{"id":19509,"date":"2023-11-30T10:00:59","date_gmt":"2023-11-30T10:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/?p=19509"},"modified":"2023-11-30T10:01:01","modified_gmt":"2023-11-30T10:01:01","slug":"arizonas-foreign-alfalfa-leases-at-stake-amid-groundwater-shortage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2023\/11\/30\/arizonas-foreign-alfalfa-leases-at-stake-amid-groundwater-shortage\/","title":{"rendered":"Arizona\u2019s foreign alfalfa leases at stake amid groundwater shortage"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

One of the most productive\u00a0alfalfa\u00a0<\/u><\/a>states in the United States, Arizona, is facing intense groundwater shortage from foreign alfalfa-growing leases. \u00a0The state prides in its\u00a0above-average\u00a08.2 tonnes per acre yield<\/u><\/a>\u00a0while the national average is 3.5 tonnes per acre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0Most of the water scarcity has hit Cochise county, at the centre of whose alfalfa plantations are three firms from the Middle-East.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Locals have opined that they have not had enough water for domestic use in recent years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To mitigate the crisis, Arizona has decided to chase away the foreign pastureland companies that tap into its water resources. The state leases around 150,000 acres or 1.6% of the trust arable land that it dedicates to agriculture.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Foreign entities account for the bulk of the 22% of alfalfa that Arizona exports annually. Arguably, the multinational companies farming here have raised the export profile for a state that had zero alfalfa exports in 2011.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alfalfa Drains the Soil<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Alfalfa is one of the most water-thirsty crops, as it needs 20 inches of water each season. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A rule of the thumb is to have 50%  soil moisture on the ground. However, the crop depletes this in its uptake of about 8 inches of moisture from the soil per season. This is on top of consuming up to 6 extra inches of overhead drip irrigation water. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Wenden, a small town in the state\u2019s alfalfa belt, old acquifiers that provide groundwater to the region have fallen in volume. Wells have dried up as a result of intense use of water for the nearby alfalfa plantation spanning 3000 acres.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Residents have resorted to\u00a0digging deeper\u00a0wells<\/u><\/a>\u00a0than in the past as their existing wells fall short of utility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Groundwater usage in Households <\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Statistics in Wenden show that it requires at least 15,000 acre-feet <\/u><\/a>of water per year to serve a multi-acre alfalfa crop. This is as opposed to just a single acre-foot of  water per year to sustain domestic water needs for two American homes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the New York Times, groundwater is the main source of United States\u2019 drinking water but its reserves are diminishing fast<\/u><\/a>.  This is in turn affecting domestic supplies and leaving community estates dry. A church in Arizona, for instance, has not had sufficient supplies for 3 years<\/u><\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Climate Change sparks International farms <\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

According to Karim Elgendy, a climate change guru in London\u2019s Chatham House think tank, drought is driving international land leases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Climate change is also forcing countries that have been self-sufficient in the past to grow animal feed abroad. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saudi Arabia, for instance, imported 171,000 metric tons of processed alfalfa from the U.S. <\/a>and elsewhere in 2021.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus, as Arizona terminates foreign land leases by February, 2024, it is also trying to mitigate the effects of climate change.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of the most productive\u00a0alfalfa\u00a0states in the United States, Arizona, is facing intense groundwater shortage from foreign alfalfa-growing leases. \u00a0The state prides in its\u00a0above-average\u00a08.2 tonnes per acre yield\u00a0while the national average is 3.5 tonnes per acre. \u00a0Most of the water scarcity has hit Cochise county, at the centre of whose alfalfa plantations are three firms…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":19062,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nArizona\u2019s foreign alfalfa leases at stake amid groundwater shortage - Selina Wamucii | Food & Agriculture News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2023\/11\/30\/arizonas-foreign-alfalfa-leases-at-stake-amid-groundwater-shortage\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Arizona\u2019s foreign alfalfa leases at stake amid groundwater shortage - Selina Wamucii | Food & Agriculture News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"One of the most productive\u00a0alfalfa\u00a0states in the United States, Arizona, is facing intense groundwater shortage from foreign alfalfa-growing leases. \u00a0The state prides in its\u00a0above-average\u00a08.2 tonnes per acre yield\u00a0while the national average is 3.5 tonnes per acre. \u00a0Most of the water scarcity has hit Cochise county, at the centre of whose alfalfa plantations are three firms...