Benchmarking water productivity in agriculture and the scope for improvement, Sander Jaap Zwart

VSSD: Science and Technology

b

Benchmarking water productivity in agriculture and the scope for improvement

Remote sensing modelling from field to global scale

Sander Jaap Zwart

2010 / xvi + 102 pp. / paperback / thesis / ISBN 978-90-6562-237-2

Due to the rapid growth in world population, the pressure on water resources is increasing. In the future less water will be available for agricultural production due to competition with the industrial and domestic sectors, while at the same time food production must be increased to feed the growing population. It is inevitable that the production per unit water consumed, the water productivity, must be increased to meet this challenge. Till start of this research, little was known on the current levels of water productivity in agriculture. Information is outdated or measured values are made in small experimental plots that are not representative for the situation in farmer's fields.
This research will therefore focus on the benchmarking of physical water productivity and gaining a better understanding of the spatial variations and the scope for improvement. The major goal of this research was to benchmark water productivity values globally and at various scales (field level, system level and global level). A review of the literature sources that provide measurements of water productivity was conducted to assess plausible ranges of water productivity levels for wheat, maize, cotton and rice. Remote sensing and modelling were the major tools applied for this work to assess the spatial variation of water productivity of wheat at system and global level, and to provide a first explanation for the differences that are found.

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prelims and summary

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Updated: 23 April 2010, hlf@vssd.nl

VSSD: Science and Technology	b
Benchmarking water productivity in agriculture and the scope for improvement Remote sensing modelling from field to global scale Sander Jaap Zwart 2010 / xvi + 102 pp. / paperback / thesis / ISBN 978-90-6562-237-2
Due to the rapid growth in world population, the pressure on water resources is increasing. In the future less water will be available for agricultural production due to competition with the industrial and domestic sectors, while at the same time food production must be increased to feed the growing population. It is inevitable that the production per unit water consumed, the water productivity, must be increased to meet this challenge. Till start of this research, little was known on the current levels of water productivity in agriculture. Information is outdated or measured values are made in small experimental plots that are not representative for the situation in farmer's fields. This research will therefore focus on the benchmarking of physical water productivity and gaining a better understanding of the spatial variations and the scope for improvement. The major goal of this research was to benchmark water productivity values globally and at various scales (field level, system level and global level). A review of the literature sources that provide measurements of water productivity was conducted to assess plausible ranges of water productivity levels for wheat, maize, cotton and rice. Remote sensing and modelling were the major tools applied for this work to assess the spatial variation of water productivity of wheat at system and global level, and to provide a first explanation for the differences that are found.	PDF files: prelims and summary
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English language textbooks Homepage	Updated: 23 April 2010, hlf@vssd.nl