(334f) Analysis of the Water-Energy-Food Nexus in Agriculture Dependent Rural Communities By Using Mathematical Programming

The food-energy-water (FEW) nexus has become a useful tool to address the complex and interrelated nature of global resource systems, on which society depends to achieve different social, economical and environmental goals. A rapidly growing world population is causing an unsustainable pressure on resources. The demand for water, food and energy is expected to increase by 30-50% in the next two decades. An effective connection between the elements of the nexus can be achieved through the use of new technologies or forms of energy production. For example, the use of agricultural and food biomass wastes for the production of biomaterials and bioenergy. The application of optimization tools in the analysis of the FEW nexus represents a useful alternative for decision-making as well as for the implementation of public policies when managing the elements of the nexus.

This work presents a mixed integer linear programming model to approach the food-energy-water nexus of agriculture based rural communities. The model considers the optimal management of water, food production involving different irrigation and cultivation schemes, and the use of biomass for the production of biofuels. The formulation includes the estimation of a socioeconomic development indicator and the potential implementation of public policies, such as government financing and incentive programs to agricultural activities. The effect of climate spatial variations on physical and biological resources and phenomena are also considered by using a multi-period approach. Three objectives are included in the model: maximization of annual net profit, minimization of water consumption and minimization of unsatisfied demand for food. The model was applied to a case study of an agricultural population, which has been solved through the GAMS modeling environment. The model applied to such case study consists of 23810 equations, 22054 continuous variables and 698 binary variables. The results show that the proposed methodology is capable of obtaining the optimal configuration of the food and biofuel production system with desirable results in terms of the sustainable management of resources and the application of financing programs and government incentives. The following are some of the conclusions obtained: i) it is shown that the application of government incentives has a positive impact on the modernization of agricultural activities, ii) the most important program for socio-economic development is government financing, iii) the modernization of irrigation allows a significant reduction in water consumption, iv) the installation of a biorefinery brings economic benefits and favors the production of some foods, v) it is possible to distribute food production, and therefore economic resources, in such a way that the same per capita income is obtained for each of the rural regions under analysis.