Farming is a milestone in humanity’s technological evolution, first, it was seen as something heavenly. Now we can predict our exact crop yield for an entire year. Farming has been a cornerstone throughout human history, and our world without it is unimaginable. We want to find out how different pesticides and fertilizer affect our water supply. What kind of challenges do the farmers have when the availability of freshwater is sparse, and what is the difference between traditional farming (with pesticides) and ecological farming (without pesticides).
How do different pesticides and fertilizer affect our water supply?
We asked a farmer from the state “Innlandet” the following questions, “Do you think that your fertilization, pesticides and other activities that you do on your farm affect the groundwater, freshwater and the fjord nearby?” He answered with: I don’t pesticide because I need a pesticide certificate, and I use a minimal amount of fertilizer on my crops, and from my point of view I barely pollute the surrounding ground and freshwater.
“Do you ever have problems with freshwater for your farm?” He answered: I have never had a severe shortage of water, but during great dry periods, it calls for some extra work to get enough water for my entire farm.
“Is there a difference between traditional and ecological farming?” He answered with: I have never needed to use that much fertilizer, but if I don’t use it at all, my crop yield will be severely impacted because I live high up in the mountains and the growing period here is severely limited due to low temperatures, high-speed winds and thinner air. There some people who have tried, but the success rate was rather low. We are supposed to have a certain percentage of ecological farmers, but most of them quit because the yield was bad. Since most of the ecological farmers quit due to bad yield, there have been complaints about the limited amount of ecological crops in the stores in the surrounding area, because more people in these days wants to eat healthier.
To conclude, we have realized that the fertilization and pesticides in larger amounts may damage the surrounding water sources such as groundwater, freshwater and the fjords nearby.
He doesn’t have any problems with getting enough water for his farm, but during the dry period, he must get assisted by other farmers to get water enough for his farm.
He never needed to use that much fertilizer, but his crop yield will get severely impacted if he didn’t use it at all. High up in the mountains where he lives, the growing period is shorter due to low temperatures, high-speed winds and thinner air. There are complains around in the shops because most of the ecological farmers quit due to bad yield.
