Why electricity is important during irrigation

Irrigation is the watering of land to provide enough moisture required by crops for growth. Most farmers will irrigate their crops to gain higher yields while livestock farmers use irrigation to ensure they can grow enough feed for their animals to maintain paddock health.  Farmers can use electricity to improve their irrigation activities.

Here are a few reasons why electricity is important.

Food security and livelihood of farmers

Electricity makes irrigation more efficient as it will make crops get enough nutrients required to increase food production. By making it efficient, it will reduce weed growth that causes poor crop health and improve plant growth. It will influence the entire growth of your crops from germination, root growth, nutrients utilization crop yield and quantity.

Farmers are advised to avoid over-irrigation as it leads to waterlogging and soil degradation.

It offers cheap availability of water

Electricity helps farmers source water from its sources cheaply by the use of pumps. Farmers will just need to have an electricity connection and install water pumping equipment to have water on their farms. According to downtoeart.org, a farmer who had installed drip systems reported to incurred lesser costs compared to flooding irrigation. The site says the farmer only requires eight hours to irrigate his one-acre field compared to the flooding method that could take him for days.

Reduce water wastage

Electricity will help farmers pump water and use it to irrigate fields and with the installation of drip systems. They will release measured quantities of water intervals required by a plant hence reducing water wastage. This is mostly seen in sugarcane farming where farmers install drip systems to minimise water wastage.

Saves time

Electricity will save farmers time spent irrigating their crops by installing pumps that can help store water to be used.

Conserve water

Electricity will help farmers use water efficiently as farmers will use it to collect and store water for future use. With drip systems, farmers will be conserving water since plants will only get the required amounts of water.

 


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