Tons per litre
Research underway in Africa is looking at how to effectively use techniques to save water and boost harvests.
Agriculture is the largest consumer of water; accounting for over 70% of the world's freshwater diversion. However, only a part of this agricultural water diverted is effectively used in the production of food or other agricultural commodities and the remaining does not reach the crop/plants because of losses through soil evaporation or infiltration through cracks, root channels, and/or used by weeds. With increasing variation in rainfall distribution resulting from climate change and variability, water allocation for agriculture is facing increasing competition from non-agricultural users.
The main challenge confronting water management in agriculture is to improve water use efficiency and its sustainable use. This can be achieved through (i) an increase in crop water productivity (an increased in marketable crop yield per unit of water transpired) through irrigation, (ii) a decrease in water losses through soil evaporation that could otherwise be used by plants for their growth, and (iii) an increase in soil water storage within the plant rooting zone through better soil and water management practices.
The Soil and Water Management and Crop Nutrition Subprogramme of the IAEA is currently working with many member states to improve agricultural water management through both coordinated research projects and technical cooperation projects. Using isotopic and nuclear techniques, constraints to water use efficiency were identified and appropriate land and irrigation management practices were put in place to enhance more crops per drop of water and improve soil water storage.
For example, in Libya, with proper fertigation management identified through nuclear techniques resulted in tremendous savings of water and fertiliser and reduced the environmental impact of irrigation and fertiliser application. Fertigation which is the application of fertiliser through a drip irrigation system and is an efficient way of controlling water and nutrients in the root-zone helped to increase yield of the potato tuber by more than 150%, and reduced the water and nitrogen (N) fertiliser use by more than 50%. Additional benefits include savings on chemical and labour with increased income for farmers. With support through IAEA's technical cooperation, drip irrigation and fertigation is becoming a well-adapted water management practice on light -textured soils of the coastal belt in Libya. The Biotechnology Research Centre in Tripoli carried out a series of drip fertigation for potato production.
Kenya is one of the 18 African countries participating in a new regional irrigation project to introduce and pilot-test appropriate small scale irrigation technologies (SSITs) with the aim of developing irrigation systems for small-scale farmers for increasing yield and quality of high value crops, and to improve their income and livelihoods.
IAEA.ORG
The main challenge confronting water management in agriculture is to improve water use efficiency and its sustainable use. This can be achieved through (i) an increase in crop water productivity (an increased in marketable crop yield per unit of water transpired) through irrigation, (ii) a decrease in water losses through soil evaporation that could otherwise be used by plants for their growth, and (iii) an increase in soil water storage within the plant rooting zone through better soil and water management practices.
The Soil and Water Management and Crop Nutrition Subprogramme of the IAEA is currently working with many member states to improve agricultural water management through both coordinated research projects and technical cooperation projects. Using isotopic and nuclear techniques, constraints to water use efficiency were identified and appropriate land and irrigation management practices were put in place to enhance more crops per drop of water and improve soil water storage.
For example, in Libya, with proper fertigation management identified through nuclear techniques resulted in tremendous savings of water and fertiliser and reduced the environmental impact of irrigation and fertiliser application. Fertigation which is the application of fertiliser through a drip irrigation system and is an efficient way of controlling water and nutrients in the root-zone helped to increase yield of the potato tuber by more than 150%, and reduced the water and nitrogen (N) fertiliser use by more than 50%. Additional benefits include savings on chemical and labour with increased income for farmers. With support through IAEA's technical cooperation, drip irrigation and fertigation is becoming a well-adapted water management practice on light -textured soils of the coastal belt in Libya. The Biotechnology Research Centre in Tripoli carried out a series of drip fertigation for potato production.
Kenya is one of the 18 African countries participating in a new regional irrigation project to introduce and pilot-test appropriate small scale irrigation technologies (SSITs) with the aim of developing irrigation systems for small-scale farmers for increasing yield and quality of high value crops, and to improve their income and livelihoods.
IAEA.ORG
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