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Why is irrigation often needed to develop new agricultural land?

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Yser River; land reclamation — land reclamation The Yser River flowing through reclaimed farmland in Belgium.

Irrigation is a fundamental component of land reclamation because it enables the conversion of arid, semiarid, or near-desert regions into areas suitable for intensive agriculture. In many parts of the world, the natural state of the land lacks sufficient rainfall to support crop production, making the artificial application of water necessary to develop these areas for food and fiber production.12

Beyond simply providing water to dry regions, irrigation is also used in conjunction with drainage to reclaim land that has been abandoned due to the accumulation of salts. In this process, fresh, nonsaline water is applied to the soil to dissolve excess salts, which are then flushed away through subsurface drainage systems.23

While irrigation is essential for expanding agricultural capacity, it must be carefully managed. If irrigation water is not properly drained, or if the water used contains high levels of dissolved salts, it can lead to soil degradation, salt accumulation, or the silting of infrastructure, which may ultimately cause irrigation projects to fail.13