Challenges for Sustainable Water Resource Management in Greek Olive Groves: Irrigation and Salinity

Irrigated agriculture is the world’s largest water user. It has been estimated that in order to satisfy food demand during the next 30 years, world food production must increase by 70%. Considering that most of the agriculture in the world is rainfed, an important strategy to achieve the above objective is the transition from rainfed to irrigated agriculture. Concerning water supply in Greece, the volume of available natural water resource is about 14,500 hm3, and water demand per year is estimated at 8243 hm3, of which 83% is used for irrigation. About 45% of the total cultivated area of Greece is irrigated, and groundwater is the main source of its supply. In Greece, sprinkler and drip irrigation are the main irrigation systems used for olive cultivation, while about 30% of the total olive cultivated areas are irrigated. One of the most common water management problems encountered in coastal olive cultivation areas of Greece is saline irrigation caused mainly by intensive agriculture activities (over-pumping of aquifers). In this chapter, the current status and future priorities regarding the effective irrigation for olive cultivation were identified. Also, quantities of irrigation needed for olive groves at regional units of Greece are suggested.