Getting More ‘Crop-per-Drop’ In World’s Driest Agricultural Regions

Improvements in irrigation in the world’s driest regions could significantly boost food production and water sustainability, according to a new study. In an analysis of how water is used for 16 staple food crops worldwide, including in regions with similar climates, a team of researchers identified specific areas where major efficiency improvements can be made in the so-called “crop per drop” — or the amount of food produced per liter of water. According to their findings, published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, about 40 percent of the available water in some dry regions is used to produce about 20 percent of the food calories. But in other regions with similar climate conditions, the productivity is much greater, said Kate A. Brauman, a researcher at the University of Minnesota’s Institute on the Environment. If these less-productive regions could improve their crop-per-drop productivity by even a modest amount, she said, “this would increase annual production on rain-fed croplands by enough to provide food for about 110 million people.”