The Environment Agency Chairman Lord Smith has been speaking at the annual UK National Farmers’ Union (NFU) conference. His speech focused on water issues including the following key comments:
- Demand for irrigation water alone is predicted to rise by a quarter over the next decade as parts of central, southern and eastern England and eastern parts of Wales receive increasingly less rainfall.
- On-farm reservoirs and harvesting rainwater from building roofs are just two key ways farmers can gather water for use in drier times.
“In adapting to climate change, farming can also help us to manage water supply – this will be essential as we predict demand for irrigation will increase by 25% over the next 10 years ... We will need to get better at storing water in winter to use in the summer. I am pleased to say that we have already been able to work with some groups of farmers, in East Anglia in particular, to help them form co-operative Abstractor Groups and to support the use of Regional Development Agency funding to provide more water storage for irrigation.
”Where it is the most effective way, we will always try to work with the farming community to identify solutions through advice and voluntary means. We both have the same aim: safe and profitable production to meet society’s needs from land that is in good heart, whilst enhancing the environment.”
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