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Can Biodegradable Drip Irrigation Systems Plug the Leak?

Biodegradable Drip Irrigation

Irrigation systems have become the backbone of agriculture. It can provide water for plant growth, maintain landscapes, and rejuvenate disturbed soils in areas that are historically dry and have less rainfall. There are different types of irrigation systems – Surface Irrigation, Sprinkler Irrigation, and Drip Irrigation. However, these days the most widely used irrigation system for saving water is drip irrigation. It has proven to be much more effective than surface irrigation and sprinkler irrigation.   

Given that water scarcity in agriculture is a major concern in many places around the world, you can understand why people choose drip irrigation. Worldwide agriculture withdraws 70% of global freshwater for its production. By 2050, we will need to increase our current agricultural production by 70%, if we want to meet the food needs of the global population. Therefore, water usage in agriculture becomes extremely important.   

So, how does drip irrigation conserve water usage? Drip irrigation system consists of water delivery pipes that vary in diameters. Different channels and subchannels are created according to the chosen pipe diameter. The pipe diameter is selected based on water pressure and crop type. These pipes are made from plastic-type HDPE (high-density polyethylene), which are non-biodegradable petroleum-based plastic. It has one pump that creates pressure to deliver the water at the required place. However, even though drip irrigation is a great tool for agriculture and water conservation, it has a few weaknesses.   

Read – Drip Irrigation: Can Little Drops Of Water Be Our Friends?  

Leaks in Conventional Drip Irrigation Systems 

A major hindrance to drip irrigation has been its cost. However, there is another hidden cost, which is plastic pollution. The fertilizers used in agriculture damages the polyethylene layer of the drip irrigation pipes. Moreover, these drip irrigation pipes are left in the soil after it has been damaged. These plastics pipes can remain in the soil for centuries and can harm the soil composition. Adding on to this, many farmers around the world are forced to buy low-cost polyethylene pipes to save money due to their financial circumstances.    

The good news is that there is a solution for this plastic problem in drip irrigation systems and that is the bio-degradable drip system. These are being discovered as I write this. However, are they efficient and cost-effective? Let us have a look.   

Is the Hype Around Biodegradable Irrigation Systems Real? 

Biodegradable plastics require specific conditions to decay. It cannot decompose like natural biodegradable material in any condition. Moreover, if they are mixed with normal plastics, they take longer to degrade. Many studies have been conducted to understand biodegradable tubes and these are some of the common concerns raised by these researchers:  

  1. More head loss means the friction loss will also be more in these pipes.   
  2. Making changes to water flow is hard with this type of material.  
  3. Is not durable in harsh environments.  
  4. Cost-effectiveness  
  5. Easy availability  
  6. It requires more skill to manage such pipes  

Adding on the above concerns, another major issue is that these pipes will not necessarily degrade and dissolve in the soil. This may be confusing because of its name “biodegradable pipes”. The confusion arises from the fact that it is often associated with the term Bioplastic. Bioplastic and biodegradable plastic are not similar. Bioplastic is made from biomass sources like sugarcane. Biodegradable plastics are made from the same source as normal plastic, which is petrochemicals. This means, the material used to make the pipes is the same, however, the process used may differ.

 

Watch: 5 Ways to Reduce Single-use Plastic 

We Need More Innovations in Irrigation Systems in General 

The silver lining is that researchers are still working hard to make biodegradable plastic more potent and effective at doing its job. This is important because the use of plastic in agriculture has been increasing. It is being increasingly used for –   

Micro-irrigation: Drip and Sprinkler irrigation system  

Drip Irrigation

Greenhouses: Plastic or nets are used to cover land and crops are grown inside these covers in a controlled environment  

Greenhouse

Mulching: Row of plastic sheets are placed over the soil and holes are made in these sheets. The crops are placed in these holes. This prevents loss of water moisture from the soil and therefore crops require lesser water.   

