Water Resources

Cotton Water Use Compared to Other Crops

As noted in the Technical Summary, cotton's global water footprint is about 2.6% of the world's water use, lower than other commodities (e.g., Soybeans 4%, Maize 9%, Wheat 12%, Rice 21%).¹ Cotton’s water consumption is in line with that of most other crops. Figure 1 provides an example of the water used by several different crops grown in the Arizona desert (thus, the water use in this region is among the highest one would expect for any area in the world).

Figure 1. Total water use of different crops grown in the Arizona desert. ²

From Figure 1, it is clear that cotton is not a “water hog.” In fact, in more humid environments, cotton’s water use is very comparable to that of corn and soybeans.

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References:

• ¹ Hoekstra, A. Y. and A. K. Chapagain. 2007. Water footprints of nations: Water use by people as a function of their consumption pattern. Water Resource Management 21:35–48.
• ²Data from: Consumption use of water by major crops in the Southwestern United States - USDA, ARS Conservation Research Report 29. May 1982