Use of Toxic Wastewater in Agricultural Fields… Common Practice in Developing Countries

Safeerul Islam Hashmi*

Department of Environment, Taibah Steel Re-Rolling Mills, Pakistan

*Corresponding Author: Safeerul Islam Hashmi, Department of Environment, Taibah Steel Re-Rolling Mills, Pakistan.

Received: April 22, 2021; Published: May 01, 2021

  Rapid increase and industrial revolution in the whole world have led to the depletion of freshwater resources available to mankind in the recent past. The issue of water scarcity is increasing with the passage of time. Many regions of the world are facing serious medical problems because of unavailability of freshwater. Crop’s cultivation requires handsome amount of water and unavailability of water in these regions is now causing threats to mankind. This increased the interests of science to identify and research various novel methods and techniques which play their role in the achievement of sustainable development, accelerated growth and yield of agricultural crops because agricultural sector was one of the largest consumers of freshwater in previous times.

  One of the alternatives suggested by the researchers is the use of specific wastewater for irrigating the agricultural fields. The presence of elevated levels of nitrates along with other useful compounds is very helpful in growth of plants. Moreover, shortage in the availability of freshwater, supported its worldwide application. The wastewater containing toxic compounds, on the other hand, affects adversely. Improperly disposed wastewater if added to the fields, it may lead toward accumulation of toxic compounds due to absorption abilities of crop. As a result, these compounds enter the food chain and cause different types of skin and other medical disorders in human beings.

  Large number of studies revealed that in developing countries, many farmers are using toxic wastewater for irrigating their crop. As a result of it, different types of diseases are becoming common in surrounding areas. Low rate of literacy, lower level of awareness, lack of financial resources, inefficient government regulations and policies, negligence by the concerned authorities are important factors for this practice.

  Although the use of this technique is promising better yields, but the negative aspects of this technique are also present. This technique is becoming popular in the developing countries of the world, at a rapid pace, therefore, there is a need of providing awareness to the farmers and other people associated with this field so that they become aware of the health risks that exist, undergoing this type of practice. Governments must take strict actions against the agriculturists that are using toxic wastewater and should also work for the development of strict legal framework against such individuals.

Citation

Citation: Safeerul Islam Hashmi. “Use of Toxic Wastewater in Agricultural Fields… Common Practice in Developing Countries". Acta Scientific Agriculture 5.6 (2021): 01.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2021 Safeerul Islam Hashmi. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.