Mulching

It is evident that as we try to save water in agriculture, we will increasingly rely on plastic material to do so. This means we risk the chance of polluting our soil with plastic. This plastic residue decreases soil porosity, air circulation and affects microbial activity. In the end, all these effects soil fertility and crop yield. This can become a vicious endless cycle. Therefore, the farmer is presented with a dilemma, use these pipes to conserve water or use the pipes and negatively impact the soil and its surrounding environment.   

The good news is that many countries are currently conducting plenty of research on biodegradable plastic to make it more environmentally friendly and cost-effective. If they can succeed in doing so, they can help farmers avoid the previously mentioned farmer‘s dilemma.  In the meantime, we can educate farmers on the negative impacts of plastic on soil and show them how to dispose irrigation pipes after it has been damaged. 

SDG Plus is committed to building communities focused on sustainable development and growth.    

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Sustainable Farming: Top 5 Ways of Securing the Future of Food

Sustainable Farming

There is no denying the fact that sustainable farming is the only route to efficiently feeding our future population. But what exactly is sustainable farming? And why is it that a lot of conversations in recent times have been around wanting to switch to a more environment-friendly way of farming? 

Sustainable Farming: Much ado about everything 

There was a time, a few decades back when farmers throughout the globe stuck to the natural cropping cycle. The soil fertility was always kept in mind, and the seasonal cycles were adhered to in the farms. And, then things started changing. 

The food industry started deciding “food trends”. All of a sudden, food was no longer food – but more about carbohydrates, protein, and fats. This was just the beginning of the end. All of a sudden, your traditional food crops were not worthy enough to be on your plate. For instance, olives that are not a native crop in several Asian countries were promoted over the local crops like mustard seeds and coconuts. The end result – as households moved away from their traditional cooking oils, farmers were forced to grow crops that had more commercial value, than to stick to the local climatic choices.

Another fascinating example of how the food industry fueled unsustainable farming is the trend towards drinking almond milk and soy milk. Where are these many almonds and soy coming from? Clearly, in some parts of the world almonds are being farmed in an unsustainable manner. This also means not only has the local crop variety been compromised, but the unmonitored use of fertilizers and pesticides has also ruined the natural social quality as well as the quality of the underground water. 

So, this brings us to the question: 

What is Sustainable Agriculture?  

Sustainable agriculture or sustainable farming is all about following the natural ecological cycle and using farming techniques that are in sync with the local climate and environment. This method of farming not only focuses on the economic aspect but also allows the farmers to stick to their traditional methods of recycling crop waste. All in all, sustainable agriculture is all about staying true to your roots – quite literally.  

The benefits of sticking to this farming method are: 

  1. Better use of non-renewable resources 
  2. Environment-friendly 
  3. Good for public health 
  4. Helps achieve socio-economic equity 
  5. Not to forget, economically profitable 

Now, that I have given a brief introduction to sustainable farming, I will share with you the top five sustainable farming methods. 

1. Agroforestry 

By combining the forestry practices along with agri-methods, agroforestry leads to the diverse use of land in a sustainable manner. Agroforestry is perhaps one of the best approaches in maintaining soil health and keeping desertification at bay. The trees in the agroforestry systems not only protect the crops from extreme weather conditions, but they also stabilize the soil quality by minimizing nutrient runoff. This is the reason why farmers in some of the driest regions in the world are resorting to agroforestry. 


Watch: The Fight Against Desertification 

2. Crop rotation 

By mimicking the natural principles, crop rotation brings you the best yields without compromising on the soil quality. You might be thinking why in every other sentence I keep talking about preserving soil quality. Given the damage done by unsustainable farming, experts believe that in the next 60 years we will have no useable topsoil left! Isn’t that scary? 

By growing different crops in the same piece of land based on climatic patterns, crop rotation provides the best seasonal food available. Also, the soil turns out to be even more productive as the chances of pest infection are reduced drastically.  

