Water for Food Group
Water for agriculture means jobs, stable rural economies, and increased food security
This page is under development. Updated December 2022
The Water for Food Group (WfFG) is an independent forum of stakeholders and decision-makers from the agricultural and horticultural sectors, and aims to raise the profile of water for food production and ensure that it is considered an essential need.
This summer, the Water for Food Group launched its first Task & Finish Group, a sub-group focused on producing a Water Resources Management Plan and Drought Plan for the agri-food sector, to provide the long-term planning framework required to ensure resilient water resources for food security. The Group aims to deliver these plans ahead of summer 2023, in time for upcoming abstraction licence renewal periods in 2024 and beyond.
Kelly Hewson-Fisher, Water Resources National Specialist at the NFU and Chair of the Water for Food Group said “it’s fantastic to have the support of the stakeholders within this group, each bringing their unique range of experience and technical insight to the Task & Finish Group and to the objective to create these planning documents for the sector”.
Harriet Robson, Senior Water Resources Specialist at Envireau Water has taken on the role of Chair of the Task & Finish Group and states “I am delighted to be chairing this group, to be able to bring my experience of developing public water supply Water Resources Management Plans and Drought Plans to the agri and hortic sector is a great opportunity”.
The development of a long-term strategy for resilience to drought and water security risks is welcomed for the sector. Bringing certainty to an uncertain world with the unpredictability of Section 57 restrictions and a changing climate is a challenge that all irrigators are currently facing. The plans that the Water for Food Group are proposing are intended to provide a framework that the Water Resources Regional Planning groups can adopt and any individual abstractor can adopt to aid drought resilience and long-term investment planning.
In summer 2022 the WfFG set out to make plans to increase resilience to drought and water security risks for the agri-food sector.
To achieve this, WfFG established its first Task & Finish Group, a sub-group focused on producing a Water Resources Management Plan and Drought Plan for the agri-food sector, to provide the long-term planning framework required to ensure resilient water resources for food security. The Group aims to deliver these plans ahead of summer 2023, in time for upcoming abstraction licence renewal periods in 2024 and beyond.
Kelly Hewson-Fisher, Water Resources National Specialist at the NFU and Chair of the Water for Food Group said “it’s fantastic to have the support of the stakeholders within this group, each bringing their unique range of experience and technical insight to the Task & Finish Group and to the objective to create these planning documents for the sector”.
Harriet Robson, Senior Water Resources Specialist at Envireau Water has taken on the role of Chair of the Task & Finish Group and states “I am delighted to be chairing this group, to be able to bring my experience of developing public water supply Water Resources Management Plans and Drought Plans to the agri and hortic sector is a great opportunity”.
The development of a long-term strategy for resilience to drought and water security risks is welcomed for the sector. Bringing certainty to an uncertain world with the unpredictability of Section 57 restrictions and a changing climate is a challenge that all irrigators are currently facing. The plans that the Water for Food Group are proposing are intended to provide a framework that the Water Resources Regional Planning groups can adopt and any individual abstractor can adopt to aid drought resilience and long-term investment planning.The
WfFG membership includes:
Association of Drainage Authorities (ADA), Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), Anglian Water, Central Association of Agricultural Valuers (CAAV), Country Land and Business Association (CLA), Cranfield University, Environment Agency (EA), Envireau Water, East Suffolk Water Abstractors Group (ESWAG), Food and Drink Federation (FDF), Horticultural Trades Association (HTA), Institute of Grocery Distribution (IGD), Lark Abstractors Group, National Farmers Union (NFU), Thet Abstractors Group, University of East Anglia (UEA), UK Irrigation Association (UKIA).