Modern Irrigation
In the year 2000, the total amount of fertile land was 689 million acres, and this was equipped with irrigation infrastructure worldwide. The largest areas of high irrigation density are found in Asia, the Americas, and Europe. By 2012, the recorded area of irrigated land had increased to approximately 801 million acres. This is roughly the size of India.
Irrigation Advantages
Irrigation has provided civilizations across the world with an abundance of crop assistance. Not only does irrigation help increase food production, but it can also protect against drought and increase your overall revenue.
Here’s how:
- Protection from droughts: Adequate water facilities in your region helps protect your farm from crop failure, famine, and drought.
- Increased production of food: Irrigation provides an increase in crop yield, which means an increase in food production as well.
- Mixed cropping: Irrigation allows two or more crops to be grown together in the same area. For instance, if weather conditions are favorable for one crop but not another, you can use irrigation to fill any gaps.
- Revenue increase: When there is a regular supply of water assured, farmers have the ability to grow higher-priced crops in place of lower-priced or lower quality crops. This results in increased revenue with very little effort on the farmer’s part.
Water is an Invaluable Resource
Until the 1960s, most cultures treated water as an infinite resource. Keep in mind that there were fewer than half of the number of people on the planet then than today. Not only was the population smaller, but at this time most cultures ate less meat and consumed fewer calories. As a result, there was a significantly lower water requirement for producing an adequate amount of food. In the 60s, they used only a third of the volume of water we take from rivers today.
Today, there is intense competition for water resources. There are over seven billion people sharing finite resources, with an ever-increasing consumption of vegetables and meat. Likewise, there is an increased water demand due to urbanization, industry, and biofuel crops.
Thankfully, we can avoid a global water crisis through more efficient use of water. Farmers can use irrigation to increase productivity without expending more money and energy. This enables farms to meet ever-growing demands for food, while cities find ways to recycle water and use their resources more efficiently.
Successful agriculture is reliant on farmers having sufficient access to large water supplies. Irrigation ponds work to solve a number of economic and engineering problems while simultaneously minimizing negative environmental impact. A great way to ensure that your irrigation pond is as safe as possible is through the installation of a puncture-resistant, flexible liner like AquaArmor. This ensures that water doesn’t leak out of your pond, allowing you to make the most of the water readily available to you.
