Potato farmers are being forced to trial an ‘expensive’ new irrigation system because water levels are so low that a severe shortage of the vegetable has been predicted.

A lack of rainfall last year and so far this year means that irrigation prospects across the country are low, meaning that new measures are having to be put in place in order to ensure at least some potatoes grow.

The latest information for the Environment Agency shows the chips are down for potato growers; river flows are below normal for this time of year, with irrigation prospects declared “moderate to poor” for many areas.

Prospects for East Anglia, Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire are described as “poor”, while the situation in Yorkshire and the East Midlands is “moderate”.

A dry winter and a summer drought last year put increased pressure on water supplies, and there has not since been enough rain to counteract this.

The situation for potatoes could be even graver than it was last year, when restaurants including fast-food outlet Leon were forced to replace potato products with imported sweet potatoes.

A spokesperson from ADHB potatoes said that trials of drip irrigation, a new way to enrich the soil with water, are taking place to safeguard the soil against drought.

I reflected recently in this context that, in the light of whopping utility bills, perhaps nationalised industries weren’t all bad. This article below made me yearn for the certainty of good old fashioned droughts. I remembered 1976 when the sun poured down and reservoirs dried out. In our current unpleasant and counterintuitive world we are up to our chins in water and facing the threat of standpipes. Where did it all go wrong?

This article tells us:

Standpipes might be needed in the streets in parts of England next year if the country has its third dry winter in a row, the environment secretary has warned.

Millions of consumers already facing hosepipe bans and warnings to save water were given the grim news as Caroline Spelman insisted the present “temporary restrictions” on non-essential use were designed to ensure “we don’t have to move to more stringent restrictions later”.

But she told the BBC’s Inside Out programme, to be screened on Wednesday night: “Whereas it’s most unlikely we would have standpipes this year, if we have another dry winter that becomes more likely.”

Spelman’s warning, coming after the wettest April on record and warnings of more heavy, thundery rain on the way for southern England and Wales, reinforces the message from water companies that they will be unlikely to lift the hosepipe bans any time soon. Seventeen counties are already under water restrictions and experts say groundwater levels are still low.

This article draws attention to the plight of particularly small farmers without the critical mass to set up their own drought amelioration arrangements. It features an East Anglian Famer and his views of the situation. It tells us:

“Farmers are facing financial ruin because of the lack of water, with many forced to change their planned crops for others that require less water.  [He tells us] “People are having to stop growing crops that use a lot of water, like potatoes or salad crops. If farmers are in contracts and can’t supply the produce they can be hit with financial penalties and there are farmers facing that throughout the country.”

This is serious stuff. Too few people in Local Government understand or have any real connection with farmers. I fear there will be limited intelligence at the local level enabling those involved with local economic development to engage with and support those worst affected.

We are currently working with Pennine Prospects the organisation responsible for pulling together a Local Nature Partnership for this area. The work is fascinating if not a little complex in terms of boundaries. It asks us to think hard about the relationships between economy, political boundaries and natural geographies. It also provides a forum for local organisations to start a wider debate about issues like water catchment and the impact of drought on local sustainability.

I don’t have a clear sense of the particular role LNPs might have in future in addressing issues like local droughts but it may be more significant than many of us might think. If you don’t know anything about LNPs – they will cover the whole of England – it is worth finding out what is going on in your patch. I might be able to help if you get stuck.

“Water companies should build interconnecting links so that they can share water easily, and move it around the country in drought periods, he feels.

Such a system would be as effective as the expensive national water grid which is sometimes proposed to deal with Britain’s north-south rainfall imbalance, but far quicker to put in place, and far less costly. Lord Smith, who, as Chris Smith MP, was Labour’s Culture Secretary in Tony Blair’s first administration from 1997 to 2001, is somebody we will be hearing a lot more from, now that south-east England and much of the Midlands are officially in drought, after two of the driest winters on record, and with no sign of the heavens opening to replenish reservoirs. As the environmental regulator of the water industry, he will be the public face of drought control if an emergency arises during the summer.”

The importance of water to the land based economy is often singificantly overlooked when we rush to talking of the “flower bed” inconvenience of hose pipe bans. Lets hope discussions like this start to put a long term solution to a persistent problem more firmly on the agenda.

In rural England water shortages have a far deeper significant impact than the inconvenience of not being able to use a hose pipe. They affect the economic vitality of places very significantly. This article reminds us of how they can also become a political football it tells us:

 Wales should make sure it receives proper payment for any water exported to ease drought-hit areas of England, Welsh politicians and economists have said.

Elfyn Llwyd, the leader of Plaid Cymru at Westminster, led calls for a “mature debate” on ensuringWales is properly paid for one of its richest natural resources. He said he did not object to water being moved fromWales to England. “I see no reason why that should not happen as we are rich in that resource inWales.”

But he added: “I think there should be adequate and reasonable recompense for that provision. I’m not talking of an Opec situation when come sudden droughts to England we get the guns out and say you’ve got to pay twice or three times more. Just a reasonable return on what is being delivered.

“Half of all households inBritaincould face water restrictions unless exceptionally heavy and prolonged rain falls by April, water companies and the environment agency have warned.

The environment secretary, Caroline Spelman, will hold a crisis meeting of companies, wildlife groups and other river users next week after the Centre for Hydrology and Ecology (CEH) stated that the average rainfall so far this winter has been the lowest since 1972, and the English Midlands and Anglian regions have had their second driest years in nearly a century.”

This makes me reflect on the ongoing challenge of adapting to the more extreme weather events we seem to face more regularly and their impact on rural life from primary production to utility bills. Do we value water enough in the current way we use and in some cases “abuse” it