Farming futures: out of water?

Society dossier
There can be no farming without water. Yet, the long-established relationship between the two is now unravelling. Global warming is affecting the water cycle while food demand is on the rise, consequently to demographic growth, putting world food security at risk. However, maintaining supplies for farming will not be straightforward. Many avenues need to be explored: sustainable agri-food systems, collaborative local water distribution and support to public policies.

This dossier focuses on the management of the supply and use of water in terms of quantity, while making clear that this goes hand-in-hand with the management of water quality.

Published on 18 November 2022

Farming futures: out of water?

The magazine that informs, decrypts and gives food for thought

Created with the help of a number of INRAE scientists, this dossier presents research results on water management in agriculture in a changing climate, both on the farm and more widely, as part of local and regional systems. It traces the paths pursued by INRAE and its partners as they seek to ensure continued access to this invaluable resource.

The water cycle

What's in the dossier?

1 - Water, a finite resource to treasure

Fact: fresh water makes up just 3% of the total volume of water on earth. Of that 3%, a substantial proportion is consumed by humans, although we do recycle some of what we consume. The volume of water on Earth is constant but finite. In its various forms (vapour, rain, ice and snow), the planet’s water moves constantly around a closed system from one compartment to the next (between the atmosphere, the continents and the oceans). To better safeguard this invaluable resource, we have to improve our understanding of this cycle and of the influence exerted by climate change on its patterns. Agriculture has a part to play in this…

2 - Water distribution in the French regions

As water becomes less available, its distribution in the regions has the potential to become a source of conflict. The best weapon against such future conflict is collaboration. INRAE is spearheading work on a participatory approach to the issue and is providing stakeholders with practical tools. The use of modelling and the analysis of scenarios make it possible to take some of the passion out of the debate. Meanwhile, care must be taken to ensure that human activities do not compromise the survival of natural ecosystems…

3 - Does agroecology hold the answers?

The task of conserving the water required by both humans and the planet is twofold: we need to reduce consumption but we must also do something about the immediate cause of the deficit – climate change. To play its necessary part in both, farming must reinvent itself. And it must do so at speed. How could agroecology help?

4 - Doing irrigation differently

Irrigated agriculture produces more than 40% of the world’s food from less than 20% of farmed land. In temperate countries, the majority of our crops are watered by rainwater, but, with the changing climate, the demand for water for irrigation is on the rise. INRAE’s teams are looking at alternative approaches to irrigation that could help to conserve water supplies.

5 - Helping farmers to adapt

The climate emergency calls for a radical transformation of agriculture that carries genuine risks for individual farmers. As a result, public policy must undergo its own transformation to ensure that it is both adaptive and effective. INRAE is working to identify levers that will make such policy more effective.

6 - Profile: the new face of farming?

Laurent Dirat has been farming for 30 years in Tarn-et-Garonne, where competition for the limited local water supply is strong. He describes how he optimises water use on his farm by following the principles of crop diversification and innovation. He takes the long view on this: ‘innovation sometimes involves short-term losses to achieve future wins’.

Scientific leads for the dossier

Christian Huyghe, INRAE Scientific Director for Agriculture
Thierry Caquet, INRAE Scientific Director for Environment
Chantal Gascuel, special adviser, INRAE Scientific Directorate for Environment

Pascale Mollier et Sophie Nicaud

Authors
translated by Teresa Bridgeman
Thierry Caquet, Chantal Gascuel et Christian Huygues

Pilotes scientifiques

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