Area of Focus: Agricultural Water Conservation and Management

Created: Jan 05, 2007
Updated: May 31, 2007
Viewed: 149 times

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Agricultural Water Conservation and Management

On farms, soils can contain too much or too little water, or water of the wrong quality to produce the desired crops. Water also can cause erosion problems, leaching of nutrients and toxics, salinization, and can require huge inputs of energy to pump irrigation water from wells or distant rivers. Water conservation can help reduce costs as well as leave water for other users, including the natural environment. On-farm water conservation and management attempts good conservation and soil moisture practices.

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Tags/Keywords

pumps, energy input, windmills, groundwater, water table, waterlogged soils, drainage, wetland loss, tailwaters, water pollution, rill erosion, sheet erosion, gully erosion, dryland farming, irrigation, wilting point, consumptive use, return flows, leaching losses, evapotranspiration, drip irrigation, agriculture, farming, water and agriculture

Featured Resources

Australian Government's Community Water Grants Program offers grants to help local community organizations save, recycle or improve the health of their local water resources. Grants are available for projects related to: water saving and efficiency, recycling, and treatment
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Pricing Water This article from The Environment Times examines water pricing, particularly as it relates to irrigation water. Water-use charges, pollution charges, tradable permits for water withdrawals or release of specific pollutants, and fines are all market-based approach
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Featured Organizations

Arbolando which means planting trees, is a grassroots non-governmental organization working in the department of Tarija in southern Bolivia. Its mission is to reverse erosion and desertification
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Community Alliance with Family Farmers is building a movement of rural and urban people to foster family-scale agriculture that cares for the land, sustains local economies and promotes social justice. Through its "Farmscaping"
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Did You Know?

Drip irrigation delivers water directly to the plant through a system of plastic tubes with minimal water loss. Drip systems are often associated with the capital-intensive, commercial farms of more wealthy farmers, but these systems are unaffordable for smallholders and not available in sizes suitable for small plots. Since 1995, however, International Development Enterprises has been developing a variety of low-cost drip irrigation kits that operate under as little as 1 to 2 m of water pressure, can be customized, and can be used in the production of fruit, vegetables, maize, wheat, and cotton. Crops irrigated by drip systems show water savings of up to 50%, suppressed weed growth, and higher yields, resulting in saved labor and energy costs. See the WiserEarth page for IDE: Drip Irrigation, or visit the IDE website to learn more.

Quote

"It is our task in our time and in our generation to hand down undiminished to those who come after us, as was handed down to us by those who went before, the natural wealth and beauty which is ours.."

John F. Kennedy