WHY DO WE NEED TO REDESIGN FARMING SYSTEMS? The large-scale clearing of native vegetation and its replacement with the current traditional agricultural systems has resulted in a substantial increase in the amount of water reaching the ground water systems (known as recharge). When recharge exceeds the amount that can be discharged to rivers and streams the watertable rises. When the groundwater contains or intercepts salt, this salt moves with the groundwater into rivers and streams and to the land surface causing salinity. Recent reviews of the effectiveness of current farming systems for salinity control have shown that, in many landscapes, even the widespread implementation of best management practices will be insufficient to achieve the required reduction in recharge. Measurement of current farming systems has shown that recharge generally varies from 15 to 130 mm per annum. However, to control salinity, farming systems will need to more closely mimic the recharge rates of the natural vegetation, around 0.5 to 10 mm per annum. Even if these low levels of recharge are reinstated, the response times of some catchments will be very slow, as the water that has already entered the system will continue to move through it. THE BASIN SALINITY
MANAGEMENT STRATEGY The Basin Salinity Management Strategy (BSMS) guides communities and Governments in working together to control salinity and protect key natural resource values within their catchments. It establishes targets for the river salinity of each tributary valley and the Murray-Darling system itself, that reflect the shared responsibility for action both between valley communities and between States. It provides a stable and accountable framework that, over time, will generate confidence in how we are tracking our joint efforts to manage salinity. Redesigning farming systems is part of the BSMS. |
Our values: courage; inclusiveness; commitment; respect & honesty; flexibility; practicability and mutual obligation. |
WHAT IS PLANNED? Strategic and innovative Research and Development (R&D) is essential to underpin new farming systems. The Commission’s R&D investment will be targeted through a criteria-based approach developed by the CRC for Plant-Based Management of Dryland Salinity. The approach uses a logical set of criteria to evaluate and rank R&D activities. The criteria, described below, can be applied to assess entire farming systems or to elements within a farming system. - Potential impact on recharge: what is the anticipated change in recharge rates resulting from the implementation of the R&D outputs and how closely does this mimic rates under natural systems?
- Hydrological response: how hydrologically responsive are the groundwater flow systems in the target regions?
- Financial benefits: what are the market prospects for products from the farming system? What is the expected financial gain or loss (per ha) from this system relative to the best alternative?
- Integrated R&D: what are the expected benefits of this research to other R&D? How will the research inform policy making?
- Spatial scale: over what area is the research potentially relevant based on biophysical attributes (eg. soil types and climate regime)?
- Risks to adoption: what is the potential risk to adoption considering factors such as; alternative land uses, the complexity of the proposed system, the required investment and the time to returns from the new system.
CURRENT AND FUTURE R&D The first step in developing more sustainable farming systems is to identify where existing farming systems are adequate, and where new farming systems need to be located. The MDBC’s Landmark and Catchment Characterisation projects are helping to provide this knowledge base. The Landmark project is developing methods to measure and monitor sustainability (environmental, economic and social) broadacre dryland farming systems across the Basin. This will help to identify which farming systems need redesign, and where these systems are located within the Basin. The project will also recommend innovative policy options to support this change. The Catchment Characterisation project is providing detailed information on the distribution of different types of groundwater flow systems within the Basin. As these systems behave similarly, the characterisation approach provides insight to the degree of salinity risk and the effectiveness of potential salinity management options. Each of these projects is being used to target R&D investment in new systems and in particular regions throughout the Basin. The Tools project is communicating the catchment characterisation framework to extension providers across the Basin through regional workshops. The Tools site on the National Dryland Salinity Program (NDSP) webpage received 30,000 hits between 1 March and 15 April 2001 alone. Where existing farming systems are not sustainable, a concerted R&D effort is required to develop new industries. The Commission currently contributes to a number of national R&D programs that are investing in the development of new rural industries. By participating in programs such as the Joint Venture Agroforestry Program and the NDSP, the Commission plays a strategic role in directing research priorities and providing cross-discipline coordination. These partnerships also provide the opportunity to access state of the art R&D, and to apply and test these latest developments in the Basin. It is our goal to identify target regions for redesign of farming systems within the Basin, and to develop new commercially viable systems that are suited to these particular biophysical environments. It is imperative to be able to offer land managers feasible options for change and to consider the social and economic impact of such change at both the individual land manager and broader community scales. A current project by ABARE and CSIRO is helping to illustrate some of the potential tradeoffs of land use change; for instance, its impact on surface water resources for catchment management bodies to plan for. Through biophysical and economic modelling predictions, this work is helping to provide the knowledge base for catchment management bodies to plan for land use change. WHO IS INVOLVED? The Strategy will coordinate the Commission’s involvement in a range of R&D initiatives investigating potential new farming systems. These initiatives include the: - MDBC Dryland Regions & Human Dimension Programs
- National Dryland Salinity Program
- Cooperative Research Centre for Plant Based-Management of Dryland Salinity
- Cooperative Research Centre for Catchment Hydrology
- Joint Venture Agroforestry Program, and
- Redesigning Agriculture for Australian Landscapes Program.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Murray-Darling Basin Commission
Level 5, 15 Moore St Canberra ACT 2601
ph (02) 6279 0100
email: info@mdbc.gov.au
website:www.mdbc.gov.au
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