Water in agriculture encompasses water which is used to produce raw products (food, feed, fibre, fuel) for humans and animals. In rainfed agriculture, precipitation is used directly on fields, in gardens and on pastures/rangeland. In irrigated agriculture, water from rivers, lakes, reservoirs and from aquifers is conveyed to locations for food and fodder production and where natural precipitation is not sufficient to let crops grow.
Crops and grasses take up water from the soil. The soil characteristics and the particular site characteristics, the climate and the genotype determine how efficient the water is taken up by particular plants. The water losses in the conveyance system and on-field determine the water use efficiency. Another indicator for rational water use in agriculture is the water use productivity which indicates the amount of water required per unit of yield.[1]
References and further reading
- ↑ FAO (2002): Crops and drops: making the best use of water for agriculture. Rome.fckLRftp://ftp.fao.org/agl/aglw/docs/cropsdrops_e.pdffckLR[accessed 18 April 2014]
GIZ (2013) Water use in agriculture February 2013.pdf
Xueliang Cai, David Molden, Mohammed Mainuddin, Bharat Sharma, Mobinud-Din Ahmad & Poolad Karimi (2011): Producing more food with less water in a changing world: assessment of water productivity in 10 major river basins, Water International, Vol. 36, Iss. 1, pp. 42-62.
