Since 2015, WaterSMART has led the Agriculture’s Water Future Project which focused on developing a process to better define and prove the value of water stewardship across the agri-food supply chain in Alberta. The results of the project are applicable globally. The goals of the project were to help position Alberta’s agri-food sector as a global leader in water stewardship and to increase awareness and investment in water stewardship across the agri-food supply chain among other users of the watershed.
Through engagement with stakeholders in the region, the project established a definition and visual aid for water stewardship, and developed a four-step process to facilitate and promote uptake of water stewardship in the agri-food supply chain.
The next step will be to work through the application of this structure with implementers in agri-food supply chains to fully develop their business case and to identify their unique costs and benefits of water stewardship. WaterSMART is actively engaging potential partners and funders for a water stewardship pilot program that will expand on and refine the work undertaken during this project.