Water footprint of fresh fruit bunches (FFBs) of oil palm in the Piedemonte Llanero, Colombia.

The current demand for water resources is on the rise worldwide; in addition, 70% of the water used is invested in agricultural production. Thus, many investigations are focused on applying indicators to evaluate water consumption and identifying other indicators, such as the water footprint. The purpose of this article is to estimate water consumption (L/kg) for the production of fresh fruit bunches (FFBs) at a subregional scale (Piedemonte Llanero from Colombia) as a tool that contributes to decision-making. The demand for the water footprint was estimated using the Global Standard for the Evaluation of the Water Footprint. Among the relevant results, 71% of the water used corresponded to the green water footprint, and the Piedemonte Llanero subregion has comparative advantages to other regions due to its climate, which makes it suitable for the development of this crop. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]