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Research papers on Water scarcity and agriculture

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  1. Four billion people facing severe water scarcity

    Mesfin M. Mekonnen, Arjen Y. Hoekstra · 2016 · Science Advances · 5,468 citations

    Freshwater scarcity is increasingly perceived as a global systemic risk. Previous global water scarcity assessments, measuring water scarcity annually, have underestimated experienced water scarcity by failing to capture the seasonal fluctuations in water consumption and availability. We assess blue water scarcity globally at a high spatial resolution on a monthly basis. We find that two-thirds of the global population (4.0 billion people) live under conditions of severe water scarcity at least 1 month of the year. Nearly half of those people live in India and China. Half a billion people in the world face severe water scarcity all year round. Putting caps to water consumption by river basin

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  2. Multimodel assessment of water scarcity under climate change

    Jacob Schewe, Jens Heinke, Dieter Gerten, et al. · 2013 · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 1,896 citations

    Water scarcity severely impairs food security and economic prosperity in many countries today. Expected future population changes will, in many countries as well as globally, increase the pressure on available water resources. On the supply side, renewable water resources will be affected by projected changes in precipitation patterns, temperature, and other climate variables. Here we use a large ensemble of global hydrological models (GHMs) forced by five global climate models and the latest greenhouse-gas concentration scenarios (Representative Concentration Pathways) to synthesize the current knowledge about climate change impacts on water resources. We show that climate change is likely

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  3. Future global urban water scarcity and potential solutions

    Chunyang He, Zhifeng Liu, Jianguo Wu, et al. · 2021 · Nature Communications · 1,835 citations

    Urbanization and climate change are together exacerbating water scarcity-where water demand exceeds availability-for the world's cities. We quantify global urban water scarcity in 2016 and 2050 under four socioeconomic and climate change scenarios, and explored potential solutions. Here we show the global urban population facing water scarcity is projected to increase from 933 million (one third of global urban population) in 2016 to 1.693-2.373 billion people (one third to nearly half of global urban population) in 2050, with India projected to be most severely affected in terms of growth in water-scarce urban population (increase of 153-422 million people). The number of large cities expos

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  4. Constraints and potentials of future irrigation water availability on agricultural production under climate change

    Joshua Elliott, Delphine Deryng, Christoph Müller, et al. · 2013 · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 1,182 citations

    We compare ensembles of water supply and demand projections from 10 global hydrological models and six global gridded crop models. These are produced as part of the Inter-Sectoral Impacts Model Intercomparison Project, with coordination from the Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project, and driven by outputs of general circulation models run under representative concentration pathway 8.5 as part of the Fifth Coupled Model Intercomparison Project. Models project that direct climate impacts to maize, soybean, wheat, and rice involve losses of 400-1,400 Pcal (8-24% of present-day total) when CO2 fertilization effects are accounted for or 1,400-2,600 Pcal (24-43%) otherwise. Fr

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  5. Global Monthly Water Scarcity: Blue Water Footprints versus Blue Water Availability

    Arjen Y. Hoekstra, Mesfin M. Mekonnen, Ashok K. Chapagain, et al. · 2012 · PLoS ONE · 1,053 citations

    Freshwater scarcity is a growing concern, placing considerable importance on the accuracy of indicators used to characterize and map water scarcity worldwide. We improve upon past efforts by using estimates of blue water footprints (consumptive use of ground- and surface water flows) rather than water withdrawals, accounting for the flows needed to sustain critical ecological functions and by considering monthly rather than annual values. We analyzed 405 river basins for the period 1996-2005. In 201 basins with 2.67 billion inhabitants there was severe water scarcity during at least one month of the year. The ecological and economic consequences of increasing degrees of water scarcity--as ev

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  7. Water scarcity in agriculture: An overview of causes, impacts and approaches for reducing the risks

    Carlo Ingrao, Rossana Strippoli, Giovanni Lagioia, et al. · 2023 · Heliyon · 701 citations

