Supporting farmers to shift to organic farming
Paris and surrounding areas, France, France
Eau de Paris is the public water service provider which serves 3 million consumers in the city of Paris, France’s capital. The company has initiated wide-ranging efforts to transition towards sustainable agriculture models where it obtains water, with expected long-term benefits on water quality via a reduction in diffuse pollution from agriculture.
Challenges
Water sources for the city of Paris are both surface water (50 percent) and groundwater (50 percent). Groundwater is abstracted from 102 wells and distributed across a vast area that extends up to 150 kilometres from the city. Most of these wells are located in farming areas, which are affected by diffuse agricultural pollution from nitrates and pesticides.
Financing
Since 2007, subsidies for the adoption of agri-environmental practices have been provided under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). They have been complemented by funds from several projects successfully submitted to the Seine Normandie River Basin Agency—for instance, to support reduced nutrient use in farming through diversification and the adoption of crops that need fewer nutrients (such as leguminous crops or hemp) and stronger cooperation with farmers. Other projects support conversion of conventional cattle farms to grass-fed cattle systems. While funding for agri-environmental measures reached more than 130 farmers between 2012 and 2014 in target areas, it dwindled over the last few years due to payment delays and reduced relevance for local agronomic situations. Alternative funding sources are needed. Due to European Union restrictions on public subsidies, Eau de Paris is not allowed to make Payment for Ecosystem services to farmers from its own funds. It is considering notifying the European Union that it would use a new financial support scheme that would be compliant with EU agricultural guidelines so farmers can be paid. The company is also part of an EU-funded Interreg project with partners based in the UK and France to develop common approaches to payments for ecosystem services (CPES – Channel Payment for Ecosystem Services).
Actions and impacts
Eau de Paris has developed a multi-pronged initiative to protect its critical water resources in a sustainable manner over the long term. The initiative has taken various forms, including selective land acquisition and financial support and technical assistance to farmers, both on an individual basis and through group activities. Since 2008, Eau de Paris has been supporting farmers with financial assistance programs to help them reduce fertiliser and pesticide use and adopt organic farming practices. Five of its staff disseminate good agricultural practices. The company has helped develop market opportunities for farmers’ products, including school canteens managed by the City of Paris. Eau de Paris has also purchased land where there is a specific risk of contamination, with a total of 574 hectares acquired by 2018. Eau de Paris leases the land to farmers for one symbolic euro. In exchange, farmers engage in agricultural models protecting water quality, including organic farming and grass-fed cattle rearing. The combination of these complementary levers has produced significant changes in agricultural practices. In one target area, the percentage of land cultivated with organic farming practices increased from 1 percent in 2010 to 15 percent in 2018. Overall, 4,365 hectares have been converted to organic farming and 9,470 hectares to sustainable farming practice. Improvements in water quality have been observed and will need to be confirmed through monitoring.
References
Eau de Paris. (2017). Stratégie Protection de la Resource.
©Ciril Jazbec
