Foro Global sobre Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutrición (Foro FSN)

Below are a few of Syngenta comments on the High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition (HLPE) report on Water and Food Security, version zero. Syngenta is an agri-business company researching and developing seeds, seeds protection, and crop protection products enabling farmers to increase yield in an economically, environmentally and socially sustainable way.

Our comments on the report reflect an agriculture perspective and aim to strengthen a connection between agriculture sustainability, food security and water conservation.

Impact and dependencies of agriculture on water should be highlighted at the watershed level. Agriculture accounts for the majority of global water withdrawal. It is therefore an integral part of any global or national water strategy. In this context the role of:

1. 1. Farmers, as land and water stewards, and
   2. Agri-business companies, as solutions and resources providers should be explained in the report.

A map of irrigated farmland – A geographical map of world-wide distribution of irrigated farmland, guiding on lands that are irrigated and with what type of irrigation, would be an informative piece of information in the report.

The Water Resources Group “Charting Our Water Future” report highlights how input-use efficiency through better technology and related productivity increases is the economically most viable solution to close the water gap in agriculture dominated economies. It should therefore be emphasized how productivity gains in agriculture will have long-term improvement in water use efficiency. The following measures could be considered, as they are deemed to be important in this context:

1. 1. Sustainable Intensive Agriculture - Grow More from Less – we have to use water wisely and efficiently to grow more food and to reduce water wastages and losses throughout a product’s value chain.[1] Produce more crops per drop of water, per hectare of land, per hour of labor, per application of crop protection products.
   2. We agree with the statement in the report that “the challenge for irrigated agriculture in this century is to improve equity, reduce environmental damage, strengthen ecosystem functions, and enhance water and land productivity in existing and new irrigated systems.” However, this could be tackled by focusing on maintaining and improving agriculture water demand and supply balance within a watershed, through for instance:
      1. Alter traditional crop selection criteria – to promote consideration of water supply (not water availability) in the crop selection process. For example, substitute water intensive crops by less water intensive crops or imports, in water scare regions.
      2. Maintain and improve soil structure - to enhance soil water holding capacity and reduce soil based evaporation. This is mentioned at places in the report, but benefits of sustainable soil management and use or good water / irrigation management practices in controlling soil erosion and water contamination are not emphasized. (land productivity section)
      3. Advance water application systems in crop production – to encourage adoption of water efficient irrigation techniques: sprinkler or drip irrigation; combined water, fertilizers, and chemical inputs application techniques.
      4. Trans-boundary cooperation - to maintain and improve water demand and supply balance. For instance, there was not much mentioning in the report of the groundwater boom in Asia.

4.      The section on gender equality in water management and use sector could be strengthened, showcasing accruing benefits of achieving such equality. (we recommend to refer to “Effective gender mainstreaming in water management for sustainable livelihoods: From guidelines to practice” from Dr. Margreet Zwarteveen, Irrigation and Water Engineering, Wageningen University.)

Policy recommendations

Below are a few proposed policy recommendations for water resource management in agriculture sector that could be considered for the report:

·         The use of water in agriculture should be optimized and water optimization should be prioritized in agricultural policies. Policy frameworks which recognize the interdependence of energy, food, water, and health should be promoted as well as practical, feasible, and time bound water policy targets should be set for the achievement of a sustainable level of water efficiency in agricultural sector. Aim of agri-policies should be to get higher yield from every drop of water in a most sustainable manner, if we are to manage this scare resource more wisely.

Policies to be supported by productivity based indicators/metrics, which recognize the interdependence of water with other issues, particularly energy and food, as well as climate. For instance, water metrics based on food calories per unit of irrigated water could be a consideration.

·         Improve the targeting of policies to areas where water wastage and pollution is most acute. This could involve:

o   Integrated planning and management across competing uses of water - to ensure that everyone gets a fair share of water. For instance, there is no mentioning of water user associations/farmer associations – they can be very effective in managing water use in developing countries.

o   Establish and strengthen legal and governance frameworks for water – to facilitate correct mapping and accounting of water scarce regions.  For instance,

§  formalization of water sector to facilitate water valuation and establish water rights;

§  build capacity and knowledge of policy makers and decision takers to help them design and implement and to understand the impacts of policies in advance, as well as to monitor and track on-the-ground progress of enacted policies;

§  set-up information systems for dynamic mapping of water sources in order to support farmers, water managers, and policy makers;

§  support training and educational institutes to build capacities at local level to better manage water resources; and financial institutes that benefit rural poor and resource constraint growers to adopt better means for water resource management,

o   Promote public-private partnerships – to enhance water use efficiency and to support for inter-basin transfer infrastructure.

o   Identify and promote technologies that develop and protect water resources – to enhance agricultural productivity and simultaneously support mechanisms that help in the diffusion and dissemination of these technologies to the ones that need them most.

·         Businesses must be encouraged to drive sustainable solutions at scale while linking development goals to core business interests, identifying and managing their impacts and collaboration with governments and civil society. For example,

o   Incentives for efficient irrigation systems could be tied-up to productivity improvements, or even to amount of calories produce. 

o   Development of simple and pragmatic water accounting and reporting tools to measure agriculture water intensity (off-rain water).