3. Biodynamic farming 

This sustainable farming method is my personal favorite. It almost looks like the postcard version of an idyllic farm. Biodynamic farming is a holistic approach through which farmers not only grow crops but also rear animals on their farms. By doing this, the farmers build a resilient ecosystem that is self-sustainable as the need for off-site inputs like manure, etc. is close to zero. Farms with a variety of produce, attached vineyard, and other forms of agriculture will find biodynamic farming quite beneficial. 

Biodynamic Farming

4. Growing heirloom crop varieties 

As already discussed, the food industry with aggressive marketing strategies has almost killed several heirloom crop varieties. Many of you might think why this obsession with the old crop varieties when the present crops are filling our tummies just fine. The fact, which is not spoken about enough, is that a higher genetic variety of food crops has many benefits. Firstly, it maintains the soil diversity. Second, and perhaps something you can relate to, the more crop varieties we have – the better equipped we are to face climate change and reduce the chance of food insecurities.  

We should not forget losing on our heirloom crop varieties is equal to losing a part of our ancestral heritage. Not only do we need the older crops to come back on our farms, but perhaps this is the only way we can feed the 9.6 billion people in 2050. 

5. Urban agriculture 

Lastly, it is high time we bring agriculture in the urban areas as well. This makes even more sense as by 2050 close to 68% of the population will be living in the cities. By adopting innovative agri-techniques like indoor hydroponic farms, backyard and rooftop farms, and community gardens, we can secure the future of food. Sustainable food production can happen only when our cities also participate in farming. Therefore urban agriculture is among the top five sustainable agriculture practices. 

SDG Plus is committed to building communities focused on sustainable development and growth.   

Watch Our Online Course on Sustainable Development to Know More! 

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World Day Against Child Labour: Confection’s Confessions

Child Labour

There are some topics you report on that just makes you angry and depressed. I will be talking about one such topic today – Child Labour. Just so that we are all on the same page, child labour is when children are routinely employed in paid/unpaid work that is harmful to their physical, mental, social and educational development. It is not child labour when you support your parents in running the family business or if you’re working part-time during school holidays. 

When I was researching the facts on child labour, I could not help but think how lucky I was as a child. All my basic needs were comfortably fulfilled – water, food, education, electricity, etc. However, many children around the world still do not have access to these basic needs. They should, but they don’t. What is worse is that 152 million children between the ages of 5 and 17 are forced into child labour. They are made to drop out of school and work in extremely harsh conditions for long hours. Nearly 71% of these 152 million children work in some type of agricultural farms, and roughly 50% of them work in hazardous conditions. So, who are the major funders for these agricultural farms? The major culprits have been the cocoa, coffee, tea, and the textile industry.  

Recently, the cocoa industry has come under the spotlight once again for the prevalence of child labour in its supply chain. Since today is World Day Against Child Labour, I thought we can explore why child labour is so prevalent in the cocoa industry, has anything been done about it and what can we do to start addressing it. 

Watch: A Davos Moment with Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Kailash Satyarthi 

World Day Against Child Labour – Cocoa Industry & False Promises 

The year was 2001, and the cocoa industry was coming under fire for not addressing its child labour problem in its supply chain.  The U.S. Congress decided to step in and pressure the chiefs of some big chocolate companies like Mars, Hershey, Nestle, and Cargill sign a pledge to eradicate “the worst forms of child labour” from their cocoa suppliers. Most of these cocoas come from West Africa. They had 4 years to achieve it. However, when they made these initial set of promises to abolish child labour, these companies had little to no idea of how to do so. Understandably, these companies failed to achieve the target.  

So, instead of trying to invest more time and resource to solve this problem, the chocolate industry instead scaled back their ambition and set a deadline for 2005 to reduce child labour by 70%. Did they meet this target? Well if they had, I would have used this article to praise them. So far, they have set the same objective of reducing child labour by 70% by 2008, 2010 and 2020. They have successfully missed the deadlines for 2008 and 2010. Like the student who always wants an extension for their homework, the chocolate industry extended its deadline to 2020. Is 2020 going to be the year the chocolate industry finally fulfils their promises? 

