Climate Change and the European Water Dimension - Agri ...

growing season crops might increase seasonal irrigation requirements (Rosenzweig
and Hillel, 1998). In addition, with faster crop growth, farmers might tend to go for
multiple cropping, also increasing water requirements.
Management practices, such as conservation tillage, drip and trickle irrigation, and
irrigation scheduling are among the short-term possibilities for preserving soil
moisture. Improving irrigation efficiency is a key component of combating potentially
increased water requirements. It will involve reducing water losses from storage and
distribution systems, proper maintenance of irrigation systems, optimising irrigation
scheduling, and using water conservative techniques such as drip irrigation
(Rosenzweig and Hillel, 1998). Promoting such strategies will be crucial since these
practices, besides preserving soil moisture, will allow farmers to reduce the cost of
production.
Long-term changes include the change of land use to adapt to the new climate in
order to stabilise production and to avoid strong inter-annual variability in yields. This
could be achieved through the substitution of existing crops with crops with a lower
productivity but more stable yields (e.g., wheat replaced by pasture). For areas with
increased water stress, it has further been recommended to use less water
consuming and more heat resistant crops. Other measures mentioned, for example,
by Perry (2000) include the change in farming systems since many farms are
specialised in arable farming and, therefore, are tightly linked to local soil and climate
conditions.
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