FAO and IWMI Report: Water Quality in Agriculture: Risks and Risk Mitigation
FAO and IWMI Report: Water Quality in Agriculture: Risks and Risk Mitigation
Water quality is of paramount importance for human lives, food production, and nature, and of concern where agricultural pollution, salinization, or lack of adequate wastewater treatment transform water from a resource into a potential hazard. This is in particular the case in many low- and middle-income countries water treatment is not keeping pace with population growth and urbanization resulting in about 30 million hectares of agricultural land, home to over 800 million residents, irrigated with polluted water. Salinity is the other major factor affecting water quality. It is affecting globally 20% of the cultivated land area, and an estimated 33% of irrigated land. In addition to irrigated crop production, animal husbandry and aquaculture may be greatly affected by poor water quality, and can also contribute significantly to water quality degradation.
These challenges prompted the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to publish in 1976 a benchmark publication entitled Water Quality for Agriculture, followed in 1992 by Wastewater Treatment and Use in Agriculture.
Over the ensuing 30 years, water quality challenges have grown resulting in a plethora of new research on water pollution, risk assessments and risk mitigation, as well as various sets of new water reuse guidelines.
Based on this premise, FAO, in partnership with the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), began production of a review of current water quality guidelines, resulting in this one-volume handbook for evaluating the suitability of water for crop irrigation, livestock and fish production. The publication emphasizes good agricultural practices, including risk mitigation measures suitable for the contexts of differently resourced countries and institutions. With a focus on the sustainability of the overall system, it also covers possible downstream impacts of farm-level decisions.
Water Quality in Agriculture: Risks and Risk Mitigation is intended for use by farm and project managers, extension officers, consultants and engineers to evaluate water quality data and identify potential problems and solutions related to water quality, but will also be of value to the scientific research community and students. CC7340EN
This publication, Water Quality in Agriculture: Risks and Risk Mitigation, emphasizes technical solutions and good agricultural practices, including risk mitigation measures suitable for the contexts of differently resourced institutions working in rural as well as urban and peri-urban settings in low- and middle-income countries. With a focus on sustainability of the overall land use system, the guidelines also cover possible downstream impacts of farm-level decisions. As each country has a range of site-specific conditions related to climate, soil and water quality, crop type and variety, as well as management options, subnational adjustments to the presented guidelines are recommended.
Source: Drechsel, P., Marjani Zadeh, S. & Pedrero, F. (eds). 2023. Water quality in agriculture: Risks and risk mitigation. Rome, FAO & IWMI. https://doi.org/10.4060/cc7340en
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