Glacier FarmMedia – Canada should use its enormous water resources to become a sustainable food powerhouse and a global water research superpower, says a new paper from the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute.
The country’s water policies, management and research efforts are under-developed and uncoordinated, it said, which leaves water resources and challenges largely unaddressed.
That’s something a national plan should fix, says the report written by Tyler McCann, Angele Poirier and Nicolas Mesly.
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“Water security underpins food security and national security and should be considered a strategic asset. Without adequate availability and quality of water, food production and export are impossible,” says the report, titled “A National Agri-Food Water Action Plan.”
“The greatest impact will be achieved when governments work together.”
Canada has no national water policy, despite numerous attempts to link water management approaches over the decades.
“Canada has a fragmented and siloed model for water management,” says the report.
The strategy calls for federal, provincial and territorial agriculture ministers to work together to develop a pan-Canadian policy that will address the fractured situation.
“Multiple stakeholders raised the non-uniformity in data collection, the need for more research, and expressed frustrations with duplication and fragmentation of funding for water-related initiatives,” says the report.
The authors believe the recently created Canada Water Agency can be used to bring together Canada’s various jurisdictions to develop a coordinated approach, with water management based upon watersheds.
A key concern is that few seem to consider the water and land that make Canada one of only seven countries that are substantial net exporters of food.
“The country … doesn’t think enough about protecting its water in terms of food management and production,” the report says.
Large amounts of agricultural land are being paved as urbanization grows, while water resources are compromised, CAPI argues. In the United States, aquifers and other water sources are being drained and potentially lost permanently.
That is an example that could be avoided with a proper national policy and strategy, the authors say.
Water is a unique and perplexing commodity. It is often unpriced, which tends to devalue it in many people’s minds. Yet it is the most crucial substance for food production and human life.
There is no shared sense of how to treat water on the most fundamental level.
“There is a whole debate about whether water is a right, a commodity or an essential or even sacred resource for the protection of life and biodiversity.”
That lack of clarity leaves farmers without a focus on developing Canada’s rare opportunity.
The paper supports calls to reward farmers for water protection work they perform using sustainable practices.
“The environmental services provided by farmers, including protecting water quality, should be quantified and remunerated.”
The report said availability of water can take agriculture and food much further.
“Water can be a strategic advantage for increasing food processing, providing competitive hydroelectricity rates, access to quality and quantity not available in other regions and an asset in their conservation and recycling programs.”
It calls for long-term research and development.
– This article was originally published at The Western Producer.
