Efficient water management and irrigation on farms

Description

The way forward for irrigated agriculture in a warming and water-constrained world lies in integrated policy development and practice, including ‘sustainable intensification’, that considers the ‘food-water-energy nexus’. Such policy should incorporate both climate adaptation and climate mitigation options to minimise trade-offs and increase the potential for ‘win-win’ synergies. In this chapter, an overview of the role of irrigation in enhancing global food security is provided. The trade-offs involved when intensification of agricultural production is achieved at the expense of water and environmental security are considered together with the implications for the food production systems that intensification seeks to support.

Table of contents

1 Introduction 2 Water use for irrigation in agricultural production systems 3 Water use efficiency: innovation and adaptation 4 Challenges 5 Acknowledgements 6 Where to look for further information 7 References