Food cultivation, which currently has a high rate of employability and production, is at harmful risk because of water scarcity. For agriculture, water is a critical resource and plays an important role in food security.

Feeding 9 billion people by 2050 will require a 60% increase in agricultural production. In addition, there is an expectation of a 15% increase in water catchment.

According to the World Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), pollution and resource scarcity are driving the world's main agri-food systems to breaking point. In some regions of Africa, many farmers suffer from the lack of water for food production.

There are currently approximately 3.2 billion people worldwide living in agricultural areas with high to very high water shortages or shortages, of which 1.2 billion people – approximately one-sixth of the world's population – live in agricultural areas with severe water restrictions.

Brazil

In the last 37 years, Brazil has lost the equivalent of 17% of the water surface. MapBioma data – which are part of an annual mapping of land cover and use in the country – also indicate that the most affected region was the Pantanal, with a decrease of 80% between 1985 and 2021.

In Brazil, only between 2000 and 2018, there was a 55% increase in the volume captured in surface and underground springs for these uses. The National Water Agency (ANA) predicts that there will be an additional increase of 29% in agricultural demand by 2030.

Technology to combat scarcity

However, the theme of water preservation has already been dealt with in a practical way by producers in agriculture who want to avoid the scarcity of the resource.

According to Fernando Silva, CEO of PWTech, a startup focused on purifying contaminated water, water plays a key role in food security.

"With the increase in the population and the demand for a higher food production, the expectation is that there will be a 15% increase in water catchment by 2050," he explains.

As the availability of water in the field is not always the same, many farmers use technological tools to overcome difficulties, such as scarcity, with the aim of improving the quality and production of food.

One of these tools is the water purifier developed by PWTech. The technology eliminates 100% of viruses and bacteria and reduces up to 99.5% of the particles present in water. In addition, the tool is adaptable to different power sources and works with low consumption. It is also portable and resistant to shakes and bumps.

"The equipment can be used in a concentrated way, in a single water treatment point, or distributed in strategic points. Purifiers have plug and play technology and can start operating immediately," says the expert.

Source: Canal Rural