The journal Water has published the scientific review From Flood to Drip Irrigation: A Review of Irrigation Modernization Trade-Offs, authored by Alessandra Santini, Mauro Masiero and Davide Matteo Pettenella (University of Padua) and Giulia Amato (Etifor). The study analyzes the trade-offs associated with the transition from traditional flood irrigation to drip irrigation systems, often promoted as a universal solution to water scarcity.
Through a systematic review of scientific literature – conducted according to PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines on a final corpus of 62 publications – the research demonstrates that, while at the field scale drip irrigation produces clear benefits (higher yields, better water efficiency, reduction of soil emissions), at the basin scale the picture becomes more complex: farm-level water savings are often offset by the expansion of irrigated surfaces and production intensification, reducing the return flows that feed groundwater and downstream ecosystems. Irrigation modernization is therefore necessary but not sufficient, and must be accompanied by governance tools that regulate consumption and enhance the value of ecosystem services linked to traditional irrigation systems.
The paper is part of Etifor’s commitment to research on water-related ecosystem services and the governance of water resources in agriculture.
