Question

Our country is experiencing drought and water shortage due to low and inadequate rainfall. You are concerned about this. Address your class for two or three minutes about periodic conditions drought in the country, and what should be done to counter its impact. Use illustrative examples from the poem.

Answer 1

Good morning, everyone.

I would like to speak about drought and water shortage, problems that affect many parts of our country from time to time. When rainfall is low or arrives at the wrong time, wells and reservoirs shrink, crops fail, livestock suffer and families may struggle to obtain safe water. Farmers often bear the greatest burden, but drought can also raise food prices and affect the whole community.

Seamus Heaney’s “At a Potato Digging” reminds us how closely human life depends on the land and its harvest. The poem contrasts a healthy crop with the blighted potatoes of the Irish famine. Its image of the “faithless ground” captures the fear people feel when the land can no longer provide food. Although drought and potato blight are different, both show how crop failure can threaten people’s survival.

We can reduce the impact of drought by harvesting rainwater, repairing leaks, reusing water where safe and using drip irrigation on farms. Farmers can grow crops suited to local conditions, protect soil with trees and ground cover, and diversify what they plant. Governments should maintain reservoirs, provide timely forecasts and support farmers during crop failure. Schools and households can also avoid wasting water.

Water conservation is everyone’s responsibility. By caring for our soil and water before a crisis, we can protect crops, livelihoods and lives.

Thank you.