An Economic Study to Estimate the Value of Virtual Water in Animal Protein for Livestock Products

The concept of virtual water was introduced by British researcher Tony Allen in the 1990s as a variable in international trade in agricultural commodities and as a political tool to address the water crisis in arid regions. It expresses the water content of agricultural commodities, which can be used in formulating agricultural policies in arid regions, which are considered an alternative water resource that can alleviate pressure on water resources. Therefore, the research aims to estimate the economic value of virtual water in animal protein for the most important livestock products in Egypt. The most important of these products are cattle, sheep, goats, rabbits, mothers, and dairy. The research relied on livestock bulletins from the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics and the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, Central Administration of Agricultural Economics. To achieve its objectives, the study relied on calculating averages and annual growth rates.
The study also used the most important technical parameters related to live weight and animal protein ratios in the livestock products under study to estimate the amount of virtual water for those products. The most important results of the study showed the following: (1) The average hypothetical amount of water (m3/ton live weight) for cattle, calves, sheep, goats, rabbit offspring, and rabbit mothers was approximately 127921, 26298, 10330, 7981, 2268, 12976, and 2995, respectively. (2) The average net weight ratios (%) per kilogram live weight for cattle, calves, sheep, goats, and rabbit offspring were approximately 40, 40, 45, 45, 55, and 55, respectively. (3) The percentages of animal protein (%) for cattle, calves, sheep, goats, and rabbit offspring were approximately 25, 25, 25, 25, 22, and 3.5, respectively. (4) The average hypothetical amount of water for livestock (m³ per ton live weight) and the percentage of animal protein (%) were approximately 127921, 26298, 10330, 7981, 2268, and 12976, and 2995, respectively. The amount of milk is approximately 2995 and 3.5, respectively. (5) The increase in the amount of virtual water per ton of animal protein for both cattle (1279.2 thousand m³/ton of animal protein) and mother rabbits (107.2 thousand m³/ton of animal protein) is due to the length of the production cycle.