impact of climate change on food - irrigation and the wests obsession with trying to improve it
Impact of crops on water
resources – irrigation and the wests obsession with trying to improve it
As per SDG 6, Food must be readily available to all. Within Sub Saharan Africa agricultural irrigation accounts for 70% of all groundwater usage, and as mentioned in the precious blog with population rising exponentially and rainfall forecast to become less predictable this figure is only likely to rise. Across the broader African continent, the agricultural industry employs 65% of and accounts for 32% of the continent’s overall GDP. In addition to the reduced rainfall there will also be reduced soil moisture (Taylor 2019), therefore there needs to not only be greater levels of irrigation but also of innovation. Over the years, Western scientists have attempted to intervene and improve the system employed by African subsistence farmers, however as Ayittey suggested, "African solutions [are perhaps better at solving] African problems", what Western civilisation so readily overlooks is the way that local indigenous people have survived in such hostile environments for so long. All methods of farming have been practiced and revolutionisde throughout different generations (Nyong et al, 2007)
In SubSaharan Africa roughly 70% of the population are subsistence farmers that utilise only the amount of water that they regard as the bare minimum, however, with reduced soil moisture there will be a large increase in the amount of water required for these farms to produce the quantities of food required. The loss of soil moisture has been attributed to a 30-40% decrease in crop yields which is a potentially catastrophic amount. Nyong et al, 2007). Across the region agricultural performance has improved since the beginning of the century but the rate of growth is not sufficent to satisfythe increasing demand. Although irrigation is the main use of groundwater, only 3.3% of arable land on the continent is actually irrigated, this shows that very crop yields could be improved just through utilising irrigation better.
As per SDG 6, Food must be readily available to all. Within Sub Saharan Africa agricultural irrigation accounts for 70% of all groundwater usage, and as mentioned in the precious blog with population rising exponentially and rainfall forecast to become less predictable this figure is only likely to rise. Across the broader African continent, the agricultural industry employs 65% of and accounts for 32% of the continent’s overall GDP. In addition to the reduced rainfall there will also be reduced soil moisture (Taylor 2019), therefore there needs to not only be greater levels of irrigation but also of innovation. Over the years, Western scientists have attempted to intervene and improve the system employed by African subsistence farmers, however as Ayittey suggested, "African solutions [are perhaps better at solving] African problems", what Western civilisation so readily overlooks is the way that local indigenous people have survived in such hostile environments for so long. All methods of farming have been practiced and revolutionisde throughout different generations (Nyong et al, 2007)
In SubSaharan Africa roughly 70% of the population are subsistence farmers that utilise only the amount of water that they regard as the bare minimum, however, with reduced soil moisture there will be a large increase in the amount of water required for these farms to produce the quantities of food required. The loss of soil moisture has been attributed to a 30-40% decrease in crop yields which is a potentially catastrophic amount. Nyong et al, 2007). Across the region agricultural performance has improved since the beginning of the century but the rate of growth is not sufficent to satisfythe increasing demand. Although irrigation is the main use of groundwater, only 3.3% of arable land on the continent is actually irrigated, this shows that very crop yields could be improved just through utilising irrigation better.
However, it is not all bad
news as with most cases – crisis is a great driver for technological
innovation. Using a combination of indigenous and scientific knowledge a subsurface alternative known as SWRT has been developed, groups such as GroFutures are collating scientific research that draws upon indigenous knowledge to help ensure effectiveness. This technology is projected to increase maize yields by up to 50%, the membrane effectively doubles the soil water holding capacity in sandy soils which is immensely useful when soil moisture is extremely low.
This membrane is alleged to have conserved"100 gallons of irrigation water per acre
during one season (Holland).
As well as the impact of reduced water in Sub Saharan Africa there is also the forecasted 2 degree celcius temperature rise for farmers to contend with, this temperature rise has been shown (in Egypt) to reduce some crop yields by around 15% - this is a country where water is plentiful and although not the richest of countries, it is most certainly better off than the Sub Saharan Countries. At present the only alternatives to accepting the 15% loss of yield are to grow different crops that are less suceptible to being adversely affected by temperature change.
As well as the impact of reduced water in Sub Saharan Africa there is also the forecasted 2 degree celcius temperature rise for farmers to contend with, this temperature rise has been shown (in Egypt) to reduce some crop yields by around 15% - this is a country where water is plentiful and although not the richest of countries, it is most certainly better off than the Sub Saharan Countries. At present the only alternatives to accepting the 15% loss of yield are to grow different crops that are less suceptible to being adversely affected by temperature change.
Nyong et
al, 2007 argued that in order for climate mitigation strategies to
work it is imperative that ‘bottom up’ participatory practices are utilized in
order to engage the highest level of participation at a local level – basically,
it has to be something that the local indigenous population can readily get
behind. They also argued that as the local communities have managed to
implement their own climate mitigation strategies in the past, they should be
involved in the ‘development process….to build on what already exists’ thereby
allowing existing practices to be strengthened.
So, to sum up:
- irrigation accounts for 70% of
groundwater usage currently; reduced ground water leads to a 30-40% decrease in
crop yield; utilising indigenous knowledge is essential for creating effective strategies to mitigate the effects of climate chang.
Thats enough till next time.
Thats enough till next time.
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