Water-milk nexus in India: a path to a sustainable water future?

This paper examines the nexus between milk production and water use in India. The nexus is examined in the context of extended consumptive water use (CWU) of milk production beyond drinking water. It includes the real CWU (evapotranspiration (ETa) that occurs during the production of green fodder an...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of agricultural sustainability 2012-02, Vol.10 (1), p.93-108
Main Authors: Amarasinghe, Upali A., Shah, Tushaar, Smakhtin, Vladimir
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agricultural production
Canals
Cattle
Climate change
consumptive water use
crop diversification
Crops
Feeds
Food
Food supply
Grain
Groundwater
groundwater irrigation
India
Irrigation
Livestock
Milk
Milk production
Oryza sativa
Population
Rice
Rural areas
Sugarcane
sustainable agriculture
Water shortages
Water supply
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Summary:This paper examines the nexus between milk production and water use in India. The nexus is examined in the context of extended consumptive water use (CWU) of milk production beyond drinking water. It includes the real CWU (evapotranspiration (ETa) that occurs during the production of green fodder and feed grains) and the virtual CWU (ETa embedded in by-products for animal feed). The real CWU appears as large as that of sugarcane, and the real and virtual CWU combined is as large as that of rice. However, milk production generates more value than the outputs of rice and sugarcane combined. Sustainable water use and agricultural growth in major milk-producing areas require a drastic reduction in groundwater CWU, which, at present, exceeds natural recharge. It is suggested that diversifying to a mix of milk and high-value (but low water consuming) crops can reduce groundwater CWU while ensuring higher total output.
ISSN:1473-5903
1747-762X
DOI:10.1080/14735903.2012.620336