WATER ABLAZE - Patagonia Sin Represas

The industrial nations continue to preach their doctrine of free
trade and to call for its implementation – and yet they grant farming
subsidies of over €300 billion a year, which is inconsistent, to say the
least. The EU agriculture budget alone provides financing to the tune of
€40 billion. These subsidies are being paid out first and foremost to big
landowners and corporations rather than to small producers practising
sustainable methods. The consequences are devastating: agricultural
produce is being exported at giveaway prices and small farmers in the
developing world are losing their livelihood.
This can only be prevented if benefits to public and environmental
well-being are given precedence over the demands of agribusiness
companies when it comes to awarding farming subsidies. The
cultivation of monocultures and high-yield varieties, with their largescale
water consumption, could thus be stemmed, without jeopardising
the reliability of the food supply. At the same time, we should promote
the cultivation of those plants which require less water but provide
equally high yields, such as mango and tamarind trees and droughtresistant
varieties of fruit. Olive groves and vineyards can survive
as a rule without irrigation, in contrast with today’s agroindustrial
practice. Varieties of cereal could also be selected according to their
water requirements. 68
Even more important are the methods of irrigation used in
agriculture. Just like in urban areas, leaking pipes should be replaced
in order to avoid water wastage. If plants must be watered, reverting
to low-tech traditional methods of storing water would be sensible:
soakaways (dry wells), collecting tanks and dams. Harvesting and
storing rainwater for watering plants is a particularly “healthy”
solution, not only for the vegetation itself but also for the soil, which
will not become over-salted. Rainwater is to a certain extent desalinated
or distilled water because it is the product of evaporation.
There are some sensible modern-day methods of irrigation such as
drop water irrigation where plants only receive the amount of water
they actually need. The same method works similarly underground,
supplying the plants directly at their roots and limiting evaporation
loss.
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