Agriculture must economize water

The water economy in agriculture is possible both through alternative irrigation methods and through the reuse and control of the use of water resources.

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Agriculture is the socio-economic activity that uses more water in the world, with a total of 70% on average of all the water consumed on the planet. At the same time, it is the activity that wastes the most water.

How to reduce water consumption in agriculture without reducing its productivity?

It is important to think that agriculture is necessary for society, since it is from it that a good part of food is produced and also the majority of primary products. In this sense, the ideal is to maintain this activity in a perspective that guarantees the sustainability not only of water resources, but of the elements of nature in general. The main strategy, in this sense, is the realization of types of irrigation that save water, decreasing the amount of water resources that are not used in the productive process of the field.

One of the water saving techniques in agriculture is the best known drip irrigation, in which the controlled use of water provides a better use of the available water resources, the reduction of waste and savings of reserves. The principle of this method is to use a minimum amount of water that, as its name suggests, is poured on the ground in the form of drops in a regulated and economical manner.

In the drip system, some small pipes or hoses are projected with holes along their extensions that are called drippers. The flow and flow of water are controlled, they are directed directly to the soil and the cultivated vegetable and the levels of extravasation and loss by evaporation are reduced, since the least part of the water is available on the surface.

With regard to traditional irrigation systems, dripping produces an economy of up to 50% of water, which leads us to conclude that, if this system is disseminated in rural areas, a good part of the water resources will be preserved and used to other purposes, including domestic and commercial use.

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Another irrigation method that saves water is a micro sprinkler. This system is constituted by the installation of small sprinklers responsible for water distribution. In this case, as they are closer to the soil than the normal one used in agriculture, the loss from evaporation is less, although less efficient than the drip.

In some cases, especially in large crops and extensive latifundia, the two methods presented are not widely used due to the infeasibility of application in large tracts of land. However, it is possible to save water through the acquisition of equipment that controls irrigation levels, adapting and controlling the flow of water according to the needs of the soil and the plantations themselves, depending on the climatic conditions.

If rural properties do not have technologies for controlling the use of water, other forms can also be used, such as the use of rainwater (although the increase of some mineral salts is necessary), the preservation of soils to avoid degradation of water courses in nearby areas, among other examples. To a greater or lesser degree, all producers have conditions to save water.