The Shocking Facts About Your Water Footprint By Stephen Leahy

Summary of Article:

With a steady increase in world population, stress surrounding usable water availability rises. As a result of this concern, exploration of drip irrigation and its effects on land and water productivity has emerged. Drip irrigation targets the roots of the crop and provides water directly to the source of uptake. Expansion of drip irrigation to rice crop is the next stage in converting all irrigation to the micro system. Growth in accessibility to supply and lessening costs are main factors to the worldwide movement toward the new system.

What is Drip Irrigation?

Drip irrigation is a controlled method of irrigation that exposes the roots to a direct supply of water. Contrary to this way of irrigation, surface irrigation

Brian Clark Howard, April 9, 2015. National Geographic Interviews Stephen Leahy About Your Water Footprint. [online] Available at: < http://yourwaterfootprint.me/2015/04/10/national-geographic-interviews-stephen-leahy-about-your-water-footprint > [Accessed 9 November 2016].

National Geographic interviewed Stephen Leahy, author of the recent book Your Water Footprint: The Shocking Facts About How Much Water We Use to Make Everyday Products. In the article it becomes apparent that water usage is required for pretty well everything, for example even a flat screen television requires water for production; “requiring tens of thousands of gallons for each one.” Overall the message created by his repetitive mention of our water footprint is to encourage awareness that we must begin to think about effectively and efficiently using the global supply. Later in the article, Leahy answers the question of what people can do to help reduce water scarcity, he endorses Drip Irrigation as the best way to irrigate (lower water loss and high productivity); “If you can grow crops that can be rain fed, that don’t require irrigation, that’s great. If it requires adding water, Drip Irrigation is far more efficient than flood

The article mentions that smallholder farmers who purchase micro-irrigation see an increase in their production in comparison to those who failed to purchase the equipment. The article further explores establishing affordable well-digging services, rope and pump manufacturers and supplying a loan system that farmers could take advantage of. Established microcredit services were said to have, “369 customers who had received loans. 258 customers (including 23 women) used their loan to purchase micro-irrigation equipment.” Farmers see the advantage in a Drip Irrigation system. It becomes a matter of making it affordable and accessible to populations in China and India who are the world’s top two