Food, Energy, and Water Nexus (eBook)

In this book, major issues surrounding importance of water and energy for food security in the United States and India are described representing two extremes in yield, irrigation efficiency, and automation. The farming systems in these two countries face different risks in terms of climatic shifts and systems' resiliency to handle the shocks. One may have comparative advantage over the other, but both are susceptible. Innovations in irrigation for food and fuel production, improvements in nitrogen and water use efficiency, and rural sociological issues are discussed here. We also look into some of the unintended consequences of high productivity agriculture in terms of surface and ground water quality and impacts on ecosystem services. Finally, we present ways to move forward to meet the food demands in the next half-century in both countries. 

As the current world population of 7 billion is expected to reach or exceed 10 billion in the next 40 years, there will be significant additional demand for food. A rising middle class and its preference for a meat-based diet also increases the demand for animal feed. This additional food and feed production needs special considerations in water and energy management besides the development of appropriate crop hybrids to withstand future climatic shifts and other environmental factors. A resilient agricultural landscapes will also be needed to withstand climatic fluctuations, disease pressures, etc.

While the upper and many middle income countries have made significant improvements in crop yield due to pressurized irrigation and automation in farming systems, the lower income countries are struggling with yield enhancements due to such limitations. The rise in population is expected to be more in Sub-Sharan Africa and Middle East (Low to middle-income countries) where the crop yields are expected to be low.

?Chittaranjan Ray, Ph.D. is the Director of Nebraska Water Center and Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering at the University of Nebraska.  Prior to this appointment, he was a professor in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering and Interim Director of the Water Resources Research Center at the University of Hawaii in Honolulu, Hawaii. He received his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and M.S. in Civil Engineering from Texas Tech University. He served as a staff engineer with the consulting firm Geraghty & Miller, Inc. (now part of Arcadis Geraghty & Miller) in Hackensack, New Jersey between his two graduate degrees. Additionally, he was employed as a research associate and associate scientist at the Illinois State Water Survey in Champaign, Illinois. His research interests are in the areas of water and chemical movement in soil and ground water system, water for food production, riverbank filtration for water supply, and general water quality. He is a registered Professional Civil Engineer in Illinois and fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers.  He has published/edited nine books, over 100 peer-reviewed journal papers, many technical reports. He has made dozens of presentations in the areas of water quality, contaminant transport, and riverbank filtration.