Agriculture

The 2^nd Annual Symposium of the Southwest Groundwater and Sustainable Agricultural Systems project was held January 15–17 in Tempe, AZ, and WRRC Director Sharon B. Megdal, Post-doctoral Researcher Valerisa Gaddy, and Communications Coordinator Jessie Hampton were in attendance. The event provided a platform for the broad range of participating researchers, advisors, and partners from multiple western state universities and elsewhere, to share their work, collaborate, network, and exchange ideas. The symposium emphasized decision-making processes and fostered discussions on sustainable agricultural practices and groundwater management in the region. The lead Principal Investigator Isaya Kisekka of the University of California, Davis opened the symposium. Highlights included a plenary panel on groundwater and agriculture, moderated by WRRC Director Sharon B. Megdal, with three distinguished guest speakers: John Longworth, Senior Executive Engineer and Advisor to the State Engineer, and the New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission Director, Allison Febbo, General Manager of the Westlands Water District, and Paul Brierley, CEO and Executive Deputy Director of the Arizona Department of Agriculture. The program also included a keynote presentation from USDA NIFA National Program Leader James P. Dobrowolski, reports from members of the project advisory board, an in-depth small group work session dedicated to brainstorming about collaboration opportunities, and a lively poster session. On the morning of January 17, symposium attendees took a field trip to the Ak-Chin Farms to learn about Tribal agriculture from Ak-Chin Indian Community Chairman Robert Miguel and farm manager Damian Murrietta, who led the tour of the farm reservoir and processing plant.

• Symposium Agenda
• UArizona Project Info
• UC-Davis Project Info

Interview with Dr. Megdal

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A new report from the University of Arizona looks at the challenges that a drying climate poses to agriculture, particularly in arid places such as Arizona. The Future of Agriculture and Food Production in a Drying Climate makes wide-ranging recommendations to help agriculture adapt to an uncertain future, including developing new drought-tolerant crops, improving soil moisture retention, and expanding partnerships with tribal farmers. In this interview, Sharon Megdal, the director of the university’s Water Resources Research Center (WRRC) and a member of the commission that drafted the report, tells us more. 

Located in one of the most arid portions of the country, Arizona’s food production systems are increasingly threatened by a drying climate, and there is growing concern that this trend poses an existential threat to food production in Arizona. In response to this urgent issue, UArizona President Dr. Robert C. Robbins created the Presidential Advisory Commission on the Future of Agriculture & Food Production in a Drying Climate. The Commission was tasked with assessing critical threats to agriculture and food production, identifying the most promising solutions, and determining how UArizona can best impact the future. This report reflects the Commission’s study and information gathering through listening sessions and surveys of community members across the University and the state of Arizona.

Threats: Sustainably producing food with decreasing water supplies in an already arid climate is a significant challenge. Decreased surface and groundwater supplies pose direct challenges to growing food with less water. Local threats are amplified by systemic threats to food production systems such as national and global food system disruptions and decreases in Colorado River allocations. These challenges contribute to socioeconomic and cultural concerns including the selloff of agricultural land and loss of the agricultural workforce. Furthermore, uncertain and inflexible policies create additional impediments to adaptation that hinder long-term planning and holistic solutions.

Solutions: Given the complexity and far-reaching nature of the threats, any lasting solution must be multifaceted. Technical solutions like developing new heat- and drought-tolerant crops or improving soil moisture retention can sustain production with limited resources. However, technical solutions can only partially address the challenges. Policy and programmatic solutions to facilitate system-level changes and accelerate the application of technical solutions are greatly needed. Finally, no solution will be effective without human solutions that support cooperative decision making, bridge the gap from research to application, and support the next generation of farmers and ranchers.

UArizona Resources and Expertise: As Arizona’s land-grant university, UArizona is uniquely positioned to facilitate the development and implementation of solutions. UArizona has core strengths in food, water, energy, and community engagement. Through Cooperative Extension and the Arizona Experiment Station, UArizona already works directly with the agricultural community and operates a state-of-the-art network of laboratories, fields, and greenhouses. UArizona also has vast expertise in water issues and is ranked No. 2 in the U.S. and No. 6 in the world for water resources research.

UArizona President Robert C. Robbins has formed the Presidential Advisory Commission on the Future of Agriculture and Food Production in a Drying Climate. You can read about the commission at https://president.arizona.edu/news/2022/12/presidential-advisory-commission-future-agriculture-and-food-production-drying-climate. On behalf of the Commission, WRRC Director Sharon B. Megdal invites you to share your thoughts, perspectives, and ideas through a survey. The following six survey questions are designed to help develop actions to include in our report to President Robbins.

1. What are the threats of a changing climate to Arizona’s agricultural production systems? 
2. Given these threats, how do you expect agriculture and food producers will respond? 
3. What big-picture ideas would have the most impact on agriculture and food producers in the short and/or long term? 
4. What expertise and resources (i.e., specific research, innovations, technologies, infrastructure, practices) can UArizona provide to help agriculture and food producers be as productive as possible in the face of these challenges? 
5. What actions by UArizona can bring these resources to bear on the threats to agriculture and food production systems? 
6. What funding and partnering opportunities are there to support these actions? 

While the Commission invites input on all six questions, we will appreciate receiving your response to as many as you would like to answer. The deadline for survey responses is April 27, 2023. Access the survey at the link below or by scanning the QR code. Please take a few moments to respond to the survey and kindly circulate it to others.

The Agricultural Office of the Embassy of Chile in the US and the WRRC are co-hosting the webinar, “Water and Agriculture: Chile-Arizona Experience,” on November 29 from 11 to 1 pm Arizona time and 3 to 5 pm Chile time. Registration is now open for this webinar, which will bring together key stakeholders, decision-makers, scientists, water experts, and others to discuss the developing projects to advance sustainable water resources and agriculture management. The discussion panel will feature a distinguished group of commentators from Chile and Arizona, including the Chilean Embassy’s Agricultural Attaché in the US Andres Rodrigues and CNR – Chile Head of Water Policies Javiera Herrera, along with the Yuma County Water Users Association General Manager Tom Davis, WRRC Director Sharon B. Megdal, and other knowledgeable UArizona specialists and researchers. Live translation of the webinar will be provided in both English and Spanish.

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• Chile-Arizona Flyer (English)
• Chile-Arizona Flyer (Spanish)

On November 29, the WRRC partnered with the Agricultural Office of the Embassy of Chile to host a webinar titled Water and Agriculture: Chile-Arizona Experience. The panel discussion featured water experts, researchers, and key stakeholders from Chile and Arizona. Facilitated by Chile’s Agricultural Attaché in the US, Andrés Rodrigues, the webinar began with a presentation from Manuel Silva from Chile’s Ministry of Agriculture Water Policies Department, who provided context on the water situation in Chile. Next, WRRC Director Sharon B. Megdal offered insight into water challenges and successes in Arizona. Tom Davis with the Yuma County Water Users Association provided comments on how the megadrought has impacted the state’s agriculture. Subsequently, Channah Rock, professor and Extension specialist with the University of Arizona, talked about the role of water quality in agriculture sectors. The seminar ended with shorter segments on research initiatives at the University of Arizona, which included topics such as desert adaptation to climate change, innovative agriculture strategies, and desert soil composition. A recording of the event will be posted soon.

Image: Embassy of Chile in the US

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