    Freshwater is a vital resource for both ecosystem health and human survival, and it is the natural resource that is the most extracted at the global level. Excessive freshwater consumption can be responsible for a scarcity in the circulation rate, which occurs when the freshwater demand exceeds its availability. Hence, water consumption needs to be optimised in all human activities, given the increasing freshwater scarcity due to climate changes and to the annual net increase in the human population of 81,000,000. Freshwater plays many important roles in daily life for example, agriculture is responsible for nearly 70% of that withdrawal volume, and it is therefore, the most water-intensive

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  8. Water Scarcity and Wastewater Reuse in Crop Irrigation

    N. Ungureanu, V. Vlăduţ, Gheorghe Voicu · 2020 · Sustainability · 401 citations

    Due to climate change, two-thirds of mankind will face water scarcity by 2025, while by 2050, global food production must increase by at least 50% to feed 9 billion people. To overcome water scarcity, 15 million m3/day of untreated wastewater is used globally for crop irrigation, polluting the soil with pathogens, heavy metals and excess salts. Since 10% of the global population consumes food from crops irrigated with wastewater, pathogens transmitted through the food chain cause diseases especially in young children and women. In this paper, we discuss the status of water scarcity and the challenges to food security, the reuse of wastewater in agriculture and the possible risks to human and

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  9. A Review of Precision Irrigation Water-Saving Technology under Changing Climate for Enhancing Water Use Efficiency, Crop Yield, and Environmental Footprints

    Imran Ali Lakhiar, Haofang Yan, Chuan Zhang, et al. · 2024 · Agriculture · 370 citations

    Water is considered one of the vital natural resources and factors for performing short- and long-term agricultural practices on Earth. Meanwhile, globally, most of the available freshwater resources are utilized for irrigation purposes in agriculture. Currently, many world regions are facing extreme water shortage problems, which can worsen if not managed properly. In the literature, numerous methods and remedies are used to cope with the increasing global water crises. The use of precision irrigation water-saving systems (PISs) for efficient water management under climate change is one of them and is a highly recommended approach by researchers. It can mitigate the adverse effects of chang

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  10. Sustainable Water Management in Agriculture under Climate Change

    Konstantinos Chartzoulakis, Maria Bertaki · 2015 · Agriculture and Agricultural Science Procedia · 355 citations

    Water is considered as the most critical resource for sustainable agricultural development worldwide. Irrigated areas will increase in forthcoming years, while fresh water supplies will be diverted from agriculture to meet the increasing demand of domestic use and industry. Furthermore, the efficiency of irrigation is very low, since less than 65% of the applied water is actually used by the crops. The sustainable use of irrigation water is a priority for agriculture in arid areas. So, under scarcity conditions and climate change considerable effort has been devoted over time to introduce policies aiming to increase water efficiency based on the assertion that more can be achieved with less

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  11. Coping with water scarcity: water saving and increasing water productivity

    A. Hamdy, R. Ragab, Elisa Scarascia‐Mugnozza · 2003 · Irrigation and Drainage · 327 citations

    Abstract The increasing scarcity of water in dry areas is now a well‐recognized problem. According to the World Commission on Environment and Development, approximately 80 countries with 40% of the world population already suffer from serious water shortages. At present, water shortages have led most of arid and semi‐arid countries to increase food imports because the local agricultural sector is not able to produce sufficient food to fill the existing food gaps. The increasing food gaps are posing serious challenges beyond the economic and political capacity required for the necessary adjustments concerning the allocation and use of water in all sectors, particularly agriculture. The agricu

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  13. Water Scarcity and Irrigation Efficiency in Egypt

    Rehab Osman, Emanuele Ferrari, Scott McDonald · 2016 · Water Economics and Policy · 43 citations

