Misestimation of water saving in agricultural virtual water trade by not considering the role of irrigation

Xinchun Cao, Simeng Cui, Rui Shu and Mengyang Wu

Agricultural Water Management, 2020, vol. 241, issue C

Abstract: Water saving by agricultural virtual water trade (VWT) is regarded as a new way to address water shortage, and many studies have considered it at local and global scales. However, the existing calculation methods do not consider how agricultural products should be produced in export and import areas without crop trade. We believe that three facts related to irrigation should be considered in water saving in agricultural VWT evaluation: 1) arable land is highly restricted, 2) irrigation increases crop yield significantly, and 3) green water does not require cost. The role of irrigation, which is important for both the export and import region, is very important for determining how to cultivate crops without virtual water trade. In the case of grain VWT between Heilongjiang and Guangdong, China, the national blue water saving in 2010 with this consideration was −2562.1 Mm³ (water loss), whereas the figure was 975 Mm³ under the existing calculation framework. Therefore, there is a possibility that VWT can be used in agricultural development and water management decision-making while considering the role of irrigation.

Keywords: Virtual water; Water saving; Blue-green water; Irrigation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:241:y:2020:i:c:s0378377420310143

DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2020.106355

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