World Day Against Child LabourSource: Courtesy of The Washington Post

An official report funded by the US Labour department reveals that child labour on cocoa farms in West Africa has increased between 2010 and 2020. The full report is set to be published at the end of June 2020. Regardless, even in this sneak peek, the report reveals how miserably the chocolate industry has failed to meet its targets. The percentage of children involved in child labour in cocoa production in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana went from 30 to 41% between 2008/09 to 2018/19. Child labour in 2020 is higher than it was in 2010, which means not only did they fail, they have let it become worse. During this same time period: 

  1. Cocoa production in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana went from 1.89 million tons to 3 million tons 
  2. Price of cocoa went from $2,263 US/ton to $2,626 USD/ton 

So, you are telling me that despite cocoa production and profits going up, child labour has continued to worsen? In all this, the chocolate industry, which collects nearly $103 billion in sales annually, has only spent $150 million over 18 years to address child labour. There has also been zero punishment to the chocolate industries for not meeting these goals.  I am sorry, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry at this. How has this gone unpunished? What has the chocolate industry been doing all this time to eradicate child labour in its cocoa supply chain? 

Watch: Akshaya Patra Foundation – Fighting Hunger in India 

Tackling Child Labour for PR Reasons 

When you dig a little deep, you get the impression that these chocolate industries have no intention of eradication child labour. Just look at the following stats regarding tracing back cocoa to farms:  

  1. Mars can only trace back 24% of its cocoa back to farms 
  2. Nestle can only trace 49% of its cocoa back to farms 
  3. Hershey can only trace less than 50% of its cocoa back to farms.  

This is beyond confusing to me. How do you not know as a business where more than 50% of your raw material comes from? Their grand solution to this and tackling child labour was to buy cocoa from certified farmers. Certification provided by groups like Fairtrade, UTZ and Rainforest Alliance. These organisations ensure the farms that supply cocoa have no child labour, meet modern ethical standards and are audited to make sure it is all upheld. These certified farmers, in turn, get paid 10% more, which by the way is not enough to lift the farmers out of poverty. Sounds like a decent principle, right? Which is why Mars and Hershey buy nearly 50% and 80% of their cocoa from certified farmers.  

World Day Against Child LabourSource: Courtesy of The Washington Post

However, the audits conducted by these organisations don’t necessarily instil confidence. The inspectors from these organisations are required to visit fewer than 10% of cocoa farms. Even the inspections themselves are telegraphed and so sporadic, that they are easily evaded. The inspectors typically announce in advance that they are going to visit the farm. Thus, making it easy for the farmers to hide the children. Even these chocolate companies have said that these certifications are inadequate to tackle the child labour challenge. So, why haven’t these companies done anything more? Could it be that they are only doing this to simply avoid negative press? One can only ponder.  

Watch: Episode 10: Business Sustainability | Rethinking Growth 

The Road Ahead to Stop Child Labour 

So, what does the road ahead look like? First, we must stop viewing auditing farms and banning child labour as a magic bullet solution. Research has shown that it only makes detecting child labour more difficult. Child labour is a complex issue that is underpinned by social, economic and political reasons. Child labour can be a result of poverty, lack of access to education, weak local and national labour laws, lack of women empowerment, etc. We must start addressing each of these complexities in tandem with child labour, otherwise, we are not fixing the problem.   

Second, the cocoa farmers are not paid their worth. The Living Income Report published by GIZ revealed a typical cocoa farmer in Ivory Coast earns between US$1,908 and US$2900 a year. This is much lower than the US$5,448 needed to afford a decent standard of living. So, what can we as a consumer do to fix this? Well, we can demand the chocolate companies to pay the cocoa farmers a better price. After all, they are the ones doing the most amount of work for this. The question remains, will these companies implement this? There is a saying, “fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me”. I think I am personally done with trusting the chocolate industry’s shallow and false promises. Over the last 20 years, they have displayed nothing but incompetence and greed.  

