Agriculture and Irrigation Essay

Agriculture and Irrigation Essay Agriculture and Irrigation Essay The use of irrigation in ancient times has affected the way we grow crops today. Irrigation has been used for many centuries to get the water from a river to the crops. Today, we also use this way of watering crops. With the use of irrigation crops are able to be grown in larger amounts. In Sandra Postel’s article â€Å"Growing more Food with less Water† uses facts to explain how the use of irrigation is very effective in growing more food. The quote â€Å"Most of these people live in Asia and Africa, where long dry seasons make crop production difficult or impossible without irrigation† shows that many countries depend on irrigation to survive. (Postel 7) In many countries they depend on rivers to get the water they need to the crops. Since there isn’t much rain in countries like Asia Africa they need any fo rm of irrigation they can use. It is important for these countries survival that they use irrigation. Many irrigation systems are very expensive so many farmers in poorer countries cannot afford them. Recently, a new machine has been created which is very inexpensive and farmers can afford the new irrigation machine. â€Å"Over the next quarter of a century the number of people living in water-stressed countries will climb from 500 million to three billion. New technologies can help farmers around the world supply food for the growing population†¦Ã¢â‚¬  This quote shows how new irrigation technology can help farmers have a surplus in crops. (Postel 8) New, cheap, irrigation methods have provided farmers with the technology necessary to grow and water crops. New irrigation methods have helped farmers provide markets with crops which increased their income. The quote â€Å"Fields are flooded or water is