There have been discussions on how industry is having a negative impact on agricultural water supply. This is based on misconception rather than facts. When it comes to water resource, there are only two pertinent questions: water quality and water availability, both relative to industry and agriculture. I will address each separately:
1. WATER QUALITY: Besides the presence of natural elements in water which determines its taste and health effects, pollution due to human activities (including animal farming) is the main source of water quality deterioration. The impact of human activities on water quality/pollution is divided to two categories: point-source and non-point source.
a. point source: In this case we know exactly the point from where the pollution comes. All industries fall in this category. Because we know the source and magnitude, the problem can be tackled through regulation, remediation and prevention measures, often all combined together. The government can play exclusive role when it comes to regulation. However, remediation and prevention can be carried out by either government or private sector or through partnership of both. Because industrial activities are profit-driven, there is a tendency for the involved industries not to invest capital needed to restore water quality to the same level it was before entering the industrial plants. This is where we need direct citizenship activism to keep both industry and government in line.
b. non-point source: In this case we do not know exactly where the pollution comes from; we only see the effects in the form of "fish kills", "algae growth" and "human and animal diseases". Because we do not know the source of pollution, it is not possible to control it through regulation, remediation or prevention. Agriculture and other human-life-style components fall under this category. Because we do not know "who is the culprit", we must "punish every one".
c. conclusion: So who is causing more pollution, agriculture or industry? It is without question agriculture and?other aspects of?human-nature interaction. But we go on blaming the industry. This anti-industry bias comes from the fact that it is easy to point the finger at some one else rather than at ourselves. This is the same mentality that gives rise to jealousy of the "have nots" against the "haves".
There is rarely an industrial technology which started in a developing country. In other words, industries spread to developing countries from developed countries. Those countries with high industrial economy are in fact "developed countries". In developed countries "industrial pollution" is not absent but highly controlled. It is only in developing countries where industrial pollution goes on unabated. Governments in developing countries are not vigorous in controlling/preventing industrial pollution because people in these countries cause more pollution through their own life style than industries do. Activists in these countries spend all their time in pointing finger at the industry instead of leading the people towards a "less polluted life style". Activism against industry and government is fanciful because it brings visibility and some times money. But activism to mend people's "life style" is "hard work without immediate benefits".
2. WATER AVAILABILITY.
a.Industry: Except for the "bottling" industry, there is no other industry which causes a net-shortage of water. That is because the water in these operations is used for "cleaning", "cooling" or "extraction/blending". In these operations, the amount of water taken is by an industrial plant is also given out, though in some cases in the form of steam and vapor. To avoid the cost involved in channeling the water, the involved industries either send it back to the same water stream (i.e. down stream) without a net water loss. In those cases where water is lost as steam or vapor, they can be easily sent back to the water stream through "chute condensation" technology. Thus, the claim that industry is taking water away from agriculture is based on misconception and some times due to factual errors.
b. Agriculture; This point is best clarified through example. Plant/animal water requirement is defined by a very simple equation: the water present in their body + the water lost from the body up to a given developmental stage. Let us assume that a crop plant weighs 100 grams and it took one month to reach that developmental stage. Because most living systems contain about 90% water, the 100 gram plant will contain 90 grams water (i.e. 90 mel water). This plant must have lost a given quantity of water (the amount of which we can easily measure experimentally) during the 30 days it has grown.?Let us assume that it has lost 100 ml water (which is certainly far fetched) every day, thus totaling 3 L in 30 days. Now, in an agriculture field, have we added only 3 L of plant during the month? If we monitor the actual situation, we will find that we have applied several times more water than the plant actually needed. Where did this water go? It certainly did not flow back tot he same water stream we took it from. Most of it evaporates, or percolates down and most certainly "flows down hill" randomly, especially in developing countries. Thus, unlike industry, the waste of agricultural water is not only not recoverable, but as said above, it carries unknown quantities of pollution with it.
c.Analysis: Based on the above, it is obvious that agriculture wastes more water than industry. But activists blame industry because it is easier to "blame" some one rather than to "train" some one on how to do agriculture with the "little amount of water" actually needed for agriculture.
There are several other aspects I have not even addressed. I cover these and other aspects of water resource management in my annual on-farm-workshop on "Eradicating poverty/hunger and attaining prosperity through Integrated Farming System, Soil-less Agriculture, Controlled Environment Agriculture and Eco-farming". To learn more about this workshop please visit IAFF web site at www.iaff1.org ,happy reading
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
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