$5 million partnership with farmworkers could solve the Valley’s water woes
David Villarino-González envisions a day when rural communities finally have clean drinking water, and when crops on farmworker cooperatives thrive through droughts or wet seasons. His dream, which isn’t that far-fetched, could be a game changer in a parched San Joaquín Valley whose livelihood depends on water. Cadiz Ranch and the Farmworkers Institute of Education & Leadership Development (FIELD)_ announced Thursday a $5 million partnership to set up an innovative center to train farmworkers on state-of-the-art technology that produces clean water. The ranch has 45,000 acres in the Mojave Desert where it will teach people about water conservation, groundwater management and sustainable agriculture.