Using a Dynamic Map of Reference Evapotranspiration to Estimate Water Productivity: A Multilevel Analysis in Central Chile

In the context of limited water resources, where 87 % of Chile's freshwater is consumed by the agroindustry sector, water use efficiency and Water Productivity (WP) become crucial concepts, particularly for public policy considerations. The objective of this article is to calculate a water productivity indicator for central Chile using a dynamic map of reference evapotranspiration and to assess the impact of water communities on water productivity. We analyzed a data set comprising 352 observations from 19 water communities across four regions of Central Chile. Daily reference evapotranspiration values were obtained from the “ETo” web platform. We measured WP in Chilean pesos per cubic meter as a dependent variable and conducted a multilevel model to determine the influence of various factors on WP at the farm level. The results indicate that annual crops exhibited the lowest water productivity, while vegetables and fruits performed better. Additionally, our findings highlight the significant impact of water communities on water productivity, with the irrigation system and crop type emerging as the primary variables affecting WP in Central Chile.