Sequence of agricultural water use for society: intensification, equity, conservation, disinvestment and back to intensification

This study centres on sequences of agricultural water use for society. Drawing on 36 international reorientation cases, defined as reforms in agricultural water management undertaken to accommodate shifts in societal priorities, it identifies one overarching sequence. Economic growth emerges as the primary driver of agricultural expansion and intensification. Yet societal priorities do shift, prompting changes in agricultural water management. This occurs when environmental, social or exogeneous limits are exceeded. Depending on the effectiveness of interventions, these shifts may temporarily or permanently reduce agricultural land, water resources and pollution. Directions for further research concern disinvestment, water caps and unexamined growth paths.