Evaluation of water use in agriculture: Problems and solutions

Abstract

Water, an essential substance for the existence and survival of the most diverse forms of life, may become scarce in this century, becoming as precious as oil. However, despite having a sufficient volume for the supply of fresh water, suitable for the consumption of the population, its geographic layout is disproportionately presented, being adversity, due to the non-uniformity of the distribution. As a result, countries with more than 40% of the world's population already exceed the supply of this water resource, and it is predicted that by 2025, there will be a 50% reduction in the per capita water supply, affecting various fields, such as agriculture, where it plays an important role in food security. The water used in the agricultural field has the purpose of growing fresh produce, sustaining livestock, cooling crops, controlling frost, and irrigation, which corresponds to almost 65% of freshwater withdrawals in the world. In this context, the present work aims to evaluate the problems related to the use of water in agriculture and the solutions that can be implemented.