The crop water requirement indicator for a sustainability management in agriculture

The additional food required to feed future generations will put further enormous pressure on freshwater resources with the world’s population set to increase. This is because agriculture is the largest single user of fresh water, accounting for about 75% of current human water use. Reducing water use and protecting water quality are key issues of the Common Agricultural Policy. Because of this water scarcity and because new arable land is also limited, future increases in production will have to come mainly by growing more food on existing land and water. Crop Water Requirement (CWR) is a tool used to define the sustainability of water in crop production. In this study the CWR and CWR in relation to yield have been calculated considering data of maize production across the different Provinces and Regions (ISTAT years from 2012-2016). Results illustrated a great heterogeneity of water consumption in Italy, with values greater than 5.000 m3 q -1 registered in the Southern Regions. In terms of water use efficiency, the performances were analysed through the ratio between CWR and yield production, a synthetic index which showcased high performances in the Northern regions compared to the Southern regions of Italy, in particular Piedmont, Veneto and FriuliVenezia Giulia. This information can be used by Policy makers to define appropriate policies for water management.