ABSTRACT
Freshwater scarcity and overexploitation are irrefutable issues. Practically in southern and eastern Asian regions, withdrawal of water for the agriculture sector accounts for 95%, a much higher fraction than the typical global agricultural water use (70%). In India, water withdrawal of 761 km3 (19%) is the highest water withdrawal in the world. It is expected from the Indian agriculture sector to avoid the cultivation of water-intensive crops and to improve the inefficient cultivation and irrigation systems. Therefore, it is necessary to quantify the freshwater appropriation in the agrarian system for sustainable water consumption and production. The Water Footprint (WF) is an appropriate indicator to track changes in consumption and production patterns of freshwater resources. WF comprises of three different components such as Green (G), Blue (B), and Grey (Gy) that makes the water assessment complete in agreement with the water footprint network (WFN) in accordance with the latest ISO 14046. The green WF deals with the consumed quantity/volume of rainwater (total rainwater evapotranspiration (ET) + incorporation) during the agricultural production process. Blue WF is an indicator of fresh surface/groundwater (consumptive water use), while grey WF is a volume of freshwater required assimilating pollutant load based on natural background concentration and existing ambient water quality standards (water pollution). WF reduction approaches (such as infield rainwater harvesting, mulching, and conservation tillage) can increase green water. Drip, sprinkler, and deficit irrigation can save water without compromising crop yield. Grey WF can be optimized by less use of fertilizer and 4organic farming. The objective is to promote various sustainable agricultural practices that can reduce/minimize the WFs in agricultural production. Therefore, WF may act as a potential indicator in the holistic endorsement of sustainable agriculture.
