The infographics provide a comparative analysis of the proportions of water consumed to produce various agricultural goods and income they generated. In brief, the share of water allocated to each product did not equally translate into the income generated. Notably, livestock stood out as being the largest water consumer, while it was fruits that recorded the highest income values. Rice and vegetables, conversely, rounded out the list in both cases.
Figures for water consumption varied widely across the goods, with that for livestock at the top with a high of 36%. This was distantly followed by dairy at 19% and, to a greater extent, cotton at 15%. Fruit and sugar ranked next and comprised similar proportions: 10% and 11%, respectively. Last on the list, rice and vegetables together accounted for less than a tenth of the overall water expenditure.
Similarly, income contributions were not evenly distributed. Fruits were the most income-generating, accounting for as much as 44%, ahead of dairy by a notable margin of 20%. Much smaller, yet almost identical, contributions were recorded for livestock and sugar, which collectively constituted 13% and thus stood at par with cotton’s percentage. At the other end of the spectrum were again rice and vegetables – income sources that contributed to a mere 6% of the total income.