A £1.6 million fund has been announced for farmers to investigate different methods to manage water in their area.
The fund was announced by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) today (Monday, April 22), and is now open for groups of two or more neighbouring farms.
Projects could include multi-farm reservoirs, treated waste-water recycling systems, water trading and sharing schemes.
Defra said the fund will help groups of farmers investigate how they can better manage water for use in time of drought, helping to safeguard food security.
The fund will support around 20 studies and will also investigate water demand and availability in the most water-stressed agricultural areas over the next 25-year period, the department said.
The closing date for applications is 11:59p.m on June 16, 2024.
Water minister Robbie Moore said: “Water is our most valuable resource, and we want to support farmers to come together to manage it efficiently on their land.
“By storing water when it’s wet, they’ll have more to use when it’s dry – helping to support food production and boost the resilience of farm businesses across the country.”
Chief executive of the Environment Agency, Philip Duffy, said: “Climate change, increased demand, and the need to protect the environment mean that up to 5 billion extra litres of water will be needed in England every day by 2050.
“By working together, farmers can make a huge positive impact in improving our use of water resources, making sure they have water to use in times of drought and safeguarding our food security.”
Projects
The fund will also help to identify opportunities to build on the success of existing projects.
These include:
- Felixstowe Hydrocycle: A multi-farm project currently repurposing more than 0.5 million tonnes of excess land drainage water per year – the equivalent of more than 225 Olympic swimming pools which would otherwise be lost to sea, for agricultural irrigation on six farms;
- Lincoln Water Transfer: A member organisation where 19 farms share a single abstraction licence to take water from Fossdyke Navigation to irrigate 4,600ha of land – using a pool system to allocate water which creates greater flexibility in land and water use.
The Environment Agency will also use the fund to work with stakeholders such as farmers, landowners and Water Abstractor Groups to safeguard a healthy farming sector in future and highlight the needs of agriculture in Regional Water Resources Plans, Defra said.
