Some major future global challenges are linked to more efficient use of water for irrigation to respond to the growing water scarcity coupled with the increasing food demand. Although irrigation advisory services (IASs) are considered effective instruments to increase water use efficiency in agriculture, their diffusion remains limited. This is due to several constraints mainly linked to their low accessibility and high costs. To overcome the bottlenecks associated with IASs’ adoption, this paper proposes a business model (BM) as a tool for scaling up IASs within a business perspective, with the aim of encouraging the diffusion of this technology while enhancing the associated environmental and social benefits. Drawn from the experience of the OPERA project, we structured the business model taking advantage of the opinion of relevant stakeholders and IASs’ potential users to identify specific limitations and understand their needs. It turned out that farmers are willing to adopt IASs but require that the service is easily accessible, with high-quality information that are delivered at an affordable cost. Indeed, here a BM with an innovative way to produce and deliver value is proposed. The value proposition is built upon key features namely, integration, customization, accessibility, and sustainability that reflect users’ needs and preferences. Our BM also provides a detailed revenues strategy that guarantees the financial sustainability of IASs. To design and represent our BM, the “Business Model Canvas ©” has been adopted. We concluded that an innovative and well-structured BM has the potential to leave the IASs profitable and capable to ensure environmental and social sustainability.

Water scarcity, climate change, population growth, and rising water demand highlight the urgency of adopting effective water conservation measures. The transition from traditional irrigation systems, such as flood irrigation, to modern ones, like drip irrigation, is often seen as a panacea to improve irrigation efficiency and address water shortages. Despite the flourishing literature on the efficiency gains achieved by shifting to drip irrigation, trade-offs associated with replacing traditional irrigation systems with modern irrigation technologies remain unexplored. Building on this gap, this paper provides a systematic literature review to analyze the current state of knowledge and research on the trade-offs associated with this transition. The review analyses not only the possible effects on agricultural productivity and irrigation efficiency at the farm scale, but also the environmental implications and socio–economic consequences that may emerge at a larger scale. We found that while studies conducted at the field-level emphasize clear benefits associated with the adoption of drip irrigation, including higher crop yields and improved water use efficiency, basin-scale analyses reveal drawbacks, including increased consumptive use, reduced return flows for ecosystem processes, and more generally limited real water savings. Overall, our findings stress the need for more holistic, multi-scale, and interdisciplinary approaches to assess the impact of irrigation modernization, along with the need for policy frameworks that balance agricultural productivity gains with sustainable water management.

Water scarcity, climate change, population growth, and rising water demand highlight the urgency of adopting effective water conservation measures. The transition from tra-ditional irrigation systems, such as flood irrigation, to modern ones, like drip irrigation is often seen as a panacea to improve irrigation efficiency and address water shortages. Despite a flourishing literature on the efficiency gains achieved through the shifting to drip irrigation, trade-offs associated with replacing traditional irrigation systems with modern irrigation technologies remain largely unexplored. Building on this gap, this paper provides a systematic literature review to analyze the current state of knowledge and research on the trade-offs associated with this transition. The review analyses not only the possible effects on agricultural productivity and irrigation efficiency at the farm-scale, but also the environmental implications and socio-economic consequences that may emerge at a larger scale. We found that while studies conducted at field-level emphasize clear benefits associated with the adoption of drip irrigation, including higher crop yields and improved water-use efficiency, basin-scale analyses reveal drawbacks, including increased consumptive use, reduced return flows for ecosystem processed, and more generally - limited real water savings. Overall, our findings stress the need for more holistic, multi-scale and interdisciplinary approaches to assess the impact of irrigation modernization, along with the need of policy frameworks that balance agricultural productivity gains with sustainable water management.