Wheat Water Productivity in Iran Compared with Data of Some Countries

Wheat is considered a strategic crop in the country and even in the world. It covers a large area under cultivation (approximately 50% of the country's irrigated lands).The main objective of this study was to review and analyze wheat WP in Iran and compare it with data of some other world countries. For this purpose, national and international scientific references were collected and reviewed, and the reported values for wheat WP (at the national, basin, and provincial scales) were arranged, calculated, and summarized, and necessary analyses and some conclusions were derived. According to the results, the range of wheat WP values in Iran and the world is very wide (0.25-2.2 and 0.3-3.9 kg/m3, respectively), depending on the geographical areas, water and soil conditions, different irrigation systems, climate, etc. The country's wheat WP (on a national scale) is estimated at 0.87 kg/m3, which is in the middle range compared to world. However, based on the reported wheat WP at the provincial level, the average wheat WP in the country is equal to 0.75 kg/m3, which is again in the (lower) middle range in comparison with the global values. Comparison of  WP mean value at provincial level (0.75 kg/m3) with the average WP of 10 major wheat producing countries (0.93 kg/m3), indicated that the country's wheat WP is about 25% lower than the average of these countries. Moreover, the Iranian national wheat WP and the global scale average of this index is about 0.93 and 1.1 kg/m3, respectively. Therefore, the value of the country's wheat WP is not very low compared to the global average, and there is a relatively small gap (just 22%) with the global average. However, it is far from the values of the leading wheat producing countries (1.4 kg/m3), such as most Western European countries, South Africa, and Egypt in the Middle East, with a relatively large distance (50% lower). In conclusion, the range of wheat’s WP are very wide in different provinces and regions of the country, therefore there are many opportunities to increase it event up to twofold. This target could be achieved in the country in the medium term with the necessary investments and planning.