Economic Impact of Water Management Practices for Onion Production in Quebec, Canada

On-farm adaptation strategies for climate change can constitute effective ways to increase a farm’s resilience and inherently ensure its sustainability of production. Across Canada, supplemental water use is essential in agricultural production. Eastern Canada (including Quebec) may experience dwindling water supplies in the future due to climate change and increased competition from other users. To understand the degree to which adoption of an improved water management practice can lead to a more sustainable production, we focus on a Canadian case study -- a farm growing onions, located in the province of Quebec. Existing technology of surface irrigation system was compared against the new technology of a sprinkler irrigation system, in terms of their financial, social and environmental impacts. By adopting such a irrigation system, the onion grower increased crop yields, and reduced annual operating costs by reducing energy and water costs. In addition to these results, the grower reduced greenhouse gas emissions and increased the efficiency of nutrient usage. While, there were more hired employees required with the new technology, there was an increase in time allocated to managerial decision making. Net present value calculations indicate that the new technology was desirable from an economic standpoint. The multi-criteria analysis provided additional insights into higher sustainability of sprinkler irrigation in onion production in Quebec. However, further work is needed to develop information on the spill-off costs or benefits for the new technology to the rest of the society, which may assist policy makers develop appropriate policies for sustainable agricultural systems.