Name: Peter Prins

Date: February 2017

Smart Water Management

for Agriculture

Netherlands Water Partnership

Impact of climate change

on farming Challenges for the agricultural

community:

• How to cope with extreme weather

events (drought, flooding, salinization)

• How to increase awareness among

the farmers

• Which measures will trigger the

farmer to change his behavior?

CSA: water and soil

management intertwined

Need for:

• Practical and effective solutions

• Fitting with daily operations of farmer

• Focus on adaptation

Presentation is based on several

pilots all over the world

Role Netherlands Water

Partnership

• Public Private Partnership, 200

members

• Gateway to Dutch Water & Agri sector

(PPP)

• Water & Agrofood program since

2013

• Agro-network of 400 companies and

experts

Vietnam: rice and fruit

• Request Viet Nam Farmers’

Union

• Emphasis on relation soil fertility

and sensitivity drought

• Smart information systems can

contribute to solutions, e.g.

extended shelf life (better quality)

• Showcase bottom up approach,

local farmers’ leaders play

crucial role

Colombia: oil palm

• Based on market study NWP

• Targeting on producers

organisations and leading

companies value chain

• Pilots under preparation

• Smart irrigation management

(soil, nutrients, soil moisture)

• Setting a standard: best practice

Saudi-Arabia: date palm

• Request date sector

• Long term goal: reduce water use by 70%

• Dutch consortium offers an integrated solution, complementary measures

• Aiming at introduction good agricultural practice

Lessons learned (1)

• Farmers lack information (soil, irrigation, fertilization)

• Farm management mostly based on tradition and gut feeling

• Hard to determine most effective measures, lack of knowledge

• Weak infrastructure extension services hampers improvement of agriculture

• Farmers’ networks rarely linked to research

Lessons Learned (2)

• Focus primarily on quick wins on farm level

• Reducing costs of inputs (fertilization, water, fuel) will direct benefit the

farmer

• Innovative tools offer new kind of services (fertility, soil moisture sensors,

internet of things)

• Limited impact of certification schemes

Way forward: no single solution!

Improving water efficiency in agriculture means:

•Optimizing farm management:

Lot of available measures => prevent tunnel vision

Don’t focus on irrigation only!

•Optimizing integrated water management at river basin level

Public partners needed => governance

Coherent approach needed: smart, based on the right information, will be

climate friendly (more efficient use of inputs)

But WHERE TO START?

Soil: the key to water and climate smart

agriculture

General problems in agriculture

• Land degradation (compaction, hard layers)

• Low content organic matter

• Limited water buffering

Solutions

• Improve soil quality: physical, biological and chemical

• Innovative soil test (NIRS) can give much more farmers access to soil

information

• Application right amount of nutrients to optimize root development

Start simple: seeing and feeling….....

Soil Phosphorus important for

Lack of Phosphorus - Root development

- Better root system means

- more uptake of nutrients + - Less drought sensitive (more water uptake)

And use technical innovation: soil test based on

NIRS….

Water use efficiency requires an integrated

approach

• Embedded in suitable policy

• Based on a river basin approach

• Involving stakeholders at grass root level, like Farmers’ Organisations

• Wide array of adaptation measures

• IFPRI (2017): positive impact investment irrigation on food security

Infographic shows available options (next slide)

Netherlands Water Partnership

• Fosters to arrange complementary consortia / partnerships to achieve

integrated solutions for sustainable food production

• In close collaboration with local partners

• Survey 2016: interest Dutch partners in collaboration with partners South

and East Europe

• Searching for new partnerships …..

Portugal/ NL

Opportunities for collaboration:

•Integrated smart soil and water

management

•Water governance

•Revitalisation degraded landscapes

(Commonland, Land Life Company)

•Exchange of good practices

(innovation partnerships EU)

•….................

www.dutchwatersector.com/agrifood

Thanks for your attention!