U.S. Water News Online
ROME -- Scarce water supplies in the Mediterranean region will keep dwindling unless countries introduce better irrigation techniques and public water saving programs, a U.N. food agency has warned.
Agriculture, which makes up 80 percent of total demand, is the biggest water consumer in the region, said a report by the Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organization.
Over the last 40 years the areas under irrigation have almost doubled from 14.8 million acres in 1960 to 29.1 million acres, the report said.
While irrigation contributed greatly to food production -- in Egypt irrigated cereals yielded nearly four times more than non-irrigated cereals elsewhere -- farmers use large amounts of water poorly, the report said.
The study suggested that governments start public water saving programs, offer incentives for farmers to modernize their irrigation systems and called for a stronger private sector involvement.
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