Valuing Water in Agriculture to Reward Farmers’ Actions in Conservation

Efficient water use is of paramount importance in ensuring food security. Since 2017, when the G20 Agriculture Ministers’ Action Plan was adopted, there has been a clear acknowledgment of the challenges and risks associated with water security as well as the need to encourage sustainable water management in agriculture. Despite comprising the world’s largest economies, food insecurity remains a significant challenge in some G20 countries. This Policy Brief advocates for the need to develop comprehensive water valuation methodologies in agriculture by adopting informed approaches on incorporating water availability in green and blue forms in agricultural production systems. It further recommends that the G20 countries should adopt frameworks to implement such approaches. Additionally, in order to recognise and incentivise farmers’ efforts towards water conservation, the G20 countries should adopt reward/ compensation mechanisms for farmers based on the value of water through an agricultural water standard which supports the development of a credit system on the lines of the carbon credit scheme.