World Water Day brings Message of Conservation & Plant Science Contributions from CropLife Asia
22 Marzo 2017 - 6:00AM
JCN Newswire (English)
SINGAPORE, Mar 22, 2017 - (ACN Newswire) - As the world marks World
Water Day, CropLife Asia took the opportunity to encourage greater
awareness around the diminishing availability of this precious
resource and highlighted the critical role that plant science
technology plays in promoting greater water conservation in
agriculture use.
Projections have the global population eclipsing nine billion
inhabitants by the year 2050, and Asia alone likely to have one
billion more people calling it home by then. With the population
growing, so too is the demand for food. According to the Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, growers
around the world will need to produce as much as 70% more food than
today to meet the expected needs of our population in 2050.
Meanwhile, agriculture already accounts for a staggering 70% of
global water use - with the World Water Council reporting that 17%
more water will be needed than is available to feed the growing
population just by 2020.
To illustrate the importance of water use in agriculture, it's
estimated that producing 1 kilogram of rice alone requires 3,400
liters of water. World rice fields consume more than 1.3 billion
cubic meters of water annually, which is 21% of the global water
use for crop production.
Presently, half a billion people live in countries chronically
short of water. By 2050, that number will be more than four
billion.
"The scarcity of water in our world is rapidly becoming a critical
issue - and the amount of this precious resource required to feed a
growing planet can't be ignored," said Dr. Siang Hee Tan, Executive
Director of CropLife Asia. "Improving agriculture's efficiency with
water use is an absolute necessity. The innovations of plant
science technology are making a difference and enabling farmers in
Asia to grow more with less - but the ultimate solution needs to be
a diverse and shared one, and there's much work left to be
done."
Through an increasing number of advancements, the plant science
technologies of crop protection and plant biotechnology are better
enabling farmers around the world to engage in water use
efficiency.
In particular, by reducing weeds' use of moisture, herbicides are
helping farmers produce higher yields with the same amount of
water. Another specific benefit supported by crop protection is the
water conversation it promotes by helping reduce the need for
tillage. No-tillage farm techniques, where the soil remains
undisturbed, aids water conservation by retaining moisture in the
soil. Research has shown that no-till weed control with herbicides
increases soil moisture by 25% and production by 16%.
Meanwhile, new plant biotech traits are being added to crops such
as corn, rice and cotton that will enable crops to use less water
and even improve productivity under periods of drought. For
example, drought-tolerant corn in Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to
provide yield increases of 20-50% under moderate drought
conditions, translating into the potential production of 2 million
more tons of food.
About CropLife Asia
CropLife Asia is a non-profit society and the regional organization
of CropLife International, the voice of the global plant science
industry. We advocate a safe, secure food supply, and our vision is
food security enabled by innovative agriculture. CropLife Asia
supports the work of 15 member associations across the continent
and is led by eight member companies at the forefront of crop
protection, seeds and/or biotechnology research and development.
For more information, visit us at www.croplifeasia.org.
Source: CropLife Asia
Contact:
Duke Hipp
Director, Public Affairs
CropLife Asia
Tel: +65 6221 1615
duke.hipp@croplifeasia.org
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