Measuring and analyzing the specific water demand for agricultural products and the position of Iran in trade with other countries

The agricultural sector is currently the largest water consumer in the country due to population growth and the need for food supply. Therefore, resource management and water consumption in agriculture, on the one hand, are important due to the shortage of water and soil resources and, on the other hand, the surplus of food demand. Therefore, the purpose of the study is to use the virtual water trade approach to determine the water footprint of the country in the agricultural sector. For this purpose, the technical-base indicators have been used to measure the virtual water consumption of products. In this study, special water consumption and virtual water trade of 36 crops and garden products for the period of 2001-15 have been calculated. According to the results, Iran is the net importer of "virtual water" during the period examined. Through the trade in agricultural products, exports amounted to 4.3 billion cubic meters per year and 15.8 billion cubic meters of "virtual water" imports. Among the studied crops and garden products, legumes and dried fruits based on their special water consumption are high-consumption products. The results have provided information that can be used to optimize the combination of agricultural products in order to maintain water resources and provide food security.