Irrigation accounts for a majority of the freshwater used worldwide and the expected doubling of food requirements by 2050 will result in significant increases in freshwater withdrawals. This week we share 15 interesting facts about farm irrigation that you might not know.
“Irrigation accounts for the largest use of groundwater in the United States. Some 53.5 billion gallons of groundwater are used daily for agricultural irrigation from 407,923 wells.”
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“More than 90 percent of the groundwater pumped from the Ogallala, the nation’s largest aquifer underlying some 250,000 square miles stretching from Texas to South Dakota, is used for agricultural irrigation. Representing about one-third of all U.S. irrigated agriculture, it creates about $20 billion annually in food and fiber.”
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“Withdrawals for irrigation increased by more than 68 percent from 1950 to 1980 (from 89,000 to 150,000 Mgal/d). Withdrawals have decreased since 1980 and have stabilized at between 134,000 and 137,000 Mgal/d between 1985 and 2000, and 128,000 in 2005.”
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“Five States—California, Nebraska, Texas, Arkansas, and Idaho—accounted for 52 percent of total irrigated acreage.” (2005)
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The world’s irrigated area expanded from almost 250m acres in 1950 to roughly 700m acres in 2000 (nearly tripling) but has increased just 10% from 2000 to 2010.
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80% of Washington water withdrawals are for agriculture (1.8 million irrigated acres).
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“In India, approximately one-fifth of the nation’s total electricity consumption goes toward pumping groundwater for irrigation.”
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“While only 20% of the world’s farmland is irrigated, it produces 40% of our food supply.”
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India uses 90% of its freshwater withdrawals for agriculture while China uses 65% of its freshwater withdrawals for agriculture.
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“Globally, agriculture water withdrawals (2,703 km3/yr) account for more than double the combined withdrawals for municipal and industrial use (468 km3/yr and 731 km3/yr, respectively).”
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“Globally, roughly 15-35% of irrigation withdrawals are estimated to be unsustainable.”
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“In England where rain is abundant year round, water used for agriculture accounts for less than 1% of human usage.”
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“Agriculture wastes 60% or 1,500 trillion liters, of the 2,500 trillion liters of water it uses each year.”
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Using today’s irrigation methods, 2,000 more cubic kilometers of water will be needed per year in 2030 to keep everyone fed.
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“The Aral Sea, in Central Asia, has been almost completely emptied by irrigation.” (68,000 square kilometers to 17,000 square kilometers)
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