As with soil problems, solutions to water shortages involve improved efficiency and conservation. And the most obvious place to start is to replace today's wasteful irrigation systems with more efficient systems, such as drip irrigation. In spite of is real's water problems (or perhaps because of them), Israeli agronomists pioneered irrigation technologies to reduce waste. With the tools and technologies now available, farmers could technically cut their water needs by 10-50 percent, industries by 40-90 percent and cities by one third with no sacrifice of economic output or quality of life. Whether these efficiencies are politically feasible is another matter; because-as with soil the substantial barriers are political and economic. Tax subsidies provide water to people and industries in the absence of "real cost pricing" that encourage wastefulness (Postel, 1992a: 2333). With water made so cheap governments, there is no real incentive for growers to invest in more efficient systems. Moreover, as noted, the ability of nations to invest in technologies and conservation varies considerably.