Irrigation’s climate benefit could equal 363 years of its own emissions

New research from Colorado State University suggests that irrigating U.S. crops may deliver a surprisingly large climate benefit by allowing farmers to produce more food without converting additional natural land into agriculture.

Irrigation increases crop yields, which means the same amount of food can be grown on a smaller area. According to the researchers, if irrigation across the United States were suddenly eliminated, making up for the lost agricultural production would require expanding farmland. The greenhouse gas emissions associated with that land conversion would be 363 times greater than the emissions currently produced by irrigation itself.

The team estimates that the emissions avoided by preventing this additional land use are equivalent to 363 years of current annual U.S. greenhouse gas emissions from irrigation.