Risk-based decision-making systems in water and food security of global drylands

Abstract

Abstract This study introduces the foundational principles behind the water footprint in water and food security for evaluating the managerial strategies of agricultural water management in arid areas. The role of green, grey, blue and white water footprints in yield production has been critically investigated to analyze the climate and economic risks. Therefore, a nonlinear hydro-economic framework, which integrates soil water content, food production and economics has been used for the semi-arid regions of China. Non-dimensional form of net benefit per drop was formulated to analyze the uncertainty of economic parameters. Root zone moisture was simulated to estimate crop yield, transpiration, evaporation, water required for irrigation and increase water quality. Five plants of potato, onion, tomato, eggplant and carrot were selected due to similarity in the plant growth season and market criteria. The results showed that the average effective rainfall contributed less than 15% to food production. The impact of the risk of economic fluctuations in achieving the expected net profit has been more than water.