Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Based on selected case studies this communication presents the French experience in
pricing water for agriculture in various irrigated schemes over time. Considering that
pricing results are from a trade-off between water demand and supply, the first economic
instruments to be analysed will be those that are built from a cost recovery perspective
and in the second section those that are derived from the demand side. The large range for
charging for water that can be analysed is seen in light of the main objectives for
policymakers and water managers including cost recovery, income redistribution among
users and water conservation. Finally, the evolution of tariffs over time will be addressed
in order to show the close relation between the management's objectives and the choice
of a tariff. Some recommendations will be then derived.
The French context
In order to give an overview of a pricing system in a given country, two main
elements have to be described: the legal framework that defines the range of instruments
that can be implemented and, secondly, the main characteristics of water resources and its
use. Information about the farming systems and their heterogeneity in terms of access to
water will also be crucial in order to evaluate what would be the impacts of a change in
tariffs and pricing.
The legal framework
In France the main legal framework is represented by the law of January 1992 on
water management. Its main objective is to protect water resources and the aquatic
environment and to value water as an economic good. Since this law, all waters and
aquatic ecosystems have become “national heritage” (-patrimoine commun de la nation-)
and it provides communities and institutions with the tool to reach comprehensive water
resources management. This means that water belongs to nobody including the state
itself. Water rights are not defined and this is the reason why water markets are not
encountered in France. In practice the water policy service allocates annual allowances
for water withdrawals. Only some informal transactions on use of water have been heard.
This law also sets priorities between the various uses: conservation for aquatic
ecosystems through the enforcement of minimum summer flows in the rivers; drinking
water; and finally economic use, which includes irrigation. Furthermore, these issues will
be reinforced by the WFD that emphasises both the “adequate” cost recovery and the
setting of water pricing that are incentives for water savings.
Irrigation in France
During the last decade, irrigation has been growing quite steadily from 1.1 million
hectares of irrigated crops in 1988 to 1.6 million hectares in 2000 (Table 1). Such an
increase is mainly explained by the development of irrigated maize and wheat, whose
water valuation is weak compared to those of other main irrigated crops (industrial crops,
fruits and vegetables). This development depends heavily on the crop market conditions
and on financial support coming from the EC through the Common Agricultural Policy.
From Table 2, we can see this increase mainly concerns farmers who have an
individual access to surface water or groundwater and that they are located in the
following regions: South West, Atlantic coast, Centre and Alsace Plain, where large
hydraulic infrastructures have not been built to increase the water supply for the peak
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