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 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.
Main Authors: | , , |
---|---|
Format: | Journal Article biblioteca |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Informa UK Limited
2012-02
|
Subjects: | milk production, water use, water consumption, crop production, diversification, groundwater irrigation, water productivity, sustainable agriculture, |
Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/40333 https://doi.org/10.1080/14735903.2012.620336 |
Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
id |
dig-cgspace-10568-40333 |
---|---|
record_format |
koha |
spelling |
dig-cgspace-10568-403332023-09-23T17:51:47Z Water-milk nexus in India: a path to a sustainable water future? Amarasinghe, Upali A. Shah, Tushaar Smakhtin, Vladimir U. milk production water use water consumption crop production diversification groundwater irrigation water productivity sustainable agriculture 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. 2012-02 2014-06-13T14:47:25Z 2014-06-13T14:47:25Z Journal Article Amarasinghe, Upali A.; Shah, Tushaar; Smakhtin, Vladimir. 2012. Water-milk nexus in India: a path to a sustainable water future? International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability, 10(1):93-108. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14735903.2012.620336 1473-5903 https://hdl.handle.net/10568/40333 https://doi.org/10.1080/14735903.2012.620336 en Copyrighted; all rights reserved Limited Access Informa UK Limited |
institution |
CGIAR |
collection |
DSpace |
country |
Francia |
countrycode |
FR |
component |
Bibliográfico |
access |
En linea |
databasecode |
dig-cgspace |
tag |
biblioteca |
region |
Europa del Oeste |
libraryname |
Biblioteca del CGIAR |
language |
English |
topic |
milk production water use water consumption crop production diversification groundwater irrigation water productivity sustainable agriculture milk production water use water consumption crop production diversification groundwater irrigation water productivity sustainable agriculture |
spellingShingle |
milk production water use water consumption crop production diversification groundwater irrigation water productivity sustainable agriculture milk production water use water consumption crop production diversification groundwater irrigation water productivity sustainable agriculture Amarasinghe, Upali A. Shah, Tushaar Smakhtin, Vladimir U. Water-milk nexus in India: a path to a sustainable water future? |
description |
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. |
format |
Journal Article |
topic_facet |
milk production water use water consumption crop production diversification groundwater irrigation water productivity sustainable agriculture |
author |
Amarasinghe, Upali A. Shah, Tushaar Smakhtin, Vladimir U. |
author_facet |
Amarasinghe, Upali A. Shah, Tushaar Smakhtin, Vladimir U. |
author_sort |
Amarasinghe, Upali A. |
title |
Water-milk nexus in India: a path to a sustainable water future? |
title_short |
Water-milk nexus in India: a path to a sustainable water future? |
title_full |
Water-milk nexus in India: a path to a sustainable water future? |
title_fullStr |
Water-milk nexus in India: a path to a sustainable water future? |
title_full_unstemmed |
Water-milk nexus in India: a path to a sustainable water future? |
title_sort |
water-milk nexus in india: a path to a sustainable water future? |
publisher |
Informa UK Limited |
publishDate |
2012-02 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/10568/40333 https://doi.org/10.1080/14735903.2012.620336 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT amarasingheupalia watermilknexusinindiaapathtoasustainablewaterfuture AT shahtushaar watermilknexusinindiaapathtoasustainablewaterfuture AT smakhtinvladimiru watermilknexusinindiaapathtoasustainablewaterfuture |
_version_ |
1779054472031371264 |