Assessing the Sustainability of Agricultural Water Use Based on Water Footprints of Wheat and Rice Production

Agriculture constitutes the primary consumer of water globally, with a particular emphasis on the consumption and elevated demand for wheat and rice, positioning these crops as strategic commodities. Given their extensive cultivation worldwide, the water utilized in their production markedly influences the total water consumption within the agricultural sector, potentially posing a significant risk to water resource accessibility. This research was undertaken to assess water scarcity in the production of wheat and rice within Iran, focusing on the water footprint (WF) framework from 2008 to 2019. The findings indicate that in irrigated wheat production, the proportions of blue, green, and grey WFs constitute 71.76%, 15.87%, and 13.11% of the overall WF, respectively. Conversely, for rain-fed wheat production in Iran, green and grey WFs represent 55% and 45%, respectively. The overall WF for rice amounts to 3037 m3/ton, with blue, green, and grey WFs comprising 91.68%, 6.93%, and 1.39%, respectively. The available water resources for rice production across the provinces amount to 21,992 m3/ton, with 15,210 and 6872 million m3 (MCM) pertaining to green and blue water, respectively. Additionally, the study reveals that the average water stress index for wheat and rice production stands at 0.6 and 0.5, respectively. North Khorasan, Khuzestan, and Fars provinces exhibit the highest water self-sufficiency indices (indicating the lowest dependency) for wheat production, whereas Guilan and Mazandaran provinces display the lowest indices (indicating the highest dependency). In contrast, the highest (and lowest) self-sufficiency index for rice production is observed in the Guilan province (and Khorasan Razavi, respectively). The estimated annual water deprivation for wheat and rice production in Iran is 1004.44 MCM and 1073 MCM, respectively. This study offers valuable insights for decision-making regarding the sustainable management of water resources in grain production.