Global exports draining local water resources: Land concentration, food exports and water grabbing in the Ica Valley (Peru)

• Published in: World development Vol. 177; p. 106557
• Main Authors: Pronti, A., Zegarra, E., Vicario, D. Rey, Graves, A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.05.2024
• Subjects: Groundwater sustainability; Ica Valley; Land concentration; Peru; Rebound effect; Water grabbing; Ica Valley; Water grabbing; Groundwater sustainability; Rebound effect; Peru; Land concentration
• ISSN: 0305-750X; 1873-5991
• DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2024.106557

•The Ica valley (Peru) experienced an increasing level LSLA replacing traditional local agriculture based on small-farming.•We analyze the effect of land concentration, crop specialization and irrigation intensity on groundwater sustainability.•Groundwater sustainability falls when irrigation intensity, crop specialization and large farms concentration are high.•Farm specialization in grapes for international trade is a driver of groundwater sustainability reduction. The agro-export boom is threatening the sustainability of water resources in many regions around the world. This is the case of the Ica valley in Peru, where in the last decades traditional agriculture has been replaced by big agricultural businesses to meet the growing international food demand. This has led to increasing land concentration by large exporting farms jointly with an increase in groundwater exploitation for irrigation. In this paper, we analyze the effect of land concentration, exporting crop specialization and irrigation intensity on groundwater sustainability using an econometric approach. Our findings highlighted an inverse relation between groundwater sustainability in terms of water withdrawal in the Ica Valley and the intensity of irrigation (drip technology), commodity specialization and concentration of large farms. More research is needed to fully understand the impacts of this very important economic activity on Peru’s natural resources, to ensure its sustainability in the long term.