Can Rice Cost Rs.2000 per Kilogram?

Can a kilo of rice cost as much as Rs. 2000 per kg? 

No we are not talking about some special edition, rare species of rice that only grows in one place. 

We are asking can your average Rs.35 (Half a dollar) per kg rice shoot upto Rs. 2000 (25 dollars) per kg. 

And the answer is Yes.

Yes, it can.

Let's start with
the basics, we all know the price of a commodity is based on the inputs and labour required to produce that quantity of item or simply called the cost of production. So the 35 rupees you pay for a kilogram of rice includes the labour charge, the price of fertilizers, the price of transportation, the rent of land, the price of power used even the cost of seeds. 

But there's one thing missing. One thing that we never add in the cost of inputs. One thing thay we all take for granted. Water. 

Imagine, we deplete all our natural resources of water. Dried up ponds and wells, clogged up canals, dropped water table levels. And this is not a dystopian future,  the ignorance with which we are treating our natural resources can lead us to this situation quite soon.

Then, water becomes a priced commodity. And we will have to buy water commercially. The price of packaged drinking water now is atleast Rs.20 per litre, but agricultural water is free.

Imagine a situation where the price of agriculture water rises to Rs.1 per litre. 

Now we start our calculation and it gets interesting.

The amount of water required to produce 1 KG of rice is 2000 litres. 

If the price of water is 1 per litre. It takes Rs.2000 worth of water to produce a kilo of rice. 

Now think. Add it to the cost of production. Price of rice rises. And it will reach easily above the Rs. 2000 range. 

Now think about vegetables, fruits, pulses. Everything will start to become unaffordable, famine will cover the planet. Millions will die, Nations will perish. 

So, Conserve water. The price you have to pay for not conserving our nature maybe very, very high. If we go behind monetary benefits now and deplete all our resources. The same resources will deplete our monetary savings.