This paper combines Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Food Balance data with Water Footprint data to reveal how virtual water flows interact with food import tonnages to enhance or retard national decoupling based on food trade. Decoupling theorises breaking the links between economic and population growth and water demands for domestic food production. The detailed analysis applies a resource decoupling model in relation to the role and potential of food and virtual water trade in alleviating national and regional water limits in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The contrast between Egypt’s political denial of dependence, and Israel’s strategic adoption of food imports provides an example.

This paper combines Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Food Balance data with Water Footprint data to reveal how virtual water flows interact with food import tonnages to enhance or retard national decoupling based on food trade. Decoupling theorises breaking the links between economic and population growth and water demands for domestic food production. The detailed analysis applies a resource decoupling model in relation to the role and potential of food and virtual water trade in alleviating national and regional water limits in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The contrast between Egypt’s political denial of dependence, and Israel’s strategic adoption of food imports provides an example.

Selecting appropriate crops and applying deficit irrigation can help increase water productivity in water-limited regions such as the Mediterranean. The objective of this study was to develop water production functions of major cereal and legume crops under the same environmental and management conditions. Bread and durum wheat, faba bean, chickpea, and lentil were grown under full supplemental irrigation (FSI), two deficit irrigations levels of 2/3 of FSI (2/3SI) and 1/3 of FSI (1/3SI), and under rainfed conditions (no irrigation). In average, the actual evapotranspirations (ETs) under FSI were 549, 552, 365, 451 and 297 mm, for bread wheat, durum wheat, faba bean, chickpea and lentil, respectively. For the same crops, they were 463, 458, 330, 393 and 277 mm for the treatment 2/3SI and 357, 351, 265, 318 and 244 mm for the treatment 1/3SI, respectively. In the case of the rainfed treatment, ETs for the mentioned crops were 250, 251, 227, 237 and 215 mm, respectively. The experiment was conducted at the ICARDA experimental station at Tel Hadya, near Aleppo, Syria, over three growing seasons from 2007 to 2010.

The interlinkage between water, energy and food security and its transboundary relevance is becoming increasingly important. The paper analyses the evolution of transboundary water resources management in the Euphrates–Tigris basin with specific reference to interlinkages between water, food and energy policies at national and transboundary levels, and it explores how the policy shifts at the highest decision-making level have served to produce synergies for cooperation among the riparians or vice versa.

Selecting appropriate crops and applying deficit irrigation can help increase water productivity in water-limited regions such as the Mediterranean. The objective of this study was to develop water production functions of major cereal and legume crops under the same environmental and management conditions. Bread and durum wheat, faba bean, chickpea, and lentil were grown under full supplemental irrigation (FSI), two deficit irrigations levels of 2/3 of FSI (2/3SI) and 1/3 of FSI (1/3SI), and under rainfed conditions (no irrigation). In average, the actual evapotranspirations (ETs) under FSI were 549, 552, 365, 451 and 297mm, for bread wheat, durum wheat, faba bean, chickpea and lentil, respectively. For the same crops, they were 463, 458, 330, 393 and 277mm for the treatment 2/3SI and 357, 351, 265, 318 and 244mm for the treatment 1/3SI, respectively. In the case of the rainfed treatment, ETs for the mentioned crops were 250, 251, 227, 237 and 215mm, respectively. The experiment was conducted at the ICARDA experimental station at Tel Hadya, near Aleppo, Syria, over three growing seasons from 2007 to 2010. Results showed that, in general, the treatment with 1/3 of FSI gave the highest rate of increase in grain yield and water productivity. The mean grain yield from rainfed, 1/3SI, 2/3SI, and FSI were 1.36, 3.82, 5.18, and 5.70t/ha for bread wheat; 1.24, 3.80, 5.10, and 5.75t/ha for durum wheat; 1.57, 2.35, 2.86, and 3.54t/ha for faba bean, 1.36, 2.63, 3.36, and 3.74t/ha for chickpea, and 0.64, 1.16, 1.42, and 1.58t/ha for lentil respectively. Grain yield reductions due to the application of 2/3SI were around 10, 5, 15.6, and 10.2% of FSI on average for wheat, chickpea, faba bean, and lentils, respectively. Deficit irrigation at 2/3SI increased water productivity compared to rainfed treatments, by 200, 223, 126, 148 and 190% for bread wheat, durum wheat, faba bean, chickpea, and lentils, respectively. However, differences in total water productivity of crops grown under full irrigation compared to deficit irrigation were not significant. Irrigation water productivity ranged from 25kgha⁻¹mm⁻¹ in wheat with 1/3SI to 10kgha⁻¹mm⁻¹ for legumes under the FSI treatment. Unlike legumes, maximizing wheat grain yield caused a decline in water productivity.

Selecting appropriate crops and applying deficit irrigation can help increase water productivity in waterlimited regions such as the Mediterranean. The objective of this study was to develop water production functions of major cereal and legume crops under the same environmental and management conditions. Bread and durum wheat, faba bean, chickpea, and lentil were grown under full supplemental irrigation (FSI), two deficit irrigations levels of 2/3 of FSI (2/3SI) and 1/3 of FSI (1/3SI), and under rainfed conditions (no irrigation). In average, the actual evapotranspirations (ETs) under FSI were 549, 552, 365, 451 and 297 mm, for bread wheat, durum wheat, faba bean, chickpea and lentil, respectively. For the same crops, they were 463, 458, 330, 393 and 277 mm for the treatment 2/3SI and 357, 351, 265, 318 and 244 mm for the treatment 1/3SI, respectively. In the case of the rainfed treatment, ETs for the mentioned crops were 250, 251, 227, 237 and 215 mm, respectively. The experiment was conducted at the ICARDA experimental station at Tel Hadya, near Aleppo, Syria, over three growing seasons from 2007 to 2010. Results showed that, in general, the treatment with 1/3 of FSI gave the highest rate of increase in grain yield and water productivity. The mean grain yield from rainfed, 1/3SI, 2/3SI, and FSI were 1.36, 3.82, 5.18, and 5.70 t/ha for bread wheat; 1.24, 3.80, 5.10, and 5.75 t/ha for durum wheat; 1.57, 2.35, 2.86, and 3.54 t/ha for faba bean, 1.36, 2.63, 3.36, and 3.74 t/ha for chickpea, and 0.64, 1.16, 1.42, and 1.58 t/ha for lentil respectively. Grain yield reductions due to the application of 2/3SI were around 10, 5, 15.6, and 10.2% of FSI on average for wheat, chickpea, faba bean, and lentils, respectively. Deficit irrigation at 2/3SI increased water productivity compared to rainfed treatments, by 200, 223, 126, 148 and 190% for bread wheat, durum wheat, faba bean, chickpea, and lentils, respectively. However, differences in total water productivity of crops grown under full irrigation compared to deficit irrigation were not significant. Irrigation water productivity ranged from 25 kg ha−1mm−1 in wheat with 1/3SI to 10 kg ha−1mm−1 for legumes under the FSI treatment. Unlike legumes, maximizing wheat grain yield caused a decline in water productivity.