Vol. 7, Issue 4 (2019)
Water footprint of horticultural crops
Author(s): Bhaskarjyoti Sarma, Utpal Kotoky and Sarat Sekhar Bora
Abstract: The world freshwater resources throughout the world have become scarcer during the past decades due to an increase in population and economic activity and a subsequent increase in water appropriation. The ‘water footprint’ concept was developed in order to have an indicator of ‘water use’ in relation to its consumption (Hoekstra, 2003). The water footprint concept, sources and methodology come from the Water Footprint Network (WFN). The concept was created by Dr. Arjen Hoekstra along with the others at the WFN. Water footprint is a measure of humanity’s appropriation of fresh water in volumes of water consumed and/or polluted (Hoekstra et al., 2011). Water footprint can help to identify products that can be risky to produce at a certain location due to water scarcity and to achieve a more sustainable and equitable use of freshwater. Water footprint can be grouped into three categories, viz., green, blue and grey. The amount of rainwater required (evaporated or used directly) to make an item is called green water footprint. The blue water footprint signifies the amount of surface water and ground water required (evaporated or used directly) to produce an item. The amount of fresh water required to assimilate pollutants to meet specific water quality standards is termed as grey water footprint. A water footprint can be calculated for any well-defined group of consumers (e.g. an individual, family, village, city, province, state or nation) or producers (e.g. a public organization, private enterprise or economic sector). One can also calculate the water footprint of a particular product. Per year water footprint of an Indian individual is 1089 m3 compared to global average of 1385 m3, whereas for an individual of the US, it is 2842 m3. Consumption of agricultural products determines the global water footprint related to consumption (Mekonnen and Hoekstra, 2011). Among agricultural commodities, global water footprint of vegetables and fruits are 322 m3/ t and 967 m3/t, respectively. In India, the total water footprint for vegetables and fruits are 29 billion cubic meter and 13 billion cubic meters, respectively (Jayaram, 2016). Water footprints of some vegetables and fruits as well as their derived products are quite high, which is a matter of great concern.Water footprint of such exhaustive horticultural crops should be reduced for sustainability of water and horticultural crop production. This can be achieved by increasing production, reducing harmful evapotranspiration or enhancing effective use of rainfall. Organic farming and product substitutions are other options which can help in reducing water footprint of horticultural crops.
Pages: 725-732 | 374 Views 119 Downloads
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How to cite this article:
Bhaskarjyoti Sarma, Utpal Kotoky, Sarat Sekhar Bora. Water footprint of horticultural crops. Int J Chem Stud 2019;7(4):725-732.
