The Economic Nexus between Energy, Water Consumption, and Food Production in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The goal of this study was to look at the economic relationship between energy, water use, and plant and animal food production in Saudi Arabia from 1995 to 2020. The results showed that about 55.5%, 82.4%, and 2.5% of changes in the index of plant and animal food production were related to changes in the consumption of water, electricity, and diesel, respectively, using an econometric analysis and the partial correlation coefficient of the second order. The proposed model demonstrated that a 10% change in predicted water, power, or fuel consumption resulted in a 1.97%, 2.78%, and 0.73% change in the index of plant and animal food production, respectively. In light of the Green Middle East Initiative, which intended to minimize carbon emissions, and Saudi agriculture’s goal of rationalizing water use, the country’s total consumption does not exceed 8 billion m3 of renewable groundwater. This is intended to reduce the use of fuel and increase the use of electricity in the agricultural sector. This rationalizing water consumption, reducing diesel consumption, and expanding electricity consumption affects the production of plant and animal food. In light of the strong interdependence between water, energy, and food production, the agricultural policy has become necessary to increase the amount supplied or available for water to be used in food production, in addition to expanding the production of clean energy and its use in the agricultural sector.

Keywords

• water
• energy
• plant and animal food
• simple and partial correlation
• Saudi agriculture