Abstract:
Water is the renewable resource and its availability varies with time and space.
Agriculture is the one sector which is consuming enormous amount of water for
production. The hidden or embodied form of water in the commodity is known as
virtual water. The international trade of commodities indirectly shows the transfer of
water across countries in virtual form. Virtual water trade is an emerging phenomenon
which helps in determining country dependency or self-sufficiency on water resources
with other countries. The inefficient application of water resources has become an
urgent problem restricting the world’s sustainable development. The current study
aims in determining the virtual water trade in maize crop and crop products of India.
Maize is the multipurpose crop as it used as food, feed and as raw material for
industries. It is highly demanded as feed by cattle and poultry sector as it supplements
high protein content in diet. Poultry and cattle accounts 63 percent of maize
consumption whereas human maize consumption is only 8 percent. The results of the
study indicates that India is the net virtual water exporter of maize crop and crop
products. The average water usage associated with Indian Maize production is 56901
Mm3
.The major virtual water flow is diverted to Bangladesh, Nepal, Vietnam and
Malaysia. The highest virtual water content exported is 6648 Mm3
in the year 2020-
21 and highest virtual water content imported is 898.24 Mm3 in the year 2019-20.
Virtual Water Balance for maize in India is negative because the volume of virtual
water import is less than virtual water export . Even in situation of negative virtual
water balance, the virtual water flow of maize is increasing in recent years which
indirectly contributes in achieving the global food sustainability of importing nations.
