected cultivation technologies, such as greenhouses and irrigation systems, to reduce the uncertainty around external factors like rainfall patterns,” he says.
Although this sounds far removed from the typical smallholding farm, he says that in principle this is possible for small-scale farmers.
Protected cultivation technologies can help reduce reliance on rainfall, as well as the incidences of pests and diseases. Due to their relatively high capital investment costs, however, de Hoop says farmers won’t be able to incorporate these without support. He says India, for example, have effective public subsidy schemes that allow farmers to invest in greenhouses.
“It is important to remember that all technologies, regardless of how advanced they are, require the user to know how to implement them effectively. This is why training and skills development, such as provided by East-West Seed’s Knowledge Transfer, are crucial to the successful adoption of these innovations,” concludes de Hoop.
For more information:
East-West Seed
No. 50/1 Moo 2, Sainoi-Bang Bua
Thong Rd, Amphur Sainoi, Nonthaburi
11150, THAILAND
T: +66 (02) 831 7700
F: +66 (02) 923 7794
inter@eastwestseed.com
www.eastwestseed.com
Fertinnowa Develops Water Book
Fertinnowa Develops Water Book
The Fertigation Bible has been prepared to provide useful practical information to the horticultural sector of the diverse technologies available for all aspects of fertigation within the EU. The various stages of the “fertigation process” are shown in the schematic representation below. The Fertigation Bible contains descriptions of the technologies related to these stages.
Each technology is described in terms of:
- Purpose/aim of the technology
- Regions, crops and cropping systems where it is used
- Working principle of operation
- Operational conditions
- Cost data
- Benefits for the grower – advantages and disadvantages
- Technological, socio-economic and regulatory bottlenecks and limitations
- Techniques resulting from this technology
- Supporting systems required
- Development, i.e. if it is in a research or development stage, or has been commercialized
- Who provides the technology
A total of 125 such technology descriptions are provided.
Considerable effort was made to ensure that the Fertigation Bible is as comprehensive as possible. Various members of the FERTINNOWA project, from 23 organisations from 10 countries, have worked on this document to describe the most commonly-used and promising technologies that are commercially available or are expected to be so in the near future.
You can download the Fertigation Bible here.
Publication date: 3/26/2018
World Water Day 2018:
March 22nd is World Water Day (WWD), a day to celebrate one of the world’s most precious resources and to raise awareness around global water issues. Every year, WWD coincides with the release of the World Water Development Report by the U.N. Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
World Water Day 2018:
Working With Nature to Improve Global Water Management
March 22nd is World Water Day (WWD), a day to celebrate one of the world’s most precious resources and to raise awareness around global water issues. Every year, WWD coincides with the release of the World Water Development Report by the U.N. Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). This report provides a specific theme to guide world leaders and policymakers for the next year as they pursue meaningful solutions for water issues on a global level.
This year’s theme, “Nature for Water,” focuses on innovative solutions for water management that are based on natural systems. UNESCO seeks to integrate man-made approaches to water infrastructure—gray engineering like drains, pipes, and sewers—with green water management systems that mimic nature, harnessing the power of natural systems rather than suppressing them. The report addresses water usage across all sectors—disaster prevention, sustainable city planning, and water quality improvement—but the sector that uses the greatest amount of water is agriculture. Only 0.001 percent of the water on earth is freshwater suitable for human use, and of this limited supply, approximately 70 percent of freshwater is used for agriculture.
The report highlights practical, nature-based management practices for agriculture that can accomplish the dual objective of robust food production and smart resource conservation. The report focuses on three main principles: minimal disturbance of the soil, permanent soil cover, and biodiversity. By planting crops with minimal plowing, farmers can build up the natural environment of bacteria, fungi, and microorganisms in their soil, improving soil health and reducing erosion. Continuous plant growth and the use of mulch to keep soil covered improves water retention and also reduces erosion. Biodiversity in farming has many benefits, but when used for water management, it can be beneficial for establishing crops that are resilient to pests and disease, reducing the need for chemical inputs.
Agriculture depends on clean, sustainable sources of water, but many common, modern-day farming practices harm the water supply. Excessive plowing, for example, can degrade the soil and cause erosion. Up to 40 billion tons of topsoil are washed into waterways due to erosion every year. Improper use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides can lead to water runoff that introduces these chemicals into streams, rivers, and eventually the water supply. Establishing a long-term plan for sustainable agriculture requires farm management practices that accomplish the goal of efficient food production while ensuring the future health of the soil, water, and ecosystem.
In addition to improving water management, the practices identified in the report have benefits more broadly for agriculture, building soil health while also improving the overall efficiency of farm systems. According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), to feed the growing world population, farming systems will need to make significant improvements in resource management, including the use of water: “The global transition to sustainable food and agriculture will require major improvements in the efficiency of resource use, in environmental protection and in systems resilience.”
Beyond agriculture, there are many other nature-based solutions for water management identified in this year’s WWD report. For example, the creation of natural buffers in cities between sources of water runoff and natural waterways can improve the water quality of rivers and streams. In general, the restoration of forests, grasslands, wetlands, floodplains, and other natural ecosystems would greatly increase the amount of freshwater that is available around the world.
While there are significant obstacles to global water management and conservation, it is increasingly clear that the answer is in nature. Global policies that harness the power of natural systems instead of fighting them can greatly improve water management and conservation.
This year, in honor of World Water Day, we encourage you to learn more about protecting this precious resource and challenge you to take a stand and advocate for nature-based solutions for water management in your community.