Today many regions rely on ever more sophisticated irrigation systems, using pumps and water sensors to grow crops on otherwise unworkable land as efficiently as possible. But not every part of the world benefits from modern irrigation and lack of freshwater is often the major limiting factor in crop production. Now a study reveals that global irrigation levels could sustainably increase by nearly 50%, boosting crop yields and feeding an additional 2.8 billion people.
Today many regions rely on ever more sophisticated irrigation systems, using pumps and water sensors to grow crops on otherwise unworkable land as efficiently as possible. But not every part of the world benefits from modern irrigation and lack of freshwater is often the major limiting factor in crop production. Now a study reveals that global irrigation levels could sustainably increase by nearly 50%, boosting crop yields and feeding an additional 2.8 billion people.
“The reason that this intensification of irrigation hasn’t happened before is mainly economic, plus a lack of institutional organisation,” said Lorenzo Rosa , a PhD candidate in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management (ESPM). ESPM professor Paolo D'Odorico also co-authored the study.
Not everywhere has enough spare water for intensified irrigation, however. To work out which locations could best use improved irrigation technology, Rosa and colleagues carried out a biophysical assessment of cropland water consumption under current and maximum yield scenarios. Then they compared the current and maximum yield water consumptions with local water availability to see which regions could afford to irrigate more, and what kind of increase in yield they would expect.
Read more at Environmental Science, Policy, and Management - UC Berkeley
