Writing in yesterday's Financial Times, reported that, "We live in a world in which 2.6bn people consume water from unsafe and polluted sources, according to United Nations figures. Against this, it takes up to 100,000 litres to produce 1kg of beef, 75 litres to make one computer chip and 780 litres to create one litre of fruit juice, says Waterwise, a UK non-governmental organisation � an idea known as Oembedded water'".

The FT article indicated that, "In India, urban water demand is due to double and industrial demand to triple by 2025. Unreliable supply in Bangalore has already led information technology companies such as Wipro, iGate and MphasiS to consider other locations when they expand, says the Pacific Institute, while in 2003 PepsiCo and Coca-Cola lost their licences to use ground water in Kerala for their bottling plants after drought raised competition for the resource."

Mr. Scott also pointed out that, "Developed countries will spend up to $1,000bn on upgrading water and waste water systems in the next few decades, says Emma Howard Boyd, head of SRI at Jupiter Asset Management, while Odemand for water from urban areas and industry in China is expected to grow by 70 per cent and 104 per cent respectively between 2010 and 2030'".

The FT item included these interesting statistics at the article's conclusion-

It takes 200 litres of water to produce 1kg of rice 1kg of potatoes: 500 litres 1 orange: 53 litres 1 serving of lettuce: 22 litres 1 pint of milk: 250 litres 1 egg: 450 litres 1 loaf of bread: 550 litres 1 kg of butter: 18,000 litres

Textiles and consumer goods 1kg of cotton: 5,300 litres 1kg of wool: 200,000 litres 1 car: 150,000 litres 1 computer chip: 75 litres

A Dow Jones article posted yesterday at DTN (link requires subscription http://www.dtn.com/agriculture.cfm?sidenav=sn_ag_producer&content=ago_t rial ), stated that, "China may be a growing global power, but economic and military might may not be enough to shield the country from severe food shortages in the next 10-20 years if Chinese policy makers fail to act now to address a worsening water shortage in the country.

"In fact, the lack of decisive action can lead the country on a path of no return when it comes to the growing dependence on imported grains and edible oils to feed is burgeoning population, analysts say.

"According to a recent study by China Agriculture University, the country would need to produce 640 million to 720 million metric tons of grains by 2030, when its population is expected to peak at 1.6 billion.

"That is a daunting task, given the country could barely feed itself with a grain output of 484 million tons last year.

"Water shortages are considered a primary concern for Chinese agricultural planners trying to boost national grains output."

The article also noted that, "Despite efforts to widen the irrigation network, monsoon rains dominate China's agriculture, bringing most of the precipitation in summer.

"But the seasonality of monsoon rains limit the ability of Chinese farmers to take advantage of multiple crop cycles as done in more developed countries."

 

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