    This study provides quantitative assessments of the impacts of efficiency enhancement for different types of irrigation water under water scarcity conditions. It employs a single country CGE (STAGE 2) model calibrated to an extended version of a recently constructed SAM for Egypt 2008/09. The SAM segments the agricultural accounts by season and by irrigation scheme, including Nile- and groundwater-dependent as well as rain-fed agricultural activities. The simulations show that Egypt should manage potential reductions in the supply of Nile water with more efficient irrigation practices which increase the productivity of Nile water, groundwater and irrigated land. The results suggest a more am

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  14. Addressing water scarcity in agricultural irrigation: By exploring alternative water resources for sustainable irrigated agriculture

    Amgad Elmahdi · 2024 · Irrigation and Drainage · 35 citations

    AbstractThis review paper addresses challenges in the water sector, particularly in irrigated agriculture, aiming to propose solutions for meeting irrigation demands while promoting global food security and sustainable development, notably SDG 6. Structured around three facets: empowering farmers, strengthening conventional sources of irrigation water and harnessing non‐conventional water resources, it emphasizes the significance of exploring blue water resources due to precipitation variability. Many irrigation systems operate below efficiency, offering productivity enhancement opportunities. Water management in agriculture spans various levels, involving farmers as key stakeholders. In add

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  16. Irrigation efficiency and water withdrawal in US agriculture

    Haoying Wang · 2019 · Water Policy · 14 citations

    AbstractTo meet future food demand and sustainability requirements of society, the agriculture sector faces challenges in both the institutional dimension and the technological dimension. One of the main concerns regarding the current agricultural production pattern is the tremendous amount of water it requires to maintain and boost output. With a changing climate and increasing demand from civil uses, promoting both water allocation efficiency and water application efficiency becomes the focus of policy design. The unintended consequences of water policies, however, have led to extensive debates. This study addresses the key question of whether irrigation efficiency improvement leads to red

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  20. Tackling water scarcity in agriculture—Asian Development Bank's perspective

    Kenichi Yokoyama · 2024 · Irrigation and Drainage · 1 citations

    Abstract‘Tackling water scarcity in agriculture’, which is the theme of the 25th Congress of the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID), is at the crux of the global challenge of ensuring a climate‐resilient and water‐ and food‐secure world for future generations. The Asian region faces significant threats due to its high vulnerability to climate change impacts and growing food insecurity and water stress across many river basins. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is stepping up assistance in line with the international commitments by the multilateral financial institutions. There are significant opportunities that are tapped to address this theme, including (i) exploring

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  21. Irrigation water demand management to address water scarcity

    Hassen Abdelhafid, Ines Gharb, Ahlem Maarouf · 2022 · Emirates Journal of Food and Agriculture · 1 citations

    Improving irrigation water productivity is one of the most important ways to deal with water scarcity. Water pricing is considered a crucial tool for water demand management. This research aims atestimating the price elasticity of irrigation water demand in public and private areas of Nadhour using an Ordinary Least Squares regression (OLS). The paper assesses the economic performance of farming system and compares the value of marginal productivity (VMP) of irrigation water to the prices of water. A structured questionnaire and field visits were used to collect data from 140 farmers. Results show that irrigation water demand is less responsive to water price variation. Estimated elasticitie

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  23. Modelling Paddy Water Demand and Irrigation Efficiency Using CROPWAT 8.0 for Sustainable Agriculture in Sundargarh District, India

    Souvick Kumar Shaw, Anurag Sharma · 2026 · Irrigation and Drainage

    ABSTRACT Declining water resources and rising food demand require improved water use efficiency. In this study, paddy water requirements were comprehensively assessed for the Sundargarh district, India, during 2000–2022 using the CROPWAT 8.0 model. Key parameters, including crop water requirement (CWR), net irrigation requirement (NIR), reference evapotranspiration (ET o ) and crop evapotranspiration (ET c ), were estimated. ET o was calculated using the FAO Penman–Monteith method. The results indicate that effective rainfall contribut

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