Concern is growing among Queensland’s agricultural industries that the State Government will leave farmers high and dry by walking away from the long standing and highly successful Rural Water Use Efficiency (RWUE) program.
The uncertainty is raising alarm bells with farmers who are being subjected to increasing water-use challenges from climate change. The frustration too is stemming from the much-needed, measurable and quantifiable efficiencies that still need to be made through the RWUE program that may no longer continue.
Queensland irrigators have been subject to and continue to implement wide scale reform to water use that has seen structural adjustments in the irrigation sector. This has included significant capital investments by farmers and the adoption of water saving infrastructure and practices, and the importance of metering.
For every $1 of government funding within the Queensland dairy industry alone, RWUE has generated a return of $2.85 ever since the program’s inception in 1999. Overall to date, the program has delivered a 5 per cent increase in water-use efficiency across the industry.
The cotton industry has been able to achieve “more cotton per drop” over the decade to 2012. The industry was able to demonstrate a 40pc improvement in water use efficiency, and since 2012 further progress has been made.
Within the horticulture sector, excellent headway has been made in the Granite Belt and Eastern Darling Downs, where growers are currently experiencing reduced water allocations. The on-farm services, training and extension services provided through the program are assisting growers continue their transition to long term sustainable water efficient systems.
In lifestyle horticulture, the nursery industry has engaged with 100pc of its production nurseries. Already to date, a combined 8.5pc increase in water use efficiency as well as a 20pc reduction in energy use has been achieved. The industry is now looking to build on this to drive further improvements.
The cane industry has been able to achieve environmental benefits such as increased nitrogen use efficiency, which has been a big benefit as the industry continues down the path of improving water quality to reduce its impact on the Great Barrier Reef. With many ageing and increasingly outdated irrigation systems within the industry, it would be counterintuitive to stop the program as progress continues to be made.
Farmers understand the simple economic benefits that come from minimising costs, increasing efficiencies and improving productivity, so should the government.
Government must accept and acknowledge the role of irrigated agriculture in supplying food, fibre, foliage, and increasingly fuel; and the income and jobs it generates, particularly in regional communities. For an efficient and viable agricultural sector in Queensland to continue to sustainably operate and grow, it needs to be supported through a continuation of policy and projects like the RWUE program long into the future.
It would be very poor for the State Government to walk away from a program that has real world quantifiable results in the delivering the efficient water use given the increasing challenges that climate change and rising electricity costs are having on the sector. Particularly at the same time it is trying to introduce unbalanced vegetation management laws, which will stifle agricultural agility, profitability and growth in the state.