Water stewardship in agricultural supply chains

Agri-food industries have consumed the most water among all industries, placing great pressure on water resources; therefore, academics tend to focus on exploring the ‘integrated’ method of managing water in the agricultural production system. Based on a systematic literature review of 105 articles related to water stewardship in agri-food supply chains, this review tends to synthesize the themes in relation to water management, aims to identify research gaps in the existing literature and proposes a more integrated water stewardship framework in agri-food supply chains. Based on both the descriptive and thematic findings, this paper then develops a conceptual framework to synthesise the key themes in water stewardship in the agri-food supply chains, including drivers, water stewardship practice, consequences and barriers. Finally, gaps in the existing research are identified and related future research recommendation are proposed. The review contributes to cleaner production literature by providing a comprehensive framework for water stewardship (e.g., reduction of water consumption) in each stage of the agri-food supply chain and production.