ORAMA and the association of French irrigators, “Irrigants de France”, have been arguing facts and figures so that the truth can be told. They recalled that a proper water management and storage policy was stated to be a priority and commitment by the French Minister of Agriculture, Dominique Bussereau.
After the French consumer association “UFC Que choisir” released a statement on July 27, 2006, criticising the increase in irrigated acreage in France, with the sole reference being general data reported by the OECD, ORAMA and “Irrigants de France” intend to clarify the debate by providing factual elements as a complement to the statement issued by the Ministry of Agriculture on August 2, 2006.
It is important to note that water management is not a matter of hectares, but of cubic metres! The total land area under irrigation in France has clearly increased, but water consumed by irrigating farmers (in volume) went down by 4% between 1990 and 1992, and between 2000 and 2002; these too are OECD figures. This reduction in water consumption was only made possible by farmers making many efforts for water management that produced a reduction in the volume consumed despite the increase in acreage.
ORAMA and “Irrigants de France”note that the “UFC-Que Choisir” consumer association have opted for easy comparisons that would be best avoided. Any comparison of figures on land under irrigation in France, the United States, Australia and Spain distorts any objective meaning in the facts, as the figures are pooled, and differences in climate, farming and technical experience in each country are not taken into account.
Maize, which seems to be the sole target for the media, is not a “water guzzler” as some would have us believe.
- First, maize does not account for all land under irrigation, but only 40%. - Secondly, of the 3 million hectares of land where maize is grown, irrigated acreage amounted to only 885 000 hectares in 2004, and by 2006 had gone down to 790 000, a reduction of 11%. - Thirdly, contrary to comments made by a famous aerial photographer, ORAMAand “Irrigants de France” would like to point out that only 450 litres of water are needed to produce one kilo of maize kernels, and at the very most, one-third of that would come through irrigation when practised; it is not 2 500 litres as was asserted. NB: amateur agronomy is not a recognized discipline.
ORAMAand “Irrigants de France” would like to point out that water is an essential part of farming and is needed to produce the quantities and quality required by consumers, and obviously to maintain competitive standards for French farms. And in the context of global warming, as forecast, and with the increase in the price of oil, irrigation will have its role to play, developing new outlets (e.g. biofuels and bioplastics) and in new areas.
A proper water management policy must be seen as the operational implementation of statements made by the Minister of Agriculture at the Maize Congress on September 14, 2005: “Plants need water. Irrigation is therefore a necessity, and provides assurances for both yield and income. This is why we have to find a way of improving water management. Work must be done quickly to find solutions with storage reservoirs, as a proper alternative able to manage water resources by storing excess water in winter.”
Water & Irrigation: Back to the Facts