Agri-food Industries
Our water supply isn’t growing, but our population is rapidly expanding. Increased population, and therefore increased water use may result in potential water, threatening world economies, food production, and to our environment. The threat of water scarcity is especially acute for the agri-food growers, crop processors, commodity groups, crop membership organizations who advocate for farmer needs, and irrigation districts with whom we work. These groups rely on WaterSMART to:
- Provide expertise and advice on global water stewardship trends, policies and best practices.
- Meet their goals for water conservation and increased water productivity.
- Determine economically beneficial water management opportunities that accelerate sustainability and resiliency within the changing global climate.
- Assess water productivity and recommend digitization and smart technologies to decrease costs and increase yields and traceability
Featured Agri-food Project
Agriculture’s Water Future
WaterSMART’s objectives with the Agriculture’s Water Future (AWF) project are to:
- Measure and document the economic and environmental value, and the value-based collaborative understanding of water stewardship, to agri-food supply chain members.
- Develop an approach and framework to apply water stewardship planning across the full agri-food supply chain.
- Develop a business case and then implement and receive certification for a water stewardship plan for the potato supply chain in southern Alberta, including the irrigation district, potato producers and potato processors.
- Create a framework for implementing water stewardship in the agriculture and agri-food sectors.