Wastewater use in agriculture
Published on by Frans Huibers, Wageningen University - Associate Professor Water, Health and Environment in Government
The use of (domestic) wastewater in agriculture, treated; partly treated or untreated, is a reality in India, as it is in many other countries. Certainly, there are associated risks, yet its production is of major importance to producers (income generation) and consumers (acces to food).
Such use covers an enourmous area in India and can not be stopped. A policy to increase wastewater treatment capacity is welcome, yet would require enourmous investments over a long period of time, prioritizing the issue over so many other urgencies. Probably not the most realistic approach.
Alternatively, policy could focus on an approach of partial treatment, linked to the requirements in agriculture, and water management approaches in irrigation, that reduce health and environmental risks while stimulating productivity.
We would like to meet participants (from a range of expertises and backgrounds) to further discuss such issues in smaller groups with the objective to create an Indian and internationalresearch network to develop projects in the years to come.
Frans Huibers and Katarzyna Kujawa
Wageningen University, the Netherlands.
In collaboration with the Directorate of Water Management, Bhubaneswar, India