The world food problem is increasing, but what is actually the underlying problem? After all, there is still space available that can be used for agriculture and current agriculture is certainly not at its most productive everywhere. The problem is water. In many areas of the world there is too little water available. Too little drinking water, but also too little irrigation water. This is despite the fact that crops are grown and animals are kept that require a lot of water.
Irrigation on agriculture
Worldwide, 20% of agricultural land is irrigated. This means that 80 percent is still dependent on precipitation. Comparatively, little agriculture appears to be irrigated. However, irrigated areas are a lot more productive, 2 to 5 times as productive. In this way, irrigated agriculture is responsible for 40% of world food production. This means that without irrigation almost a quarter of food production would disappear. It also means that by irrigating more, crop yields can theoretically double. There is of course always a problem with this, because in places where little water is available, installing an irrigation network is extremely expensive, with a very low return.
Why not irrigate more?
More irrigation seems to be a solution. More can be produced, so more food is available. Unfortunately, it is not that easy. Building irrigation networks is expensive, especially if the water has to come from far away. Food prices will fall if more is produced, which will not benefit many parties.
Social problems also play a role. Unforeseen problems related to corruption occur in several projects. People can earn a lot more if they get more water , so they try to get more irrigation water through bribery, threats or destroying distribution systems. This seems antisocial, but for some it means that children can go to school and money for medicines becomes available. At such a time, few people think of a family a hundred kilometers away that also wants to irrigate their land.
How much water is used?
Water consumption depends greatly on what is grown or kept. Beef requires a lot of water, as much as 15 M3 of water per kilo of yield. This corresponds to 15,000 litres! Rice requires approximately 3 m3 per kilo, although there are major differences in the different forms of rice cultivation. Citrus fruits can be very dry, 1 m3 of water is enough for one kilo of yield.
|
Product |
Water consumption in m3 (1000 litres) per kilo of yield |
|
Beef |
15 |
|
Lamb |
10 |
|
Poultry |
6 |
|
Rice |
3 |
|
Grain |
1.5 |
|
Citrus fruits |
1 |
How come animals use so much water?
Most animals are slaughtered at a young age. So they don’t drink that much, because they don’t live that long. However, the animals eat a lot in their lives. This also costs water. When animals are fed with residual products, as is the case in many poor areas, water consumption is significantly lower. The products would otherwise be thrown away and therefore cannot be regarded as water consumption.
Salinization
A major problem affecting agriculture is salinization. The soil is becoming increasingly salty and people are growing on increasingly salty soils. Plants usually do not cope well with this. More water is needed to counter the effects of salinization, which is a major problem in many areas.
Use seawater?
The oceans are full of water. Why not use that? Removing salt from water is expensive. The higher yield does not outweigh the costs of desalinating water. Yet there are several opportunities here. By creating simple solar-powered systems, water may be able to be desalinated more cheaply and efficiently. Simple, so that users can repair them themselves if something goes wrong, and solar energy so that they are not dependent on the power supply.
In the Netherlands and Belgium
The Netherlands and Belgium are relatively wet countries. More precipitation falls in a year than evaporates, and the inflow comes from various rivers. The water table in many areas is high enough to provide moisture to the plants. However, it is also becoming increasingly dry here in longer periods. The harvests are poor due to too little water. So there is a demand for more irrigation options. However, even in wet countries this is a problem. Water in the ditches comes from the rivers or flows to the rivers and is needed for shipping. Pumping up groundwater lowers the groundwater level, which in turn leads to more drought. In addition, in low-lying areas the ground can subside when it becomes too dry, causing enormous damage to houses and other buildings. Many farmers would like to be able to retain water for longer, but in the event of flooding this can be disastrous, as there is more water.
The problem of too little water is therefore not only far from home, but also much closer. The problems are very complex. Every solution creates new problems for a different party.