Irrigation water intensity and climate variability: an agricultural crops analysis of Italian regions

This paper examines the relationship between the requirement of water resources for irrigation and climate variability and analyses the ranking of the best and worst performance of irrigation water intensity for each Italian region. To measure water resources demanded by agriculture, the irrigation water intensity (IWI) indicator has been computed as the ratio between volumes of irrigation water and total crop harvested. By applying panel data methodologies to a regional dataset spanning from 2000 to 2009, we may address heterogeneity and omitted variable issues. By merging meteo-climatic with agricultural variables, we may confirm that water precipitations, maximum temperature, irrigation propensity indicator, and yields are the main and relevant determinants of the IWI indicator. Moreover, results confirm our expectations that regions belonging to South and Islands macro-areas seem the best performers in terms of irrigation water intensity. Also, our analysis reveals limited availability of information on water resource data and suggests strengthening the need for regularly collecting data and producing statistics to support in designing adequate tools for optimal policies.