Agriculture

When looking at the linkages between agriculture and health and nutrition, irrigated agriculture deserves special attention for several reasons: (1) irrigated agriculture is practiced in many regions with a currently problematic WASH situation, (2) irrigation based on open irrigation canals, traditional furrow and basin irrigation methods and open drainage ditches lead to direct contacts with domestic water use, (3) irrigation and drainage systems are characterized by intensive water fluxes (surface and subsurface water) driving matter dynamics and as a consequence, impacting severely the hydrological cycle and further water uses/users. The quality and quantity of water used for farming determines both the quantity and quality of crops and thus affects the farmers and their family for their health and nutrition status. The quantity of water available for agriculture has been observed by the FAO to have positive effects on farmers and their families in many parts of Sub-Saharan Africa.