60% of irrigated crops they face a high risk of water stresswhich compromises food safety. This means that a quarter of the world’s cultivated crops are at risk due to water scarcity.
This has been reported by the World Resources Institute, which has also warned of the problem caused by the lack of water around the world, a problem that is getting worse as the world heats up. In an analysis published this week, researchers from the organization based in Washington (USA) shed light “hazardous” crops such as sugarcane, rice, corn or wheat, etc.. Crops that are very important for the economy and food of the countries that produce them. Only ten countries grow 72% of these irrigated crops: China, India, United States, Pakistan, Brazil, Egypt, Mexico, Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand.
Global agricultural areas vulnerable to water stress / World Institute Resources
“Rice, wheat and corn, which provide energy for more than half of the world’s foodare particularly vulnerable: 33% of these three major crops are grown using highly stressed or highly variable irrigation systems,” the review’s authors write.
When the temperature is hot, the plants feel thirsty.
“This is a very serious issue, which we need to take seriously,” Samantha Kuzma, director of Global Water Data Products at WRI, tells EFEverde. Before you panic, Kuzma emphasizes that “water stress is something we can do, but it takes a lot of effort. Financial resources and infrastructure are essential. And, if we commit to it, then we will be able to better manage the resource. “
The authors show the “dangers” of crops such as sugarcane, rice, corn or wheat, etc.
But the problem is not there los water decrease due to weather problem -that too–, but that the types of agriculture based on irrigation use the available water too quickly and inappropriately, and destroy the underground reserves that, if preserved, could provide for future generations. Therefore, by depleting these water reserves, we compromise water and food for decades to come.
Proper plant care is essential to avoid accidents /Eph
And global warming adds fuel to the fire: “Agriculture is already the main cause of water stress, which accounts for 70% of global emissions.”. According to data from Aqueduct, the demand for water to irrigate crops is expected to increase by 16% between now and 2050, compared to 2019. Climate change is driving this. “When it’s too hot, the plants feel thirsty,” they wrote in the report.
Water safety
“Some countries are already struggling with the trade-off between food production and water security,” Kuzma recalls in the study, which was co-authored with researcher Liz Saccoccia.
“In India, about 270 million tonnes, or about 24% of the country’s total agricultural production, is grown in areas where they use more water than they can change naturally. The country has resorted to pumping unregulated groundwater and diverting its rivers, but this is not a long-term solution. Northern India is already losing up to 30 centimeters of groundwater per year due, among other things, to irrigation pumps. Groundwater depletion may triple by 2080, as temperatures continue to rise in India,” say experts.
Social and political implications
In addition to the health and economic consequences that the threat of water can bring, Kuzma also emphasizes the social and political consequences, and the potential conflicts that are not visible globally but, or especially, on land.
“The relationship between water wars and conflicts is very geographically dependent. Where we see these conflicts the most is in the areas where farmers meet herdsmen, in the areas where they fight for that water,” he says.
Delivery to Tajo-Segura, in Alicante /Eph
“We don’t see countries fighting for water on a large scale, but on a local level where people really need resources to earn a living and feed their families. IS When there isn’t enough wealth or there isn’t enough control over wealth, that’s when conflicts start“, says the expert.
dry farming
Rainfed crops, which represent 66% of the world’s crop, are also not safe.. This is especially dangerous due to the variability of the climate, which shows the WRI. “Globally, 8% of the world’s rainfed crops are grown in areas with high interannual variability of water, with extremes of rainfall between droughts and floods.”
Water, a dwindling resource /Eph
Growing in a highly stressful and highly variable environment means experiencing some degree of resistance to climate change, such as prolonged drought. “Although farmers are used to the variability of the water they can use, Increasing competition for water and climate change are pushing available resources to the limit. Therefore, crops in these areas pose a threat to food security,” the document summarizes.
Wasting food and eating meat
Reducing food waste, change your diet to a low-water diet (stop eating meat or, significantly reduces his drinking)and avoiding providing fossil fuel (gasoline) facilities is part of the list of solutions proposed by WRI experts to combat water scarcity. All of this, guided by water management and management policies, which should be guided by reliable data.
“Reducing food waste is a good way to reduce water stressbecause if you lose a few crops, then you don’t have to plant as much and thus reduce water use,” says Kuzma.
“But we also have to think that the types of food we are eating are very important for the water we use. So switching to more plant-based foods is another great way to reduce water stress. And it’s not because cows and pigs drink tons of water. It’s because feed crops, that is, the amount of land and water needed to grow the food“It’s very important that, if we can reduce our need for this type, we can reduce our need for water.”
Reference lesson: https://www.wri.org/insights/growing-water-risks-food-crops
