The Deep South states, including Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Georgia, continue to experience one of the highest poverty rates in the nation. As agriculture plays a significant role in the economies of these states, one potential option for their economic resurgence is through a drastic increase in agricultural productivity. This project considers such an option based on a scenario of a transition from rain-fed to irrigation-fed (RFtoIF) agriculture. The project is conducted in the Mobile River Basin encompassing portions of Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi. Given that food, energy and water (FEW) systems are intricately linked within the basin, the study will evaluate the impacts of RFtoIF agriculture transition on the distribution-of and interactions-between these three resource systems. Through established relationships and collaboration with the stakeholders in Alabama, the project provides an opportunity for the investigators and relevant stakeholders to facilitate identification of the barriers and incentives needed to spur RFtoIF transition in the Deep South, as well as to discuss the significance of findings, identify ways for improving their impacts, and enabling informed decision making.
The overarching goal of this project is to develop a refined assessment of the feasibility of transition from rain-fed to irrigation-fed agriculture and the potential ensuing impacts on food-water-energy nexus in regions of the Deep South. In this regard, the project will study FEW systems nexuses for: (a) a business-as-usual scenario, in order to set a baseline; and (b) scenarios depicting varied intensities of transition from rain-fed to irrigation-fed agriculture. RFtoIF intensities are considered for a range of anticipated copped area transition. Through established relationships and collaboration with the stakeholders in Alabama, the project will provide an opportunity for the investigators and relevant stakeholders to further discuss the significance of findings and identify ways for improving the impacts. The project creates a fundamental body of knowledge on RFtoIF agriculture transition in a water-plenty environment. Specifically, the project answers three questions: 1) What will be the potential increase in crop productivity and revenue if RFtoIF is implemented, and can the irrigation schedule be optimized to minimize associated costs? 2) How does RFtoIF transition affect the operations of water-supply reservoirs, power plants, and riverine navigation? and 3) How do climatological, sociological and economic factors influence farmer's receptiveness to RFtoIF transition? Findings from this project will delineate a better quantitative picture of the FEW systems nexus and assessment of integrated costs, thus facilitating harmonious apportioning by resource managers under a RFtoIF transition scenario. Furthermore, it facilitates identification of the barriers and incentives needed to spur RFtoIF transition in the Deep South, thus enabling informed decision making. This project is jointly funded by INFEWS and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR); and managed by the GEOSCIENCES Directorate.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
