Farm and Ecological Resilience to Water Supply Variability

Abstract

In order to design more effective solutions to the issue of water supply reliability in the Colorado River Delta, this research first explores the coping capacity of farm households for responding to water supply stresses and shocks. Then, the findings are utilized to answer the following questions. Could improved coordination and collaboration increase farmers' access to strategies that improve farm resilience? Could collaboration result in an increase in environmental flows? Would leasing and selling of water rights through water markets benefit regional water users? The ability of a farm system to maintain productivity under a wide range of shocks, stresses and disturbances is the essence of farm resilience. However, researchers have only a minimal understanding of what farm resilience means at the farm level. Farmers must make decisions each day with incomplete information. In years with no unexpected events, they may be skilled at estimating their crop yields. However, farmers are not able to predict all potential impacts on yields, including uncertainty resulting from unreliable irrigation water supplies, pests, plant diseases, soil quality, and climate variables such as temperature, precipitation, and wind. Based upon primary data collection involving interviews and surveys, this article analyzes farm resilience to water supply variability and the decision-making process at the farm level. The results from the data provide a greater understanding of the full range of farm-level solutions to water supply variability. Further, the results of the analysis can be applied when designing additional incentive-based solutions in the future.