Maltese farmers recently took up an opportunity to hone their water management skills, decrease water demand for agriculture and protect the quality of existing ground water.

Higher temperatures and water scarcity are starting to present a challenge to agriculture even in countries far to the north. Farmers must resort to technology to cope with more arid conditions.

In the face of encroaching climate change, visiting experts from Spain and the UK have been showing farmers how to better manage their fields. Around 80 farmers attended workshops on making more efficient use of available water while monitoring salinity and nutrients in soil.  

Despite annual rainfall having been markedly low these past two years, Malta has not yet approved a national water management policy.

Researcher in environmental informatics Stephen Hallet, a contributor to Malta’s soil information system since 2002, spoke on challenges farmers face.

“Not every soil is good for every crop, and lack of water is an ongoing concern. We are always trying to understand how soil properties affect crops.”

Sharing of experiences is crucial toward preserving the local crop industry and protecting the groundwater resource.

“Rather than lock farmers in a classroom we decided to hold demonstrations in the field,” said Malcolm Borg, deputy director of the Institute of Applied Sciences at the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology.

The on-farm initiative is part of a Horizon 2020 project with EU funding to foster water-agriculture research and innovation in Malta (FoWARIM) organised by the Mcast Water Research and Training Centre in collaboration with Cranfield University.

If the previous 12 months are anything to go by, we are teetering between semi-arid and outright desert conditions

Alex Rizzo, head of Mcast’s university college, said that the project would advance the centre’s research on reducing water demand, alternative sources of water and renewable desalinisation. Decreasing negative impacts of nutrient-rich farm water on the environment is another focal point.

Research engineer Chris Camilleri noted that such projects provided local farmers and policy makers with tangible solutions.

Another year of poor rainfall is likely to be recorded at the end of next month. If the previous 12 months are anything to go by, we are teetering between semi-arid and outright desert conditions.

Sandy and clay-based soils have different capacities for holding water, and soil behaviour can vary across the seasons.

Mid-August may traditionally see some drops of rain. However, a heavy downpour could compact soil surfaces. Once the soil dries out, a thin but less permeable crust forms. The result is more water loss through evaporation in the dry season.

Also, there is heavier runoff during the rainy months as water fails to penetrate the compacted layer very easily.

Under-watering stresses a crop when it is forced to squeeze the last traces of moisture out of a thirsty soil. Over-watering can lead to nutrient loss.

Soil chemistry investigator Ruben Sakrabani shows farmers how to measure the levels of nutrients and salinity that are present in their fields.

The use of remote sensor probes to transmit data on the soil’s water content to a control centre allows commands to be automatically sent to irrigation equipment so that the right amount of water is delivered across the field.

“You might get away with what you are doing at the moment, but this lets you farm into a drier future,” Lynda Deeks told farmers during a demonstration on managing crops in a dry climate for improved yield and quality.   

Irrigation specialist Jerry Knox spoke on how to match irrigation schedules with loss of water from plant leaves and soil by evaporation.

Hydro-geologist Lucila Candela from the Technical University of Catalonia demonstrated sampling of water quality at a borehole located on a farm. Farmers were made aware of the importance of measuring changes in water level at their boreholes to provide data for assessing overall changes to the groundwater resource over time.

No one seems to know exactly how much water is extracted from private boreholes. Reliable data would allow modelling of the aquifers’ rate of decline in both quantity and quality. Extended droughts are expected in the coming years as a result of climate change.

Pricing issues apart, making use of treated sewage effluent for agriculture instead of throwing it into the sea may help protect our aquifers from drying up if proper controls are set in place.

Registered full- and part-time farmers may now apply to the Water Services Corporation to tap polished effluent for their fields. During the rainy winter season, when demand is low, this ‘new water’ will be treated to a higher standard and used to recharge the aquifer.

The Water Services Corporation has chosen this approach, aiming to address “the chronic over-extraction problems of our groundwater sources” and “reverse decades of damage to the aquifer”.

Stakeholders need a co-ordinated approach from local institutions. Yet despite annual rainfall having been markedly low these past two years, Malta has not yet approved a national water management policy.

The good news is that the farming extension services office at Għammieri government farm, which in the past use to offer guidance to farmers, has been reinstated after it was stopped pre-2013.