After heavy rain over recent weeks, ORAMA and IRRIGANTS de France* are focusing attention on the importance of water for farming and the need for an efficient policy on water storage.

  High Rainfall in Spring
Over the last three years, there has been heavy rainfall in spring, sometimes with quite dramatic consequences, such as flooding and mudslides.  In certain areas, the total rainfall over the last two months has been more than twice the average for this period of the year.
 
Water – a Key Factor in Farming Production
With current tension on markets, farmers must produce greater quantities while also aiming at better quality so as to meet the demand for both food and energy.  Good water supply for crops is an essential prerequisite to fulfil these targets.
 
Heavy rainfall over recent weeks has helped replenish the water table, at a time when groundwater supplies are usually beginning to wane.  This plentiful rainfall will help not only crops that are already growing, but also summer crops which will be able to drawn on the naturally stored water supply.  However, given the prevailing uncertainty of climate change, we must capitalise on periods of high rainfall so as to be able to cope with drought contingencies.  No one could forget what happened in the summer of 2003 and 2005.
 
Orama and Irrigants de France wish to see an ambitious policy on water storage
In 2005, the French Minister of Agriculture, Dominique Bussereau, announced a multi-year plan for water storage, budgeted at 20 million euros, to be launched in 2006.  Legislation passed in 2006 on water and water environments recognised the importance of water storage as a tool for asset management, and the “Grenelle de l’Environnement” agreement has provision for building storage infrastructure needed to cope with the demands of the environment.  But what is the situation now?
Irrigating farmers have managed to carry out forward planning and make adjustments to their cropping programmes in line with weather and water conditions.  They have introduced a number of measures for improvement, for example the installation of water meters, planned volume sharing and the establishment of rotation systems for irrigation.  At the same time, the public authorities have continued to make demands on volumes extracted, and no efforts whatsoever have been made for storage.
 
ORAMA and IRRIGANTS de France are calling for the measures announced to be implemented, swiftly, and for real financial resources to actually be made available for water asset management by storage.
 
In the greater context of climate change, periods of heavy rainfall will no doubt alternate with periods of more severe summer drought.  Water storage is a solution for the future that will save farming and be of benefit to all – farmers, consumers and holiday-makers.  Water is precious and it is now urgent for us to act to capitalise more efficiently on this asset.  It is essential to have a national plan for water storage.
 
Contacts :
Alix d’Armaillé – 01 44 31 16 49
Anne Kettaneh – 01 44 31 10 96
 
* IRRIGANTS de France is the body representing irrigating farmers growing all field crops (grain, oilseed, protein seed, potato and maize).