The problems come in extremes and both scenarios are dangerous. When superabundant, massive flooding can occur. When scarce,expect intense drought. Indeed, water, one of life’s basic elements, is making its importance felt more dramatically by way of natural disasters, food shortage, properties destroyed and thousands of lives lost. Compounding the problem is climate change where erratic weather condition messes up crop production, resulting to a domino effect in the quality of life of many people.

In the recently concluded seminar on “Water Management Technology for Rice and Upland Crop Production under Climate Change,” which was held in Suwon, Korea, the 13 speakers who represented seven countries agreed that the Asian water problem is a tangled web of complicated issues. One scientist aptly said: “The problem cuts across the political, institutional, technical, social and financial aspects of a nation’s life.”

Water technologies for agriculture

Zeroing in on agricultural water management, particularly rice and upland crop production, speakers from different countries, most of whom are distinguished agricultural engineers, not only presented various water saving technologies that is supposed to make irrigation systems climate resilient, but also suggested ways to operate regulatory and monitoring-based mechanisms to prepare for disasters.

To read the full article, go to our publications database and click on Newsletter 178