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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
agricultural and biological sciences
The challenges of wastewater irrigation in developing countries
Agricultural Water Management, Volume 97, No. 4, Year 2010
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Description
The volume of wastewater generated by domestic, industrial and commercial sources has increased with population, urbanization, improved living conditions, and economic development. The productive use of wastewater has also increased, as millions of small-scale farmers in urban and peri-urban areas of developing countries depend on wastewater or wastewater polluted water sources to irrigate high-value edible crops for urban markets, often as they have no alternative sources of irrigation water. Undesirable constituents in wastewater can harm human health and the environment. Hence, wastewater irrigation is an issue of concern to public agencies responsible for maintaining public health and environmental quality. For diverse reasons, many developing countries are still unable to implement comprehensive wastewater treatment programs. Therefore in the near term, risk management and interim solutions are needed to prevent adverse impacts from wastewater irrigation. A combination of source control, and farm-level and post-harvest measures can be used to protect farm workers and consumers. The WHO guidelines revised in 2006 for wastewater use suggest measures beyond the traditional recommendations of producing only industrial or non-edible crops, as in many situations it is impossible to enforce a change in the current cash crop pattern, or provide alternative vegetable supply to urban markets. There are several opportunities for improving wastewater management via improved policies, institutional dialogues and financial mechanisms, which would reduce the risks in agriculture. Effluent standards combined with incentives or enforcement can motivate improvements in water management by household and industrial sectors discharging wastewater from point sources. Segregation of chemical pollutants from urban wastewater facilitates treatment and reduces risk. Strengthening institutional capacity and establishing links between water delivery and sanitation sectors through inter-institutional coordination leads to more efficient management of wastewater and risk reduction. © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Authors & Co-Authors
Qadir, Manzoor A.
Lebanon, Beirut
International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas Syria
Sri Lanka, Colombo
International Water Management Institute Iwmi Colombo
Wichelns, Dennis
United States, Hanover
Hanover College
Raschid-Sally, Liqa
Ghana, Accra
International Water Management Institute Ghana
McCornick, Peter G.
Sri Lanka, Colombo
International Water Management Institute Iwmi Colombo
United States, Durham
Duke University
Drechsel, Pay
Ghana, Accra
International Water Management Institute Ghana
Bahri, Akissa
Ghana, Accra
International Water Management Institute Ghana
Minhas, Paramjit Singh
India, New Delhi
Indian Council of Agricultural Research
Statistics
Citations: 671
Authors: 7
Affiliations: 6
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1016/j.agwat.2008.11.004
ISSN:
03783774
Research Areas
Environmental
Study Design
Cross Sectional Study