Just a few months ago, America became the victim of food fraud. All across TikTok, people were sharing videos of ‘rubbery’ bananas and hard-to-cut produce. According to CNBC, such types of fraud affect 1% of the food industry, leading to a USD 40 billion loss.
While this is a huge issue that we should discuss, there’s another that’s lurking and threatening to cripple America’s economy. Our agricultural sector contributed USD 1.530 trillion to the GDP last year. However, this industry faces a massive challenge that will affect its contribution in the coming years.
Unfortunately, our farmers don’t have enough clean water to irrigate their crops because of an increase in industrial pollution.
Nearly half of America’s water bodies are too polluted for use. If this continues, crops won’t grow, and your favorite breakfast fruits or vegetables won’t be on your table. Similarly, there will be a rise in the use of processed food, and the circulation of ‘fake’ produce will increase.
In this blog post, we’ll discuss how the clean water crisis can affect America’s agricultural sector.
Clean Water Crisis: The Bane of Our Existence
We all know that water covers 70% of our beautiful planet. As a result, we think that it’ll always be plentiful. However, that’s far from the truth. Clean water has now become incredibly rare.
But what do we mean by fresh water? It’s basically the water we irrigate our farms with, bathe in, and drink. The World Wildlife Fund states that the globe has only 3% of clean water—⅔ of which is unavailable for use.
Why do you think we are facing a water crisis all across the world? Take a look at a few reasons here:
- Climate change has led to drier areas.
- There’s a high demand for water with the rising population.
- Depletion of groundwater.
- Lack of proper water infrastructure.
- Water wastage and pollution.
According to Atoco, the plague of clean water scarcity can lead to immense ramifications and ripple effects on our resources. So, how do you solve this issue?
First, we’ll need to tackle the causes of climate change, as it’s the leading reason for the clean water crisis. Examples include deforestation, production of goods, and transportation, leading to high carbon emissions.
The United Nations also states that water quality is affected by climate change. For instance, higher temperatures and frequent flooding or droughts can exacerbate water pollution.
Industry leaders mention that the Water-Energy-Food Nexus approach is one of the ways we can address the depletion of natural resources to achieve environmental and economic goals.
4 Effects of the Fresh Water Crisis on Agriculture
Agriculture needs clean water to sustain crop growth through proper irrigation. It’s essential for maintaining soil moisture and hydrating plants. The right resources can also support optimal nutrient uptake among various crops.
That’s why industry leaders state that water scarcity is equivalent to less agricultural production, leading to food security and nutrition threats. There’ll be less food available, which means the prices for fresh produce will become high, and only the rich can afford it.
Moreover, clean water scarcity in agriculture can lead to the following effects:
- Decrease in crop yields: There can be limited irrigation, leading to reduced productivity and quality in the food supply.
- Economic strain: Clean water can cost more, which can cripple the economy as agriculture will need expensive investments.
- Shift in crop patterns: Farmers might switch to less water-intensive crops that can disrupt traditional agriculture.
- Livelihood threats: Many communities in America relying on agriculture will find fresh water shortages a disruption to their income and security.
Other than these, this issue can lead to environmental degradation. Over-extraction of water can also cause issues with the ecosystem and soil salinization, leading to long-term agricultural sustainability problems.
Atmospheric Water Harvesting: Can This Technology Solve the Fresh Water Crisis?
Kelly Suttles, a research analyst, voices her concerns about how agriculture in America needs to adapt to the intensifying patterns of water scarcity. She also stated that the agriculture industry has identified a few promising strategies to alleviate the water crisis. These could help ensure climate-smart agriculture in the future.
One such technology is atmospheric water harvesting. It can capture pure water and generate it right from the atmosphere. With this, the agricultural sector can add a supplementary water source for their irrigation purposes, especially during droughts.
On average, 77.9 million acres of major crops experienced drought in July 2024. Ideally, atmospheric water harvesting can provide a reliable and renewable water supply to reduce dependence on scarce sources. As a result, droughts or water shortages might not affect the industry.
MDPI reports that this technology has been applied in agriculture to help regulate the microclimates of boilers and greenhouses. Eventually, it can also help fight desertification and contribute to urban greenery.
Other technologies to reduce water scarcity include desalination systems, bioaugmentation, nanotechnology, solar-powered water filtration, and photocatalytic water purification. These innovations can surely help alleviate the issues with the clean water crisis in agriculture, leading to better crop yields.
To End With
Did you know that water scarcity can cost our economy USD 8.58 billion? That’s why we’re trying our best to leverage technology as a solution to this issue. Examples include bioaugmentation, desalination, water harvesting, etc.
According to the Environmental Defense Fund, we’re on the verge of adopting unique strategies to help our farmers adjust to the new era of the water crisis. You’ll soon see changes in the agricultural sector, like land and crop management, natural infrastructure approaches, new funding, etc.
With the right efforts and changes, America’s agricultural sector can surely deal with the challenges of water scarcity. Don’t you think?
