Humans use most of the water worldwide in agricultural activities such as irrigation. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS) around 70% of the total available freshwater to humans is used for irrigation. However, it is essential to use water for irrigation to have continuous supply of food in the world.
Out of 100% water available worldwide only 2.8% is freshwater and not all freshwater is accessible to humans. Humans can access only 0.5% of the total freshwater. Out of which 70% is used in agriculture for carrying out irrigation activities.
That’s why we should focus on increasing water use efficiency and reducing water waste in agriculture for a sustainable future. Farmers can adopt partial root-zone irrigation or drip irrigation methods to save water as well as get optimum yield. Using drip irrigation can help to save up to 90% more water than traditional irrigation methods.
Water Used In Agriculture To Produce A Kilogram Of Crops
| Serial Number | Crop (1 Kilogram) | Water Used (Liters) |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Rice | 2500 |
| 2. | Wheat | 1500 |
| 3. | Maize | 900 |
| 4. | Barley | 300-700 |
| 5. | Sugarcane | 2500 |
| 6. | Millet | 650-1200 |
| 7. | Cotton | 10,000-20,000 |
| 8. | Avocado | 834 |
| 9. | Apple | 822 |
| 10. | Mango | 686 |
| 11. | Plum | 305 |
| 12. | Cabbage | 236 |
| 13. | Tomato | 214 |
From this table you can understand that water usage to produce a Kilogram of produce is immense. But we can not avoid this water usage as it is essential for food production in the world. However, we can always look for methods that can help to increase the efficiency.
But, after agriculture people use most of the water in industrial activities. Among industries, the garment and textiles is the most water intensive sector, for producing a pair of jeans around 7600 liters water is used.
We humans also use water for our day to day use such as bathing, cleaning, drinking, cooking, etc. We use around 24% of the total household water in toilet. However, this does not need to be universal as it can vary in various places. After toilet we use around 20% of the household water in bathroom followed by faucet, washing machine, dish washing, etc.
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