25 Jan 2019 --- The Californian almond sector, which produces 80 percent of the world’s supply of almonds, is strengthening its 2025 sustainability strategy by including further efforts around water efficiency. Despite staunch criticism directed at his sector in the wake of a long Californian drought that has now ended, Almond Board of California (ABC) President and CEO Richard Waycott stresses how sustainability has been a key pillar for almond growers in the region for more than 30 years. The 2012-2016 drought was a wakeup call for the state as a whole, rather than an actual stimulus for innovation as such, he claims. Following an unexpected frost in February 2018, that impacted last year’s harvest, this one promises to be “robust,” notwithstanding unforeseen events, ABC forecasts.