Micro Water-Energy-Food (MicroWEF) Nexus: A system design optimization framework for Integrated Natural Resource Conservation and Development (INRCD) projects at community scale

Abstract

Integrated Natural Resource Conservation and Development (INRCD) design tasks require clear frameworks and decision-support tools which translate the traditionally national-level Water-Energy-Food (WEF) Nexus concept to a micro-scale. This article presents a simulation–optimization design tool, INCRD-Opt, which performs explicit simultaneous modeling and optimization of WEF interactions in the design of a small-scale farm. INCRD-Opt makes WEF analysis and resulting improvements in decision-making accessible to farmers and community leaders. The tool can help stakeholders visualize trade-offs between competing objectives, understand the implications of interactions across sectoral boundaries, and select the optimal system for their context. The article explores system optimization of an integrated irrigation, microgrid, and cultivation project for small landholder farming communities in Uganda. Results indicate that (i) simultaneous optimization of all sectors of the WEF Nexus improves decision-making; (ii) optimizing for profit versus sustainability may lead to different design results; (iii) for the case study sites in Uganda, using smaller microgrids and tailoring irrigation to the site improves yield and sustainability as measured by the Water-Energy-Food Nexus Index (WEFNI); and (iv) the system optimization approach results in different technology investment decisions for case study locations, suggesting the use of an irrigation system in one case and rejecting it in another.