Water Productivity in South African Agriculture: Benchmarks and Improvement Potential

Abstract

Water productivity — crop yield per unit of water consumed — varies enormously across South African irrigated agriculture. National datasets from the irrigation census, remote-sensing evapotranspiration mapping, and crop yield statistics are integrated to compute spatially explicit water productivity benchmarks for 18 major irrigated crops. The analysis shows that maize water productivity in Limpopo's smallholder schemes could be doubled through adoption of improved varieties, optimised fertilisation, and deficit irrigation practices.

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