Federation's global take on water

Bruce Wills and World Farmers' Organisation chief executive Marco Marzano in Stockholm.

Federated Farmers president Bruce Wills said his trip to last month's United Nations World Water Week Conference in the Swedish capital Stockholm was a fascinating experience.

Mr Wills thought he was the only farmer amongst 2700 delegates, which was remarkable given the conference theme, and the fact farmers are the biggest users of water throughout the world.

It is estimated that 70 per cent of all available water (industry uses 20 per cent domestic 10 per cent), is used by the agriculture industry and farmers represent half of the world's hungry.

The Federation president said the conference focused closely on the increasing demands on water by a burgeoning urban global growth.

He said the conference left him with one lingering thought - here in New Zealand, we are in a "lucky and privileged position" with such plentiful reserves of water.

"Our discussions reinforced, for me, the absolute importance for New Zealand to store more water," he said.

Mr Wills attended the conference on behalf of the World Farmers' Organisation (WFO). He told fellow delegates of New Zealand's commitment to sustainable development towards water for all producers and communities.

During his presentation, 'The post-2015 agenda: Triggering Action on Water', Mr Wills spoke of the progress made in the past 20 years, which enabled 2 billion people to gain access to improved drinking water. From 1990 till 2011, up to 250,000 people each day gained access to improved sanitation.

He said the Millennium Development goals for water were bold, with the number of people worldwide without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation to be halved by 2015.

The key to ensuring success depended on "clarity" and a "bold reach". This, he said, would shape future sustainable development goals prompting global action.

Water was, without doubt, at the core of such development. The WFO is fully behind this vision, agreeing that water security and food security were inseparable. To produce more food we need more water - and lots of it.

Mr Wills said the sustainable intensification of agriculture is critical to meet present and future demands for food. Developed countries needed to increase food production by 70 per cent by 2050 to meet demand from a rapidly increasing population. He told the conference that agriculture had a significant role to play, by delivering entrepreneurial opportunities, economic growth and jobs.

The agriculture industry had solutions to solving world hunger, he said. To achieve that goal, water infrastructure, in the form of irrigation, drainage and conservation, was crucial. This was attainable through technology, investment and, above all, co-operation with others.

Mr Wills informed the conference that a shift to more intensive farming in New Zealand during the last decade had challenged water quality, but encouragingly, a recent Ministry for the Environment report conducted over a 10-year period, showed 90 per cent of the water quality test sites displaying either stable or improving readings. This proved that better management practices, stock exclusion and riparian plantings were producing tangible results.

Wise water management was key to surviving droughts and floods. Using water more efficiently and effectively meant more crop per drop, freeing up supplies to ensure secure provision of food and other services, whilst restoring ecosystems. They are all interconnected, he said.

The conference heard it was important to have a global imperative for a sustainable intensification of agriculture.

In April the WFO agreed on a progressive trade policy, moving to eliminate export subsidies, seeking substantial reductions in "trade-distorting domestic support" with a focus on assisting those countries which are developing and impoverished.

Mr Wills concluded his presentation advising delegates to focus action on river basins. Science assisted good policy and every situation had its challenges, but collaborative partnerships were key to enduring progress, he said.

Farmers and farming agencies across all levels "from the water basin through post-harvest distribution networks to international trade forums will help deliver a water-secure and food-secure world", he said.

Bruce Wills' trip and expenses were funded by the World Farmers Organisation.