IMPROVING agricultural practices to get “more crop per drop” will be Jamaica’s main focus on World Water Day, which will be observed on Thursday.
Based on the international theme ‘Water and Food Security… the World is Hungry because it’s Thirsty’, the Water Resources Authority (WRA) will this year, examine a number of strategies to boost the water supply to the agricultural sector, in an effort to reduce the country’s dependence on imported food, said WRA Managing Director, Basil Fernandez.
Some of the strategies include public education on water conservation, protection of watersheds, re-use of treated effluent from households and industries, improving farm water use, rainwater harvesting, and ways to improve agricultural practices to produce more crops.
Fernandez said that as Jamaica continues to compete with the global population for food, which involves food importation, the WRA remains committed to sensitising the public about ways to lessen this trend.
“Our ability to produce sufficient food has been severely impacted by large towns and industries along the South Coast of the island,” he adds.
He further noted that some of the areas affected are major agricultural lands, which negatively impact the food industry. He says that the WRA, in collaboration with other agencies within the Ministry of Water, Land, Environment and Climate Change, will be addressing this growing issue to improve the food industry in Jamaica.
Fernandez said World Water Day will provide the agency with an opportunity to educate the different stakeholders about the importance of water resources, and the need for proper management, especially with the onset of climate change, and its present and potential impacts on water resources islandwide.
World Water Day has been observed in Jamaica since 1993.
Source: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com
