Water Shortage Is Expected To Increase in More Than 80% Of Farmland Throughout the World This Century

The shortage of resources has a significant influence on food production.

Lacking water, people are unable to irrigate their crops and, as a result, are unable to feed the world's rapidly rising population.

According to a new study, agricultural water shortage is anticipated to worsen across more than 80% of the world's largest farmlands by 2050.

Water scarcity in agriculture

(Photo : ANTHONY WALLACE/AFP via Getty Images)

The new report analyses present and future water needs for agricultural production and estimates whether existing water levels, whether from rainwater or irrigation, will be sufficient to satisfy those demands in the face of climate change.

To do this, the researchers created a new index to evaluate and anticipate water shortage in agriculture's two key sources: rain-fed soil water and irrigation from rivers, lakes, and groundwater, as per ScienceDaily.

It is the first research to use this comprehensive index on a global scale to anticipate global blue and green water shortages as a result of climate change.

Agricultural production, as the greatest consumer of both blue and green water resources, is facing unprecedented problems, according to Xingcai Liu, an associate professor at the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research and the study's primary author.

This index allows for a uniform evaluation of agricultural shortage of water in both irrigated and rainfed croplands.

The percentage of precipitation that is readily available for the plant in the soil is referred to as green water.

The bulk of the precipitation is converted to green water, which is typically disregarded since it is invisible in the soil and cannot be retrieved for other purposes.

The quantity of green water available for crops is determined by the amount of rainfall received in a region and the amount of water lost due to runoff and evaporation.

Farming techniques, plant cover, soil type, and slope of the terrain can all have an impact.

As temperature changes and rainfall patterns fluctuate as a result of climate change, and agricultural techniques intensify to meet the requirements of a rising population, the amount of green water available to crops is expected to change.

Also Read: How is Climate Change Impacting Agriculture Commodity Prices?

Rural-Urban divide

According to International Water Management Institute, agriculture, which accounts for over 70% of worldwide water outflows, is continually contending for a limited supply of water for household, commercial, and environmental uses.

Many people have sought to develop more efficient water monitoring systems in an attempt to solve this ever-growing challenge.

Access to clean water is essential for alleviating hunger in Africa.

It may appear straightforward, but we forget that food is tough to cultivate and considerably more difficult to keep and cook without access to a constant source of water.

Food production needs massive volumes of water. Consider this: worldwide, we utilize 70% of our water supplies for agriculture and irrigation, while just 10% is used for home purposes.

People in Sub-Saharan Africa are twice as likely as those in rural regions to have access to clean, safe water.

Sanitation is another area where we find the urban-rural gap. While rural communities frequently have limited access to sanitary services, the situation in Sub-Saharan Africa is dire.

Only 24% of the rural population and 44% of the urban population have access to sanitary services. This indicates that in Sub-Saharan Africa, less than one in every three persons has access to a proper toilet.

Related article: Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Emissions Must Be Reduced According to Scientists