ESTIMATING THE COUNTRY-LEVEL WATER CONSUMPTION FOOTPRINT OF SELECTED CROP PRODUCTION

Agriculture has become a major user of global freshwater resources. This study measured the consumptive water use of 15 selected crops (cash crops, vegetables, and fruits) in Malaysia. The results indicated that the green water consumption footprint (129.8 m(3)/ton -1586.0 m(3)/ton) was higher compared to the blue water consumption footprint (21.0 m(3)/ton - 931.0 m(3)/ton) for all 15 crops in Malaysia. Paddy crop had the highest total water consumption footprint for both off and main seasons with 2265m(3)/ton and 2255 m(3)/ton, respectively, due to the cultivation practices under flood conditions. The water consumption footprint depends on the crop yield, implying that the higher the crop yield, the lower the value is. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the assessment of the water consumption footprint of crop production in Southeast Asia from 2007 to 2017 (10 years). The paper also highlights and discusses a feasibility study for the water consumption footprint of crops and future outlooks in Southeast Asia following an LCA-based approach.