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 hydraulic calculations and multiple linear regressions was based on interviews, observations and measurements on irrigation systems in 25 farms. The results show that each farmer used between one and three pumps and up to two storage reservoirs to pump groundwater from up to 120 m deep borehole(s) and transfer it along a distance often exceeding 2 km to reach available fertile lands that are rented. Such distances had little effect on the system-wise energy consumption, varying between 4.62 and 4.88 kWh m⁻³, although the recycled car engines powering these irrigation systems were largely inefficient, consuming on average 2.5 kWh m⁻³. State subsidies encourage these water-intensive and energy-inefficient farming systems, increasing pressure on groundwater and land. These findings underline the importance of going beyond a strict nexus perspective, as expansion of the ‘groundwater economy’ is accompanied by conflicts over tenure and increasing inequalities in access to water that threaten the sustainability of irrigated agriculture.

中文翻译：

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水和能源使用在摩洛哥 Berrechid 平原扩大灌溉农业边界方面的作用

尽管对水-能源-食物的关系给予了关注，但几乎没有现场证据表明这对灌溉者有何影响。本文分析了摩洛哥半干旱地区灌溉系统配置的多样性及其相关的水和能源使用，那里的地下水补给和加压滴灌虽然被认为是节俭的，但却是能源密集型的。依赖于水力计算和多元线性回归的分析是基于对 25 个农场的灌溉系统的访谈、观察和测量。结果表明，每个农民使用一到三个泵和最多两个蓄水池从深达 120 米的钻孔中抽取地下水，并将其输送到通常超过 2 公里的距离，以到达可供租用的肥沃土地。^-3，尽管为这些灌溉系统提供动力的回收汽车发动机在很大程度上效率低下，平均消耗 2.5 kWh m ^-3。国家补贴鼓励了这些用水密集型和能源效率低下的农业系统，增加了对地下水和土地的压力。这些发现强调了超越严格的关系视角的重要性，因为“地下水经济”的扩张伴随着土地使用权的冲突和日益严重的水资源获取不平等，威胁到灌溉农业的可持续性。