A different perspective on agricultural products within the scope of water footprint intensity

Abstract

Water is one of the most basic requirements for the sustainability of life on Earth. However, global climate change threatens this important resource by deeply affecting water resources and the water cycle. The sustainability of food production also depends on the proper management and protection of existing water resources. Therefore, it is important to know the amount of water required for agricultural production on a product basis and to prepare basin-based production plans taking into account water resources. The concept of water footprint (WF), which is used to express the amount of water consumed directly and indirectly in the process from the supply chain of goods and services to the end user or the extent of water pollution it causes, is presented as an important tool in water management. Nowadays, the WF calculations of agricultural products are also one of the most widely studied topics. In this study, Water Footprint Intensity is calculated for some agricultural products and the WFD of these products is evaluated through economic indicators and a different perspective is tried to be presented to the readers.