TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY CAMILLE CAMDESSUS: "In California, a dowser to the rescue of farmers desperate for water."
The dried and cracked soil in an irrigation ditch next to a cornfield on a farm in Fresno, California, July 24, 2021. - Central Valley farmers, desperate for water to irrigate crops amid a severe drought and government and environmental regulations cutting off their supply of surface water, are turning to an ancient and non-scientific technique of location underground water called dowsing or water witching which is the practice of using a forked stick, rod, pendulum, or similar device to locate underground water, minerals, or other hidden or lost substances, which has been a subject of discussion and controversy for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. (Photo by Robyn Beck / AFP)