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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | India’s water is being exported as agri-exports; is there a solution -KAS Mani

India’s water is being exported as agri-exports; is there a solution -KAS Mani

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published Published on Jul 15, 2021   modified Modified on Jul 16, 2021

-Down to Earth

It is critical for us to adopt the circular water management model of treating and rejuvenating wastewater at source, along with efficient water management strategies to reduce water demand

India’s agricultural exports registered a growth of 17.34 per cent, garnering $41.25 billion in foreign exchange for 2020-21 despite the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. In rupee terms, this is equivalent to Rs 3.05 lakh crore. For a government faced with negative growth for over 15 months and limited financial inflows into its kitty, such numbers provide a sense of hope. 

The optics of improved agricultural exports assure relief, yet have their failings. This is because they deplete an equivalent amount of irrigation water permanently from the country’s resource base. 

India has witnessed a continued decline in its per capita water availability — by 60 per cent over the last 50 years because of increasing water use by the irrigation sector.

The improved agricultural exports for 2020-21 are equivalent to the annual drinking water needs of 1,500 villages with a population of 1,000. Agricultural exports reduce the imbalance in trade and earn hard currency while causing social, environmental fallouts, primarily for rural people.

Ashok Gulati, an agriculture economist, views the continuing agriculture export of crops like rice and sugarcane with deep concern. For him, the export of 17.7 million tonnes of rice and 7.5 million tonnes of sugar is the same as the export of 50.4 billion cubic metres (rice 35.4, sugar 15 billion cubic metres) of water by the current generation from the legitimate resource share of the future. Similarly, the water export numbers could be phenomenal if the captive water embedded in the export of vegetables, spices, flowers and horticulture is fully audited.

Virtual Water Trade (VWT) is slowly altering the global hydrological cycle in many ways. Several countries have begun to act early, adopting the VWT route to address worldwide water distress.

Water-guzzling activities are getting outsourced for production to other countries. Thus, crops, meat, leather, chemicals and industrial goods are imported to ensure a positive water balance. If the future wars will be about water, then the weaponisation is in using VWT.

‘Water Value’ is the mantra for positively altering the shortfalls through imports. Unfortunately, India has fallen for this bait and is getting increasingly entrapped into agricultural exports. Agri-export houses are earnestly exporting virtual water, especially groundwater, all for a dime.

Agricultural export, which is a proxy for the transfer of embedded water, has various dimensions. To begin with, the visible impact on a national scale remains unnoticed as a mere one to four per cent of the total water gets depleted per annum through the agri-exports route. However, this impact is significant enough to create an enormous imbalance at the local level in different regions where crops are grown. Globalisation of local water resources is thus operationalised covertly.

Importing water-intensive crops and products enables countries to balance their increasing water demand while exporting less water-intensive commodities. Improving the local water resource base is part of a long-term plan that has been adopted by several countries including Germany, France, Italy, the UK, Netherlands, the United States, China and Japan. Persian Gulf and North African countries are forced to import virtual water due to acute shortages.

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Down to Earth, 15 July, 2021, https://www.downtoearth.org.in/blog/agriculture/india-s-water-is-being-exported-as-agri-exports-is-there-a-solution-77966?fbclid=IwAR0W5KUJZrw1EEvILJoabBCz65c8DOhLu9vXtj3nJwb7uuCc16SlYdzLRPc


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