Latent heat of evaporation represents a large outgoing component of the energy balance established at a crop-stand surface. This explains why agriculture uses approximately 70% of all the freshwater withdrawn in the world. Increasing demand for water due to population growth, competition with industrial, domestic and environmental requirements, and the decreasing quality of water, limit the agricultural capacity for food production. The Water Resources, Development and Management Service (AGLW) of the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is carrying out activities aimed at helping country members in supporting sustainable water management to securing food for a growing population. These activities cut across the various levels of the water domain, going from the (inter)national policy level down to local-level field applications. In this article, FAO's experiences in agricultural water management are used to provide lessons from the past and indicate directions for future challenges. (Résumé d'auteur)

Various food processes aim at controlling the content and distribution of water in solid foodstuffs (at a macroscopic and molecular level) in order to increase their stability and shelf-life. The objective is generally to reduce the availability of water for undesirable reactions or transfers. This can be achieved most notably through partial removal of water, addition of water activity lowering agents, or change in the state of water. The various physical, physico-chemicaI and bio-chemical phenomena (transfer, reactions, transformations, deformations...) induced by or accompanying the migration or phase change of water are defined in this paper as "water mediated phenomena", which may influence the evolution and further behaviour of the food material during the process. The objective of the present paper is to show how the increased understanding of water mediated phenomena makes it possible to improve process control and food quality. This is illustrated by the analysis of the four following examples: i) control of thawing phenomena or solute concentration in the food outer layer in osmotic dehydration and immersion freezing, related to the evolution of inner concentration gradients andlor crystallisation phenomena; ii) control of cracker colour and texture, related to water departure mechanisms and solute entrainment by water during baking; iii) control of oil absorption related to the creation of heterogenous porous structure and internal pressure evolution during frying and cooling. (Résumé d'auteur)

The proliferation of food, feed and biofuels demands promises to increase pressure on water competition and stress, particularly for Thailand, which has a large agricultural base. This study assesses the water footprint of ten staple crops grown in different regions across the country and evaluates the impact of crop water use in different regions/watersheds by the water stress index and the indication of water deprivation potential. The ten crops include major rice, second rice, maize, soybean, mungbean, peanut, cassava, sugarcane, pineapple and oil palm. The water stress index of the 25 major watersheds in Thailand has been evaluated. The results show that there are high variations of crop water requirements grown in different regions due to many factors. However, based on the current cropping systems, the Northeastern region has the highest water requirement for both green water (or rain water) and blue water (or irrigation water). Rice (paddy) farming requires the highest amount of irrigation water, i.e., around 10,489 million m3/year followed by the maize, sugarcane, oil palm and cassava. Major rice cultivation induces the highest water deprivation, i.e., 1862 million m3H2Oeq/year; followed by sugarcane, second rice and cassava. The watersheds that have high risk on water competition due to increase in production of the ten crops considered are the Mun, Chi and Chao Phraya watersheds. The main contribution is from the second rice cultivation. Recommendations have been proposed for sustainable crops production in the future. (Résumé d'auteur)

This book examines the impact of democratic backsliding and populist governments on the public policy process. Drawing on case studies from the USA, Brazil, Hungary, Mexico, Poland, Turkey, and the Philippines, it assesses how elected populist governments have eroded policy capabilities and dismantled state apparatuses responsible for making and implementing policy. The book offers a unique perspective into democratic backsliding through a public policy lens, and considers why, when and how policy processes change as a result of populist governments. Numerous policy issues are analysed throughout the volume, including environmental, health and economic policies. It will appeal to all those interested in public policy, democracy studies, and public administration.

We analyse the threats of global environmental change, as they relate to food security. First, we review three discourses: (i) 'sustainable intensification', or the increase of food supplies without compromising food producing inputs, such as soils and water; (ii) the 'nexus' that seeks to understand links across food, energy, environment and water systems; and (iii) 'resilience thinking' that focuses on how to ensure the critical capacities of food, energy and water systems are maintained in the presence of uncertainties and threats. Second, we build on these discourses to present the causal, risks and options assessment for decision-making process to improve decision-making in the presence of risks. The process provides a structured, but flexible, approach that moves from problem diagnosis to better risk-based decision-making and outcomes by responding to causal risks within and across food, energy, environment and water systems. (Résumé d'auteur)

This study aims to evaluate the performance of groundwater-based tube well irrigation systems of Sarlahi District in Nepal considering a water–energy–food nexus approach. The deep tube well (DTW) irrigation systems showed better performance over shallow tube well (STW) irrigation systems in terms of water supply and agricultural output per unit of irrigated area. On the other hand, the STW-based irrigation systems showed better performance in terms of energy use, management operation and maintenance (MOM) cost and benefit–cost ratio compared to DTW-irrigated systems. The productivity of irrigation water and energy input to major crops showed the best performance for maize followed by rice and wheat. The simulated yields of cereal crops through the AquaCrop model showed significant scope for enhancing crop yields and associated benefits through judicious use of water and fertilizer. (Résumé d’auteur)

The ability of camels to cope with food or water shortage is exceptional, thanks to several mechanisms of adaptation, including mobilization of body fat reserves during underfeeding and regeneration when food is available. In camel, the adipose tissues are mainly located in the hump (external) and around the kidney (internal perirenal fat, PF) and consist mainly of cells able to store lipids (adipocytes). However, the measurement of adipocyte size was scarcely performed, and no data are available on the variations of plasma leptin, an hormone which is secreted by adipocytes in mammalian species and could play a major role in the regulation of energy homeostasis. Recent experiments showed that the mean adipocyte size is similar between hump and PF, and was 100-700 picoliters in 70 adult male or female camels, in the range of values observed in cattle and sheep. Hump or PF weights were positively correlated and better explained by adipocyte size than number. Hump adipocyte size was positively correlated to hump height-hemicircumference and to hump lipid content. Hump biopsies during experiments with different levels of food or water allowance showed that adipocyte size decreased during a 2-month underfeeding, and this decrease was more marked when camels were previously overfed, whereas adipocyte size was not affected by 3 weeks of water deprivation. However, dehydration increased fat mobilization, with an increase in plasma non-esterified fatty acids and a decrease in hump lipid content. A radioimmunoassay was developed for camel leptin, using antibodies raised against sheep leptin. Plasma leptin concentration was 2-9 ng/ml, and positively correlated to hump lipid content or adipocyte size, but less closely than in cattle. It was not affected by underfeeding nor overfeeding, contrary to what was observed in cattle and sheep. Plasma leptin increased steadily (+ 20%) during 3 weeks of water deprivation, and returned rapidly to the control level after 6 hours of rehydration. Further studies will precise the role of leptin in the adaptation of camels to desert conditions. (Résumé d'auteur)

Over its fifteen pages or so, the 2014 edition of the CIRAD brochure produced for the Paris International Agricultural Show illustrates to what extent and in what way family farming can address the challenges of providing jobs and alleviating poverty; food security; preserving the environment and natural resources; climate change, etc. The brochure Agricultures familiales, une chance pour la planète... centres on two main topics. The first is the capacity of this type of farming to innovative and the second research "on" and "for" family farming. From these two perspectives, the brochure shows how family farms and research are working together to address a number of challenges. It is abundantly illustrated and easily accessible to a broad readership