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2023\/11\/30\/arizonas-foreign-alfalfa-leases-at-stake-amid-groundwater-shortage\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Selina Wamucii | Food & Agriculture News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-11-30T10:00:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-11-30T10:01:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Medicago_sativa_15-p.bot-medi.sati-028.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"480\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Timothy Wahome\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Timothy Wahome\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2023\/11\/30\/arizonas-foreign-alfalfa-leases-at-stake-amid-groundwater-shortage\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2023\/11\/30\/arizonas-foreign-alfalfa-leases-at-stake-amid-groundwater-shortage\/\",\"name\":\"Arizona\u2019s foreign alfalfa leases at stake amid groundwater shortage - Selina Wamucii | Food & Agriculture News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-11-30T10:00:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-11-30T10:01:01+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c0aad9a1f85037798080d75b4302cf8\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2023\/11\/30\/arizonas-foreign-alfalfa-leases-at-stake-amid-groundwater-shortage\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2023\/11\/30\/arizonas-foreign-alfalfa-leases-at-stake-amid-groundwater-shortage\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2023\/11\/30\/arizonas-foreign-alfalfa-leases-at-stake-amid-groundwater-shortage\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Arizona\u2019s foreign alfalfa leases at stake amid groundwater shortage\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Selina Wamucii | Food & Agriculture News\",\"description\":\"Discover the Latest in Food and Agriculture.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c0aad9a1f85037798080d75b4302cf8\",\"name\":\"Timothy Wahome\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/636da6c8288b7dcaef01a42b50c3bc41?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/636da6c8288b7dcaef01a42b50c3bc41?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Timothy Wahome\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/author\/twt4wahomegmail-com\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Arizona\u2019s foreign alfalfa leases at stake amid groundwater shortage - Selina Wamucii | Food & Agriculture News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2023\/11\/30\/arizonas-foreign-alfalfa-leases-at-stake-amid-groundwater-shortage\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Arizona\u2019s foreign alfalfa leases at stake amid groundwater shortage - Selina Wamucii | Food & Agriculture News","og_description":"One of the most productive\u00a0alfalfa\u00a0states in the United States, Arizona, is facing intense groundwater shortage from foreign alfalfa-growing leases. \u00a0The state prides in its\u00a0above-average\u00a08.2 tonnes per acre yield\u00a0while the national average is 3.5 tonnes per acre. \u00a0Most of the water scarcity has hit Cochise county, at the centre of whose alfalfa plantations are three firms...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2023\/11\/30\/arizonas-foreign-alfalfa-leases-at-stake-amid-groundwater-shortage\/","og_site_name":"Selina Wamucii | Food & Agriculture News","article_published_time":"2023-11-30T10:00:59+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-11-30T10:01:01+00:00","og_image":[{"width":640,"height":480,"url":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Medicago_sativa_15-p.bot-medi.sati-028.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Timothy Wahome","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Timothy Wahome","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2023\/11\/30\/arizonas-foreign-alfalfa-leases-at-stake-amid-groundwater-shortage\/","url":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2023\/11\/30\/arizonas-foreign-alfalfa-leases-at-stake-amid-groundwater-shortage\/","name":"Arizona\u2019s foreign alfalfa leases at stake amid groundwater shortage - Selina Wamucii | Food & Agriculture News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-11-30T10:00:59+00:00","dateModified":"2023-11-30T10:01:01+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c0aad9a1f85037798080d75b4302cf8"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2023\/11\/30\/arizonas-foreign-alfalfa-leases-at-stake-amid-groundwater-shortage\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2023\/11\/30\/arizonas-foreign-alfalfa-leases-at-stake-amid-groundwater-shortage\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2023\/11\/30\/arizonas-foreign-alfalfa-leases-at-stake-amid-groundwater-shortage\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Arizona\u2019s foreign alfalfa leases at stake amid groundwater shortage"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/","name":"Selina Wamucii | Food & Agriculture News","description":"Discover the Latest in Food and Agriculture.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c0aad9a1f85037798080d75b4302cf8","name":"Timothy Wahome","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/636da6c8288b7dcaef01a42b50c3bc41?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/636da6c8288b7dcaef01a42b50c3bc41?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Timothy Wahome"},"url":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/author\/twt4wahomegmail-com\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19509"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19509"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19509\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19510,"href":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19509\/revisions\/19510"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19062"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19509"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19509"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}