The NFU comments come following today’s launch of the university’s Sink or Swim report, the result of work between nine companies across six sectors - water companies; farmers; financial institutions; retailers; real estate service providers; and engineering consultancies.
The research points to a need for co-operation between businesses, water companies and government.
NFU water resources adviser Paul Hammett said water was increasingly a crucial issue for agriculture – and that there had to be processes in place to allow farmers and growers to build more effective on-farm reservoirs so they could cope during summer droughts.
“Farmers and growers of high value fruit and vegetables need a reliable source of water to produce that food. Building water storage on the farm has long been considered an effective way of protecting the business against potential summer shortfalls in water supply – indeed, this report found that in the Wissey catchment pilot study, about half of irrigating farmers already have their own reservoirs,” he said.
“However most farm reservoirs are designed to cope with one irrigation season, yet the experience of 2010-12 suggests that in future we may need to build resilience to cope with two or even three consecutive dry years. In that scenario, more creative solutions are needed – and collaboration between farmers and others, such as water companies, is what this study begins to look at.”
The launch took place at the Royal Society with a key note from Paul Leinster, Chief Executive, Environment Agency, on the pressures of both too much and too little water. There will also be presentations from our business partners, including Anglian Water and Asda.