On October 25, the “Report on China’s Grain Production Water Footprint and Regional Virtual Water Flow (1997-2023)” was released in Yangling, Shaanxi Province.
The report, compiled over nearly 20 years by the Arid Areas Water-Saving Agricultural Research Institute of Northwest A&F University, represents the culmination of extensive research focused on the interplay between grain production, consumption, and water resource utilization in China.
This comprehensive report analyzes the temporal and spatial evolution, as well as distribution patterns, of grain sowing area, yield, yield per unit area, and per capita grain availability across 31 provincial-level regions from 1997 to 2023. It delves into the consumption processes of green water (effective precipitation) and blue water (surface or groundwater) during grain production while examining the spatial heterogeneity of the production water footprint. The report also explores the phenomenon of regional food transportation due to mismatches in grain production and consumption, providing a quantitative analysis of the virtual water flow associated with these movements.
The findings highlight that China’s current grain production faces severe challenges, including insufficient water resource endowments, uneven spatial distribution of water and soil resources, diminishing marginal returns on water efficiency improvements, and declining water resource sustainability in northern regions. The report suggests that enhancing agricultural water efficiency and scientifically reducing the water footprint of grain production are effective strategies for addressing these challenges.
The authors advocate for the widespread adoption of agricultural water-saving technologies, which could significantly decrease the grain production water footprint. However, they note that the potential of existing technologies in certain areas remains underutilized. They propose leveraging new water-saving productivity through agricultural innovation and implementing comprehensive water management across the entire grain production-consumption cycle, integrating biology, agronomy, engineering, and management to develop new theories and methods for efficient agricultural water use.
To tackle the water challenges faced by grain production, the report recommends a coordinated approach, which involves balancing blue water (irrigation) and green water (precipitation) usage, regulating both tangible and virtual water flows, managing domestic and international virtual water trade, and unifying biological, agronomic, engineering, and management water-saving measures. This holistic strategy aims to optimize water use throughout the grain production and consumption process, providing scientific and technical support to ensure national water security and food security.
Zhao Bing, the resident representative of the World Food Programme in China, emphasized the report’s significance in understanding the characteristics and challenges of China’s grain production water usage. He noted that the solutions proposed in the report could also serve as valuable references for other countries and regions facing similar water-related issues.
