The role of water and energy use in expanding the boundaries of irrigated agriculture in the Berrechid plain of Morocco

Despite the attention given to the water-energy-food nexus, there is little field evidence of how this plays out for irrigators. This article analyses the diversity of irrigation system configurations and their related water and energy use in semi-arid Morocco, where groundwater-fed and pressurized drip irrigation, although supposedly thrifty, is energy intensive. The analysis relying on onhydraulic calculations and multiple linear regressions was based on interviews,observations and measurements on irrigation systems in 25 farms. The resultsshow that each farmer used between one and three pumps and up to two stor-age reservoirs to pump groundwater from up to 120 m deep borehole(s) andtransfer it along a distance often exceeding 2 km to reach available fertile landsthat are rented. Such distances had little effect on the system-wise energy con-sumption, varying between 4.62 and 4.88 kWh m3, although the recycled carengines powering these irrigation systems were largely inefficient, consumingon average 2.5 kWh m3. State subsidies encourage these water-intensive andenergy-inefficient farming systems, increasing pressure on groundwater andland. These findings underline the importance of going beyond a strict nexusperspective, as expansion of the‘groundwater economy’is accompanied byconflicts over tenure and increasing inequalities in access to water thatthreaten the sustainability of irrigated agriculture.