In Focus

Nuclear Techniques for Agricultural Water Management
Agriculture continues to be the main user of freshwater, withdrawing up to 70% of this water resource for irrigation and yet the water use efficiency of agriculture is less than 50%. There is therefore a continued need to further improve the productivity of agricultural water. This can be achieved through soil and water conservation, minimizing soil evaporation and improving irrigation management, especially at an area-wide basis that encompasses an integrated approach to all land use activities and farming systems within an agricultural catchment. Agricultural activities are also causing nonpoint source pollution, often due to inappropriate irrigation management, improper application of fertilizers and pesticides and animal manure. There is also a need to determine the contribution of agricultural activities to these nonpoint sources of nutrients, sediment, and pathogens movement to improve agricultural activities and to minimize its impact.

Salinity is affecting >20% of irrigated land in arid and semi-arid region and managing salt affected soil and saline water for crop production and reducing salt-induced land degradation is important. The above is made worse by extreme weather events such as drought and flood. Understanding the short and long term area-wide impacts of droughts and flooding on crops and soils and the knowledge gaps can improve the response to these extreme event impacts related to agricultural production, to maximise economic benefits to resource-poor farmers and to enhance the resilience towards the impact of climate change and extreme weather events through climate-smart agricultural water management.