Agriculture as the Greatest Water User - Research Paper Example

Agriculture is the Greatest Water User I. Introduction a) Water usage in Agriculture II. Case Study III. Amazon River Basin IV. Challenges Faced in Amazon River Basin a) More water required for cereals production V.Conservation Alternatives a) Embracing water saving technologies V. Recommendations a) use of irrigation methods, which conserve water VI. Conclusions Water usage in Agriculture Water usage in terms of agriculture has increased twice in comparison to the population growth in the past century. It is apparent that water withdrawal is anticipated to rise and more land is being irrigated to feed the increasing population. Many countries are experiencing conflicts as increase of competition in the economic sectors for similar features one of them being limited supply of water. Water wars might well be the main source of conflict in the twenty-first century. All over the world, agriculture claims around 70 percent of the whole water withdrawal. Various developing countries and other parts of America, irrigation is used to flood the fields and run water between crops. Almost half of the water is lost through evaporation and seepage from irrigation canals, which brings water to the irrigated fields. Case Study Food and agriculture are considered the biggest water consumers, which require more than a hundred times of what people use for personal needs. The 70 % of the water taken from rivers as well as groundwater is all channelled to irrigation with 10% mainly used domestic applications and around 20% by industries (Cunningham & Cunningham, 2011). Presently, 3600 km3 of the Amazon basin is occupied by freshwater are mainly for human use, about half is consumed by evaporation, crop transpiration and incorporation into crops. The other half tends to recharge the groundwater and surface flows or at times is lost though unproductive evaporation. 90% of the total water withdrawn for household use goes back to rivers as wastewater. Industries consume around 5% of the water they withdraw, which necessitates the need for treatment of waste water from household sewage need to be treated before the water is dismissed (Cunningham & Cunningham, 2011). The global nutrition has significantly improved from 1960s by providing more food commodities at a lower price. The performance was achievable by high-yielding seeds, plant nutrition and irrigation. As the population increases every day, there is the need for production of more foodstuffs and livestock to be produced to cater for the population, thereby, more water used in crop production. Agricultural irrigation has claimed large quantities of water needed for agricultural production to feed the world (Bos, 2009). The major source of food for the world population is agriculture, which also entails fishery, livestock husbandry and forestry. Meals composition has changed people’s lifestyle gradually as what dictates agriculture production is consumer demand and consumer preferences changes, which have an influence in the amount of water needed for food production. Challenges faced in Amazon River Cereals are the major significant source of total food consumption especially in developing countries where cereals consumption 30 years ago was 61 percentage of the total calories. Lately, it has reduced to 56% nowadays, which reflects diversification of diets and proves that many countries have attained higher nutrition levels. It is anticipated that cereals can continue to supply more of the food that is consumed in the future. A big population of cereals produced is largely for animal feed. On the other hand, food production especially associated with the livestock sector is poultry, meat, beef, pork, poultry, eggs and daily production. Plants need adequate water for vegetative growth as well as development at the right time. At the same time, crops have specific water needs, which often fluctuate depending on the climatic conditions. Meat production needs more water in comparison to cereals. The total amount of water used in agriculture remains significant with most of it coming from rainfall (Bos, 2009). The calculation of a rough estimate for the global water needs in relation to food production is based on certain water requirements that ensure food production for each person. An average person requires 2800 kcal per day, which translates to 1000 m3 of water yearly to be used in food production. The entire world population amounts to 6 billion, which means water required in the production of food apart from water losses as a result of irrigation system being 6000 km3. Conversely, majority of it comes from rainfall found in the soil profile with 15% provided by irrigation. Conservation Alternatives Irrigation requires 900 km3 of water yearly for production of food. On average around 40% of the total water withdrawn comes from rivers and lakes for agriculture, which in fact contribute in crop production, while the rest get lost through deep infiltration or evaporation. Subsequently the existing global water withdrawals in relation to irrigation estimates are 2100 to 2500 km3 