WRA Encourages Farmers to Be Proactive in Planning for Water Demand

The Water Resources Authority (WRA) is urging farmers to take a more proactive approach to planning for their water demand by assessing their agricultural needs.

With instances of drought and intermittent rainfall during some seasons being a reality, farmers are being encouraged to store water to supply their crops.

Deputy Managing Director at the WRA, Geoffrey Marshall, said being aware is the first and most important step and that each farmer will have a different need, depending on his or her activities.

“In terms of having that resilience for water availability, [farmers] can be aware of that to say if the rain doesn’t fall where I need it to fall, ‘where can I then secure my water for my irrigation and how can I increase storage for my agricultural needs’. Know what your water demand is and then plan for it,” he said.

Mr. Marshall was speaking at a recent JIS Think Tank, at the Agency’s Television Department, 5-9 South Odeon Avenue in Kingston.

He emphasised that planning for water needs will require “farmers being ready to take responsibility and prepare for what may come”.

“The WRA is always there to help with giving advice in terms of available water resources on the wider scale. If persons have springs on their property and they want to abstract from the springs, we can provide guidance on the process, but they need a licence to do that and we provide guidance on the licence. If we don’t have the answer we will point you in the direction of another entity that can help,” he said.

Meanwhile, the WRA is encouraging the use of best practices for irrigation of agricultural lands.

“From a WRA perspective, the use of best practices for irrigation will help a lot; moving away from flood irrigation if possible, using drip irrigation that might be more sustainable, ensuring that whatever water you are using is proper for irrigation as well. If it is purchased from the National Irrigation Commission (NIC), then you’re good. If you are extracting from a local source, make sure you are licensed for it and you are not overabstracting,” Mr. Marshall said.

The WRA is responsible for the management, protection and controlled allocation and use of Jamaica’s water resources.

The Authority maintains a hydrological database and provides data, information and technical assistance to government and non-governmental institutions.

To contact the WRA, persons can visit wra.gov.jm or call (876) 927-0077.