Stochastic optimization of the water-energy-food nexus in disadvantaged rural communities to achieve the sustainable development goals

Abstract

The 2030 agenda for sustainable development sets goals to strengthen the economic, environmental, and social sectors of the world. Among the main objectives are to eradicate poverty in the world, guarantee food security and human well-being, as well as the sustainable production of resources. The most important challenges are in rural areas where it is difficult to access food, electricity, fuel, and sanitary services. To overcome resource limitations, the optimization of the water-energy-food nexus has been proposed to boost the economic development of disadvantaged rural communities, this has been addressed through the correct management of available resources to ensure that the inhabitants have access to basic social services and a healthy diet. In this work, a mathematical model is provided for the sustainable production via integration of water, energy, and food in disadvantage rural communities, determining the optimal mix of technologies to supply the utility demands and the variety of food to cover nutritional requirements. The model formulation is a Stochastic Mixed Integer Linear Program, and it considers the population change and the water and energy demand as uncertain parameters. A Mexican community was selected as case study demonstrating the applicability of the model. Results show that it is feasible to create a system that enables the community to be self-sufficient and provide a balanced diet for inhabitants using renewable technologies and considering waste treatment. Moreover, with the proposed integration, it is possible to reduce the poverty and marginalization index by 8% per year with proper profit management.