An integrated tool for water policy in agriculture

The definition of proper tools to support the implementation of Water Framework Directive(WFD) is an urgent task in the European Union (EU). Agriculture deserves special attention since in mostcountries water consumption is higher than in other sectors and pollution due to irrigated agricultural activityis often a serious problem, while social and cultural issues are relevant. The paper presents a program calledDSIRR designed to conduct an integrated analysis of water use in agriculture considering agronomic,hydraulic, economic and environmental aspects as well as complexity and uncertainty for decision making.The tool permits to analyze in great detail the relevant production systems existing in a catchment integratingstakeholders perspectives. The impact of markets, water and agricultural policies, climate, technologicalinnovation can be assessed and the ex-ante analysis of economic instruments, suggested by WFD for costrecovery according with polluter-pays principle, conducted. Scenario analysis is used to cope withuncertainty. The paper presents a study conducted in the Po Basin in Italy comparing the impact of a waterpricing and of the EU agricultural policy reform on annual and perennial crops systems. A set of indicatorsquantifies important differences in social, economical and environmental dimensions and suggests to adoptselective interventions. The results permit to appreciate the relevance of the tool to generate information tosupport the participatory policy process of basin plan implementation. A graphical user interface, a modulararchitecture, an open structure, a rich set of models, standardized database, make DSIRR a flexible andpowerful tool for a more sustainable agriculture and a sound water policy in agriculture.