[Departement_IRSTEA]Eaux [TR1_IRSTEA]GEUSI | International audience | In the coming 25–30 years global food production will have to be doubled in order to maintain food security at the global level. With respect to this to a certain extent the advantage is that food prices have increased over the past seven to eight years, and especially during the past two years. This may put farmers who are able to sell at least a certain part of their harvest in a better position, provided that the increase in production costs is at a lower level. On the other hand it puts the poor people in the cities of the emerging and least developed countries in an increasingly complicated situation as it will require more of them to remain able to purchase their food. In this paper we give a summarised overview of the role of water management for global food production and poverty alleviation. It turns out that to maintain food security in the near and medium-term future a substantially larger increase in production will be required than continuation of the present trend. While this is quite an effort, one may expect that at least for the near future the costs will remain at the present high level and that they may even increase further. | D’ici 25 à 30 ans la production alimentaire mondiale devra doubler afin de maintenir la sécurité alimentaire au niveau mondial. Cet objectif est, dans une certaine mesure, facilité par l’augmentation des prix des produits alimentaires depuis sept à huit ans, en particulier au cours des deux dernières années. Cette situation est favorable à ceux des agriculteurs qui sont en mesure de vendre au moins une partie de leur récolte, à condition que l’augmentation des coûts de production reste plus faible que celle des prix. Mais c’est aussi une menace pour les pauvres des villes des pays émergents et les moins avancés car cela leur demande plus d’efforts pour acheter leur nourriture. Dans cet article nous donnons une vue d’ensemble du rôle de la gestion de l’eau pour la production alimentaire mondiale et la lutte contre la pauvreté. Il apparait que, pour maintenir la sécurité alimentaire à court et moyen terme, une croissance de la production est nécessaire, substantiellement plus importante que la croissance actuelle. Compte tenu de cet effort important, on doit s’attendre à ce que, au moins pour le proche avenir, les coûts restent au niveau élevé actuel et même continuent encore à augmenter.

In the coming 25-30 years global food production will have to be doubled in order to maintain food security at the global level. With respect to this to a certain extent the advantage is that food prices have increased over the past seven to eight years, and especially during the past two years. This may put farmers who are able to sell at least a certain part of their harvest in a better position, provided that the increase in production costs is at a lower level. On the other hand it puts the poor people in the cities of the emerging and least developed countries in an increasingly complicated situation as it will require more of them to remain able to purchase their food. In this paper we give a summarised overview of the role of water management for global food production and poverty alleviation. It turns out that to maintain food security in the near and medium‐term future a substantially larger increase in production will be required than continuation of the present trend. While this is quite an effort, one may expect that at least for the near future the costs will remain at the present high level and that they may even increase further.

While increased diversification of developing-country diets as a result of agricultural and economic growth has improved nutritional status and human health, the increased consumption of high-value products—particularly fresh fruits, vegetables, dairy and animal products—has lead to significant food safety risks associated with unsafe management and use of water resources These risks are both magnified and masked in developing countries due to a lack of regulation combined with a dearth of data and information on the relations between water use, water quality and food safety risks. Given the likely estimated rapid increase in production, trade, and consumption of agricultural commodities with high water-related food safety risks, avoiding contamination and maintaining water quality and food safety are becoming growing public health issues in developing countries. This paper introduces the linkages between water quality and food safety, describes the causes for declining water quality levels, and identifies the various stages of the production process that are vulnerable to contamination due to water use. It concludes with a review of constraints to food safety and water quality management and identifies the main research gaps relevant to agricultural water management in developing countries.

PR | IFPRI3; ISI | EPTD