In his ‘From the Desk of the President’ letter of 7 October 2019, President Cyril Ramaphosa wrote: “Unless we take drastic measures to conserve water sources and promote efficient use, water insecurity will become the biggest developmental and economic challenge facing this country. Our current energy challenges will seem small by comparison.”
We are all aware how great South Africa’s energy challenges are, so these words put the water situation into perspective. The need for regulated water efficiency measures cannot be overstated.
According to the 2019 Master Plan of the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), if water-use demand in the country continues to grow at current levels, by 2030 demand could exceed supply (from available surface water and groundwater) by about 17%. This is likely to bring water-efficiency measures sharply into focus, particularly in the agriculture sector, the country’s largest water user at 61% of total consumption.
INCREASING EFFICIENCY
Agricultural water use is often highly inefficient. Only a fraction of the water applied is used for plant growth; large volumes are lost through drainage and evaporation. However, efficiency gains are often possible through suitable crop selection, soil enhancement measures, effective irrigation scheduling, effective irrigation techniques, and using alternative sources of water for irrigation.
This story is from the February 21, 2020 edition of Farmer's Weekly.
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This story is from the February 21, 2020 edition of Farmer's Weekly.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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