News Drought
Agriculture is once again moaning under the drought
While the drought in 2018 and 2019 only started in June, this growing season has started in a unique way. After an extremely wet winter, it became dry from mid-March and remained dry. Precipitation has become a drop in the ocean. In the high and dry regions of the Netherlands, more and more restrictions are imposed by water boards. What does this mean for agriculture?
The course of the 2018 growing season is still etched in everyone's memory. For example with Zeeland farmers. They saw their young crops drown, after which persistent drought gave the final blow. 2019 was less bad in that sense, because the initial development was positive. In 2020 it will be hit again. Summer grain comes up spotty, onions have to be turned around and centimeter flax sinks into the cracks.
Fighting for water
Where possible, Zeeland farmers irrigate. Significant investments have been made in water supply over the past 2 years. For example, by installing deep drains, although the water quality sometimes deteriorates unexpectedly. That became apparent last summer. Locally it is a fight for a little water. Supplying fresh water by car or ship is a very expensive business, but not impossible.
In April last year, nationally, between 20 and 40 millimeters of precipitation fell. This year, that range is 5 to 20 millimeters. Especially in the south of Zeeland, the precipitation deficit is now 150 millimeters, where a deficit of 60 millimeters is normal. According to expectations, it will remain dry for the next 2 weeks, causing the shortage to rise to 170 millimeters. That is more than in record years 2018 (100 millimeters) and 1976 (150 millimeters).
Historical drought data
The image is historic, says Rob Sluijter to Trouw† He is a climatologist at the KNMI. "At the end of May we can reach a precipitation deficit that in a normal year is only reached around August." In addition, an accumulation of dry years causes serious problems.
The water supply is not yet in jeopardy. Although less fresh water is supplied from the Rhine and Meuse, this is not yet a cause for concern. Water boards currently mainly impose abstraction bans for surface water in the east and south of the Netherlands. This is less relevant for agriculture, because it is almost completely irrigated with spring water.
Groundwater extraction not in question
The question is how long unlimited groundwater can be extracted for irrigation. In the Achterhoek, director Peter Schrijver of the Rijn en IJssel Water Board stated earlier this year that no irrigation ban with groundwater will be introduced in 2020.
Spokesperson Roel Boots, of the Limburg agricultural interest organization LLTB, is also convinced: "At the moment there is absolutely no question that groundwater may no longer be extracted for irrigation. Only a few weeks ago, the groundwater level in most places was still high. normal for the time of year, thanks to the heavy rainfall last winter."
Delta Plan Agricultural Water Management
Much has been invested in recent years on the sandy soils in the east and south of the Netherlands to store water in the winter and to retain it for longer in the spring. Thanks to the abundant winter rainfall, the installation of extra weirs and other water level management, the water level in many defining waterways is currently higher than in the previous dry springs. The Delta Plan for Agricultural Water Management (DAW) can also have an effect, with subsidies for precision irrigation and improvement of soil quality, so that dehydration does not hit as hard.
This article was written in collaboration with Erik Colenbrander.
Niels van der Boom
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