Water Footprint Assessment of Rice Production in Malaysia Using LCA Approach

Abstract

The demand for rice in year 2030 is projected to be around 533 million ton of milled rice and known to be a high water consuming crop. In Asia alone, irrigated rice consumes as much as 150 billion m3 of water. With water being the most important component for rice production, yielding more rice with less water is therefore a formidable challenge.  The aim of this study is to assess the water footprint of paddy plantation at Muda Rice Granary, Kedah for five consecutive years; 2012 to 2016. By using the life cycle assessment (LCA) approach, the potential environmental impacts due to water consumption in planting and processing rice will be assessed. By integrating water footprint with LCA may assist in analysing environmental impacts associated with direct and indirect water consumption throughout the whole process; starting from raw material extraction, processing or production, distribution, use, and disposal. The methodological framework follows the LCA framework; setting up goal and specifying the scope of study, followed by inventory analysis, water footprint sustainability assessment and finally interpretation or response formulation. The research boundary for this study include the growing phase of paddy; seedling and cultivating of the paddy until the rice milling process. By implementing this water footprint research in paddy field, it will be essential not only in research area but also in agricultural development in Malaysia. Consequently, it will become the baseline for other agricultural in Malaysia in this research area.