Water consumption, land use and production patterns of rice, wheat and potato in South Asia during 1988–2012

South Asia is home to over one-fifth of the global population where around 276 million people are chronically undernourished. This research analyzed the water consumption, agricultural land use and production patterns of three major cultivated crops in South Asia for the period 1988–2012, namely rice, wheat and potato. Data have been collected from AQUASTAT and FAOSTAT databases of the Food and Agriculture Organization. Results reveal that the majority of South Asian countries have managed to increase food production through intensive groundwater-based irrigation during the non-monsoon period. Food production in South Asia largely depends on high water-consuming crops such as rice and wheat. In recent years, potato-harvested area and volume of production both increased substantially compared to 1990s. However, to meet the demand of a growing population with finite land and water resources, South Asian countries should take a number of steps including promoting the cultivation of less water-consuming crops through diversification of cropping pattern, reducing high dependency on groundwater, increasing irrigation efficiencies and conjunctive use of water. These steps would help South Asian countries to promote sustainable agriculture in line with goal 2 of the Sustainable Development Goals.