Improved water use only a satellite away

Abstract

Water use in agriculture When travelling through the Inkomati area, in Mpumalanga, one cannot help but notice the rich variety and quality in produce grown. Bananas, citrus and sugarcane are but some of the products providing a feast for the eye for kilometres on end. However, while this might fool one into thinking that the area is as rich in water as it is in crops this is simply not the case. In fact, Inkomati is one the most water-stressed catchments in the country, with many users, including towns and villages, the Kruger National Park and South African neighbour Mozambique and Swaziland, vying for their share. Escalating demand from expanding rural settlements, the need to meet environmental requirements as well as the obligations to the country’s downstream neighbours, means that the catchment’s largest water user – irrigated agriculture – is under pressure not only to improve water use efficiency to free up resources for other sectors, but also to expand its own operations to allow it to feed a growing nation.

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