yearly (Grafton & Hussey, 2011). The level of irrigation varies from one region to the other depending on the irrigation infrastructure development and climatic conditions. Water management in relation to irrigation needs to adapt to the ever increasing food production requirements. Nevertheless, water-saving technologies, although, available can considerably reduce water wastage. Recommendations The introduction of incentives, which would see an increase of irrigation water price, will ensure farmers embrace irrigation technologies that save water thereby reducing wastage (Just & Netanyahu, 2008). The major technologies that are likely to be used in a majority of developing nations where labour is usually abundant, but limited capital are ether underground or drip irrigation. The two technologies mainly depend on the regular application of small water amounts directly crop roots. The usage of such methods reduces the amount of water used by farmers in their farms, industries as well as the urban areas, which would enable more water to be used for irrigation. Many benefits are associated with the usage of waste water for agriculture (Cohen, et al, 2004). Agriculture has remained the major water user worldwide particularly those countries found the arid and semi-arid areas of the world with the expected to deepen in the near future. Although, the contribution of using irrigation for food production is substantial, the growth rate will be lower in the future compared to the past. Irrigated as well as non-irrigated agriculture have the capacity for escalating productivity, including water productivity (Grafton & Hussey, 2011). Irrigated agriculture expansion has protected people from nutritional fringe arising from premature death, at the same time, preserved large amounts of land under a forest cover from being encroached by farmers. Farmers need to make use of irrigation methods, which conserve water such as Drip irrigation. The irrigation method applies small water amounts often to the soil area, which surround the roots of a plant directly underground. The application of water directly to plant roots minimizes and eliminates water evaporation and offers a uniform water application to all plants. At the same time, drip irrigation decrease plant stress, thereby, increasing the crop yield as a carefully managed water amount is applied, preventing deep percolation while reducing accumulation of salts. Since stable moisture level is maintained on the root zone there are less surface moisture in the plant rows resulting to reduction of weed growth. At the same time, there is minimization of water constant with the leaves, which makes condition less condusive for disease (Cohen,et al,2004). Drip systems as a method of irrigation reduces the operation and maintenance costs of the farm by energy savings and mechanization. The irrigation method is the only type of irrigation, which uses water economically. Conclusion Water conservation as suggested by many remains the adequate solution in fighting water deficient in many countries. Others feel water conservation is a partial solution in that both the past and current conservation methods have reached their realistic limits. As the world population increases across there is a rising demand for safe and dependable water sources to fulfil the expanding population needs. Farmers and rural communities seems mainly susceptible to the growing pressures to offer more water to cites at the expense of the amount of water supplied in the rural and farming communities. Agricultural water security aims to maintain sufficient water supplies fulfil the food of the increasing population. This means there is need for maximization of water efficiency usage by farmers and rural communities. Famine and the dependability of water supplies for farming and rural communities in the past have been associated with Western states. Nevertheless, issues related to agricultural water security seems to have gone beyond Western states and currently signify a national disaster. Water supplies for irrigated agriculture in a lot of areas are being used by the rising urban populations. Allocation of water resources shifts might have dramatic effects on the long-term food supply all over the world, therefore, necessitating a strategy to ensure water conservation and recycling to meet the needs of the population. References Bos, M. G. (2009). Water requirements for irrigation and the environment. Dordrecht?: Springer. Cohen, R., Nelson, B., Wolff, G., Natural Resources Defense Council., & Pacific Institute. (2004). Energy down the drain: The hidden costs of Californias water supply. New York, NY: Natural Resources Defense Council, Pacific Institute. Cunningham, W. P., & Cunningham, M. A. (2011). Principles of environmental science inquiry and applications (6th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.  Grafton, R. Q., & Hussey, K. (2011). Water resources planning and management. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Just, R. E., & Netanyahu, S. (2008). Conflict and Cooperation on Trans-Boundary Water Resources. Boston, MA: Springer US. Read More