Critical Reasoning

Many agricultural intensive areas of the world are beginning to encounter water scarcity problems. As a result, many farmers in these areas are likely to reduce their output as the water supply they need in order to maintain production shrinks. However, one group of farmers in such a region plans to increase their production by implementing techniques for water conservation.
Which of the following, if true, would most strongly support the prediction that the group's plan will succeed?

(A) Farmers that can gain a larger share of the food market in their regions will be better positioned to control more water resources.
(B) Most agricultural practices in areas with water shortages are water- intensive.
(C) Other regions of the world not facing water shortages are likely to make for the reduction in agricultural output.
(D) Demand for agricultural products in the group's region is not expected to decline.
(E) More than half of the water used for agriculture in the farmers' region is lost to evaporation or leakage from irrigation channels.

E

AbeNeedsAnswers wrote:Many agricultural intensive areas of the world are beginning to encounter water scarcity problems. As a result, many farmers in these areas are likely to reduce their output as the water supply they need in order to maintain production shrinks. However, one group of farmers in such a region plans to increase their production by implementing techniques for water conservation.
Which of the following, if true, would most strongly support the prediction that the group's plan will succeed?

(A) Farmers that can gain a larger share of the food market in their regions will be better positioned to control more water resources.
(B) Most agricultural practices in areas with water shortages are water- intensive.
(C) Other regions of the world not facing water shortages are likely to make for the reduction in agricultural output.
(D) Demand for agricultural products in the group's region is not expected to decline.
(E) More than half of the water used for agriculture in the farmers' region is lost to evaporation or leakage from irrigation channels.

E

The Plan: Increase production by implementing water conservation techniques
Premise: There's a water shortage

Conservation doesn't produce more water, it merely helps to prevent wasting it. Thus, if conservation is going to be used to increase production in an area where water is scarce, it stands to reason that a fair amount of water had previously been lost/wasted, and conservation will help to counteract this loss. This is the idea captured in E

The argument states that a group of farmers will conserve water so that the production of their produce doesn't fall as there is water scarcity problem.

Now for this to hold true, it's important to establish that there are opportunities to perform such a conservation activity.
This idea is in E.