AUTHOR : Elisabet Nadeu
On 4 June 2025, the European Commission released its much-anticipated Water Resilience Strategy. The document identifies agriculture as a major water user (with 59% of all EU water consumption) and polluter (estimated costs for nitrogen pollution are 75-485 billion Euros). Two of the three objectives of the strategy are particularly relevant for the agricultural sector: restoring the water cycle and building a ’water-smart economy’, the latter with a strong focus on improving water use efficiency.
When it comes to offering solutions, however, the document falls short of ambition and concretion. Non-binding targets, a strong reliance on voluntary measures to deliver results, and a lack of dedicated funding to address the identified challenges raise questions about the strategy’s potential to drive the much-needed action on this fundamental and scarce resource.
Not enough action to reach the non-binding targets for agriculture
The strategy sets non-legally binding targets for 2030 in relation to: reduction in water use (40% of EU’s agricultural area to be covered by water saving strategies) and reduction in water pollution from nutrients and pesticides (30% of agricultural area covered with practices for sustainable use of pesticides and 20% with practices for improved nutrient management).
These targets are expected to be achieved with better integration of water resilience in the CAP Strategic Plans and by better supporting the sector’s innovation and knowledge needs through a set of flagship actions. These include transition packages in the next CAP, strengthening Farm Advisory Services, identifying priority intervention areas at the landscape level, and a dedicated workstream and thematic group on water resilience within the CAP network. The Strategy also encourages Member States to avoid subsidies that may harm the environment or lead to inefficient water use, as a side effect, which, given the large volumes of water consumed in the agricultural sector, could have large consequences. Phasing out or redesigning such subsidies could allow reallocating the resources towards targeted measures for water resilience. In addition, Member States can also establish safeguards in irrigation investments to better protect water bodies.
Increasing the uptake of sustainable farming practices
Farmers are hit the hardest by the increased heatwaves, droughts and floods and need support to increase the resilience of their cropping systems. The Strategy identifies nature-based solutions as key to managing water quantity and enhancing resilience against droughts and floods. Interestingly, when proposing actions for the agricultural sector, the focus is placed on technological solutions (precision farming, drip irrigation), leaving aside the important role of sustainable farming practices.
It is well known that these practices can have substantial benefits on soil health contributing to mitigating the impacts of droughts and floods, and the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) can play an important role in incentivising their implementation. Member States have the flexibility to support them through eco-schemes and agri-environment, and climate measures. However, there is scope for improvement in the current CAP Strategic Plans to increase water resilience in the agricultural sector, particularly when it comes to addressing water scarcity and droughts. Recent research looking into a Spanish Region where water scarcity and soil degradation are major concerns showed that current support from the CAP remains limited when it comes to supporting sustainable soil management practices which could contribute to restoring soil health and increasing water resilience. Aligning CAP instruments more closely with sustainable soil practices could unlock significant gains for soil restoration and water resilience across EU farming systems.
Photo by Ries Bosch on Unsplash