Innovation Issues in Water, Agriculture and Food

Abstract

The main challenge faced by agriculture is to produce enough food for a continued increase in population, however in the context of ever-growing competition for water and land, climate change, droughts and anthropic water scarcity, and less-participatory water governance. Such a context implies innovative issues in agricultural water management and practices, at both the field and the system or the basin scales, mainly in irrigation to cope with water scarcity, environmental friendliness, and rural society welfare. Therefore, this special issue was set to present and discuss recent achievements in water, agriculture, and food nexus at different scales, thus to promote sustainable development of irrigated agriculture and to develop integrated approaches to water and food. Papers cover various domains including: (a) evapotranspiration and crop water use; (b) improving water management in irrigated agriculture, particularly irrigation scheduling; (c) adaptation of agricultural systems to enhance water use and water productivity to face water scarcity and climate change; (d) improving irrigation systems design and management adopting multi-criteria and risk approaches; (e) ensuring sustainable management for anthropic ecosystems favoring safe and high-quality food production, as well as the conservation of natural ecosystems; (f) assessing the impact of water scarcity and, mainly, droughts; (g) conservation of water quality resources, namely by preventing contamination with nitrates; (h) use of modern mapping technologies and remote sensing information; and (i) fostering a participative and inclusive governance of water for food security and population welfare.

Water and Land as Shared Resources for Agriculture and Aquaculture: Insights from Asia

“…The challenge of understanding the complexity and resilience of the earth's natural systems has been made more difficult in recent years by human activities, which are modifying and increasingly disrupting natural processes [1]. Nowhere are these issues more evident than in the tangled relationship between two resources essential for all life: water and food [2]. The combination of a growing human population and rising living standards is placing demands on the planet to deliver more and more food, even as concerns mount about the availability of water to ensure that it is produced.…”

Improving economic water productivity to enhance resilience in canal irrigation systems: a pilot study of the Sina irrigation system in Maharashtra, India

“…Scenario analysis explores potential cropping patterns that increase EWP in non-water-scarce years and provide a profit even in water-scarce years. Interventions to increase EWP include crop or agricultural diversification, technological interventions such as micro or solar irrigation, or institutional innovations in water management (Cameira & Pereira, 2019). In Sina, high-value, less water-intensive annual/perennial crops should be an integral part of the cropping patterns.…”

Study on the Classification and Change Detection Methods of Drylands in Arid and Semi-Arid Regions

“…According to surveys, in normal harvest years, the yield of naked oats can reach 750−1500 kg per hectare, while that of corn can reach 15,000 kg after irrigation. In the vast arid and semi-arid regions of northwest China, irrigated farmland is the main source of grain production [4,5]. Therefore, developing irrigated cropland not only has a huge impact on agricultural production and product types, but also has a special impact on the economic benefits of farmers and the rural economy.…”