Joint Government Investment Seeks to Assist On-Farm Sustainable Water Management Solutions
By Amanda Brodhagen, Farms.com
Finding innovative technologies and solutions for on-farm water conservation has been made a priority with the most recent joint government announcement made by the government(s) of Canada and Ontario.
"Our government is committed to helping farmers adapt to current economic challenges and to make their businesses more efficient to boost our economy, now and for the long term," said Minister Ritz. "This Economic Action Plan investment will help Ontario farmers make better use of available water supplies and irrigation systems, and ultimately lower their costs."
The joint funding initiatives of up to $1.5 million will be allocated to the Water Resource Adaption and Management Initiative and up to $1 million will be made available through Farm & Food Care Ontario. Some of the funding will be used to draft new guidelines for on-farm draining design and other resources such as benchmarking studies on water use and efficiency and also educating farmers about best management practices for on-farm water efficiency.
"Farm & Food Care Ontario is pleased to be involved in this environmental initiative on behalf of our members. This initiative will provide practical examples of water conservation technologies that can help farmers adopt their water use practices to the impacts of climate change. Given that 2012 was a dry year across most of the province, this project has even greater relevance to Ontario farmers," said John Maaskant, Chair, Farm & Food Care Ontario.
Proposals are being accepted under the following two components:
•Projects and research studies that focus on innovative water conservation, efficiency equipment, technologies and practices.
•The communication component of project results through workshops, presentations and educational materials that will showcase technologies that can be used for water conservation on farm.