I just want you to leave my readers with this one thought. Companies such as Mars, Nestle, Mondelez and other big cocoa buying companies have helped cut down rainforests to make way for cocoa plantations in regions like Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. While doing so, they have ripped the local livelihood of these places, replaced it with low paid plantations and have inadvertently encouraged child labour. All for a product called chocolate, which is a luxury made unexplainably cheap. Now tell me, don’t you think it is madness that a product that no one “really” needs are causing both the environment and its people to suffer? 

SDG Plus is committed to building communities focused on sustainable development and growth.   

Watch Our Online Course on Sustainable Development to Know More! 

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Sustainable Urban Development: Rethinking Urbanization

Sustainable Financing

What is the similarity between Boston, Dubai, and Jakarta? All three of these cities are perhaps the best examples of unsustainable cities. For many of you, this fact may be surprising and even unbelievable. This is because the skyscrapers and hustle and bustle of these business centers masks the questions around sustainability or sustainable urban planning. 

The conversation around thoughtful urban planning is significant because more than 50% of the present global population resides in cities. By 2050, this number will rise to 68%. These facts highlight the need for a plan to accommodate more population in the cities, while at the same time maintaining the ecological balance.  

Sustainable Urban Development – The Need of the Hour 

When it comes to developing cities for the future, the one word which pops up is that of “smart cities”. Especially in emerging economies like India, the focus of the government is on building infrastructure which integrates technology and strategizes on smart use of resources. Many countries in the west have already reached this stage. While the concept of a smart city is highly impressive, what many urban planners (both in developed and developing countries) miss out on is that any plan which is not sustainable cannot be a smart plan.


Watch: What is Sustainable Development? 

What is sustainable urban development? 

Sustainable urban development or sustainable urban planning believes that there is no “one-size fits all” solution. It focuses on development strategies which despite having a global vision are quite regional in scale. The prime aim of a sustainable urban plan is to build cities that will improve the long-term health of the planet. This will include development strategies like open-land development, redevelopment of suburban areas, designing better transport systems – most of all preserving and restoring the biological diversity of that particular region. 

Contrary to what many might think, cities are not just economic hubs alone. They are living entities, which if not planned out well will turn into a health and environmental hazard. Most of all cities have to be inclusive in nature. I came across the need to build inclusive cities, while I was researching on COVID19. Pandemics like COVID19 unmask the structural inequalities in a city. While on the one hand there are areas with trimmed lawns and clean sewage, and on the other hand, there are shanties with close to zero access to public health amenities.  

The imbalance in the city structure is blatantly accepted as “normal”. It takes pandemics to showcase the systematic failures in urban planning and the class-based hierarchies in metro cities. This is also a result of unplanned urbanization and policy failure on equal growth distribution. 

Sustainable urban development, thus, is not just about designing integrated urban places. It is also about being futuristic and implementing a holistic approach to urban development.


Watch: Solar House for Sustainable Living 

Sustainable Urban Planning and SDGs 

The problem with most of our plans – be it urban planning, economic planning, or ecological planning – is that we have a very ‘isolated’ perspective on each one of these. This is the reason why attaining the SDGs looks like an elusive task. The moment we change our planning perspective and synergize the various goals into a common plan – meeting the SDGs will become an organic process. 

For instance, if we look at SDG 6 of clean water and sanitation and SDG 3 of good health and wellbeing in isolation – the SDG 11 of sustainable cities and communities cannot be achieved, and vice versa. This explains why urban planning needs an inter-disciplinary perspective, especially in the case of developing countries where one aspect of sustainable development is compromised for the other.


Watch: Collaborative Innovation for Urban Planning 

SDG Plus is committed to building communities focused on sustainable development and growth.   

Watch our Online Course on Sustainable Development to Know More! 

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