Water, Energy and Carbon Tradeoffs of Groundwater Irrigation-Based Food Production: Case Studies from Fergana Valley, Central Asia

Akmal Kh Karimov,Abdullo Tohirov,Botir Abdurakhmanov,Iroda Amirova,Aziz A Karimov

doi:10.3390/su14031451

Abstract

In arid environments, water shortages due to over-allocation of river flow are often compensated by lift irrigation or pumping groundwater. In such environments, farmers using pumped irrigation can deploy on-farm energy-efficient and water-saving technologies; however, pumping water requiring extra energy is associated with carbon emissions. This study explores how to increase crop production using pumped irrigation with minimal energy and carbon emissions. The purpose of this research is twofold: first, to examine on-farm energy consumption and carbon emissions in gravity and groundwater irrigation systems; and second, to explore system-level alternatives of power generation and water management for food production based on the results from the farm-level analysis. This study employs a novel system-level approach for addressing water, energy, and carbon tradeoffs under pumped irrigation using groundwater. These tradeoffs are assessed at farm and system levels. On-farm level estimates showed that farm-level interventions were insufficient to produce mutual gains. According to the results of the system-level evaluation, system-level interventions for water and energy conservation, the use of renewable energy to pump water for irrigation, and river basin scale cooperation are all required to maintain crop production while reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions.

Highlights

This study results suggest that in the environment, when carbon emissions become the main factor of environmental and agricultural unsustainability, WP indicator is not enough alone to decide whether the crop production is sustainable because, despite it being an important indicator of crop return on consumed water, it does not reflect differences of alternative cases in carbon emissions
Amid the growing demand for food and increasing pressure on limited, vulnerable river flow, the shift to pumped irrigation using groundwater has addressed water scarcity in agriculture. This adaptation strategy creates a base for increasing crop production by introducing intensive farming practices, water-saving irrigation, and energy-saving technologies
In this case, improved yields of crops and water productivity may be traded for high carbon inputs and CO2 emissions

Summary

Introduction

In such environments, farmers using pumped irrigation can deploy on-farm energy-efficient and water-saving technologies; pumping water requiring extra energy is associated with carbon emissions. Introduction with regard to jurisdictional claims in Increased agricultural production is critical to ensuring food security for the world’s growing population This requires more agricultural farm inputs, including water and energy, and carries associated soil, water, and atmosphere pollution risks due to increasingly poor-quality return flows and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion