The water footprint is closely related to the agricultural land footprint. Irrigation can increase agricultural productivity (yield per hectare) by up to four times, which translates into less land needed to produce the necessary agricultural goods. Consequently, a reduction in agricultural land footprint can mean an increase in water footprint under certain circumstances (and vice versa).

The greenhouse gas footprint of agricultural goods must include emissions (in progress) that result from the conversion of natural land to agricultural land (e.g., through deforestation or loss of soil carbon after plowing). Due to the increase in productivity through irrigation, this effect may be smaller, i.e. the GHG footprint may be reduced at the expense of the water footprint.