What is the importance of water conservation in Maharashtra?

What is the importance of water conservation in Maharashtra?

Water is the basis for all life on earth. Right from providing nourishment to living beings to supporting cultivation, water is important for the survival of man on earth. We all know that 75% of earth is covered with water but only 2% is freshwater. Agriculture actually consumes 70% of the freshwater supply all over the world! When the population increases the demand for food also rises giving way to water scarcity.

Many experts today predict that in the near future the shortfall between water supply and water usage could rise as high as 40%. In such cases, there will be a serious imbalance in society leading to an unsustainable situation. If we have to address this issue we need to come up with innovative solutions to conserve water and overcome the deficit. Below are some points that state the importance of water conservation in Maharashtra.

Make each drop count If we look at the agricultural industry in India, a very good beginning point would be to sit and re-evaluate the traditional practices of irrigation. Usually, flooding is a basic technique that is being used as an irrigation technique for most of the farmlands. Flooding utilizes 40% of water at a time leading to a case of high consumption. We need to have a smart irrigation technique that limits the supply and reduces the farmer’s dependence on the Monsoon season.

Modern day techniques that are also digitally enabled like drip irrigation, provide proper application of micronutrients, fertilizers and water. It also provides crop protection by enabling a direct water intake by plants with minimum wastage. These modern day irrigation techniques provide 95% usage of water and

minimum wastage. It also helps to reduce the water use by alsmost 60% which again provides effective water management better than the water sprinklers that are not able to get to the root of the plant.

In the drip irrigation method the soil humidity sensors can provide correct information about the amount of water required in the lifecycle of the plant and thus the water application is almost an automatic process.

This kind of irrigation set-up actually lessens the workload of farmers and it also creates a healthy balance of the use of energy resources while providing high-yield of the crops. If they start using drones for spraying the plant with protection chemicals this will literally be a game-changer as it will provide economic savings for the farmers and water security for Maharashtra.

Building capacity for the adoption of technology by smallholders Now there are many modern agricultural technologies in India and many more are underway. All we need to do is to double up the efforts about capacity building and knowledge transfer to the small farmers in India. These are farmers owning less than two hectares of land but are the producers of more than 80% of food in India. These farmers still do not have any access to modern technological practices. The biggest example of existing technology that will significantly help in conserving water are the use of hybrid seeds. But we also must make sure of the fact that small farmers have proper access to these hybrid seeds. Usually, the traditional farming techniques utilize 3000 to 5000 liters of water for irrigating 1 kilo of rice but if we use hybrid short duration rice seed then we get higher yields utilizing less quantity of water.

These seeds also come with drought tolerance and other pests related diseases.

If we need to save water then crop cultivation must be decided according to the situation of land, weather and other conditions. For instance, rice farming is usually carried out in states that experience more rain and have better availability of water.

Another better way for the improvement of the efficiency of water is by rotating the crops with each season. To plant water efficient plants like pulses, corn, millets, vegetables and fruits etc. this is where the government led training and support comes off great help, this training provides a proper push for using crop diversification and water security in Maharashtra.

Providing incentives for water conservation These days Indian farmers in prosperous states have already started acquiring the modern irrigation systems under the government schemes. The only repercussion of this is using hardcore ground water irrigation technology that in future degrades the soild quality. The real need of today is to be efficient and design incentives and training for farmers which integrates proper crop management goals that will help small farmers in understanding the short-term and long term farming goals. Goals that include importance of water conservation in Maharashtra and also which helps in doubling farmer's income.

NGOs Help In Water Conservation Water conservation is not just a work of government in India. There are many NGOs working towards the development of a comprehensive water conservation program for rural development for decades. This work actually also includes adapting to climate, water management and irrigation systems development among others.

WOTR understands that since time immemorial the unsustainable use of water and land has adversely affected the ecology of our land. Intensive agriculture, deforestation, overgrazing of land, and overuse of groundwater. Today these are some of the pressing issues that lead to migration under distress and loss of ecology of land. As a part of their initiative for water conservation WOTR has initiated various projects across Maharashtra which includes building water harvesting structures so that there are better sanitation and drinking water facilities available for the rural areas and construction of check dams.

In the end, we need to understand the basic theory that water on earth is limited and also unevenly distributed. When we talk about conservation of water we are not only talking about saving it but also mean that this water is saved enough for the future requirements. It has been centuries since man has exploited mother earth, now is the time to pay back and save as much as we can for our future generations. Meticulous use of water and extra efforts for conservation is considered important to overcome the shortage and provide water security in Maharashtra.