Changing precipitation patterns and shortages of surface and groundwater in important cropping regions pose a serious threat to China’s future food security. This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of water used for food production over the period 1998–2010 with a view to identifying pathways for achieving the national target of 580 million tons of grain output by 2020. The analysis was based on modelling of agricultural water use coupled with national and provincial statistics. The present situation was defined by (a) a slow declining trend in national precipitation and internally renewable water resources, (b) 12 out of the 13 so-called breadbasket provinces (which currently produce 74 % of national grain output) already facing water shortages and increasing competition for water from non-agricultural sectors, (c) national crop water productivity (CWP) increases of 19.5 % over the 13 years to 2010, and (d) a widening gap in CWP between breadbasket and non-breadbasket provinces. By 2020 an estimated 510 to 680 km³ of water will be required for food production depending upon future gains in CWP. A concern is that in many of the breadbasket provinces, recent CWP gains have already been substantial and additional large gains may prove difficult especially considering current environmental concerns related to agricultural intensification in China. That said, the historic efficiency gains give reason for optimism provided that there is continued investment in genetic improvement and innovation of farming systems.

In the goals of the United Nations for the sustainable development of societies in the third millennium, the approach of water and food nexus is considered one of the important interdisciplinary perspectives in the direction of the dynamic balance of production and consumption of resources. Due to the consumption of more than 90% of the country's water resources in the agricultural sector, access to accurate statistics of this field is vitally important in creating a balance between water production and consumption in the water-food nexus approach. In such a way, the presentation of incorrect statistics or statistics with many errors, especially by official authorities, by entering into different models developed by researchers, will lead to distorted results, wrong decisions and ultimately economic and environmental damages and social tensions. In this research, with the approach of using the connections of ecosystems, water-food nexus was investigated; Thus, the correlation between the presented statistics of the production sector and the water consumption sector was analyzed by using water-food nexus with the method of uncomplicated calculations. Based on the information, the inconsisitency of the statistics provided by different departments is evident. According to the statistics of crop production in 2014-2015 and 2019-2020, the undercultivated area in the agricultural sector in 2019-2020 has grown by about 1% compared to 2014-2015, and in 13 provinces the undercultivated area has increased and in other provinces the undercultivated area in the agricultural sector has decreased. Water consumption in the agricultural sector has grown by about 10%, so that in 23 provinces, water consumption in the agricultural sector has increased and in 8 provinces, water consumption in the agricultural sector has decreased. This difference is due to the change in the cultivation pattern and the crop selected by farmers in the country. Also, according to the amount of programmable water that has been announced by the Ministry of Energy, in 12 provinces, the amount of programmable water is not enough to meet the Pure water consumption for crops, and even in some provinces, the amount of programmable water is only enough to supply garden products. This important and basic finding implies and emphasizes the need to solve the problems of statistics of different authorities of the country.

This paper is a perspective paper, which investigates whether the water footprint (WF) concept addresses the water–food–energy–ecosystem nexus. First, the nexus links between (1) the planetary boundary freshwater resources (green and blue water resources) and (2) food security, energy security, blue water supply security and water for environmental flows/water for other ecosystem services (ES) are analysed and graphically presented. Second, the WF concept is concisely discussed. Third, with respect to the nexus, global water resources (green and blue) availability and use are discussed and graphically presented with an indication of quantities obtained from the literature. It is shown which of these water uses are represented in WF accounting. This evaluation shows that general water management and WF studies only account for the water uses agriculture, industry and domestic water. Important water uses are however generally not identified as separate entities or even included, i.e. green and blue water resources for aquaculture, wild foods, biofuels, hydroelectric cooling, hydropower, recreation/tourism, forestry (for energy and other biomass uses) and navigation. Fourth, therefore a list of essential separate components to be included within WF accounting is presented. The latter would be more coherent with the water–food–energy–ecosystem nexus and provide valuable extra information and statistics.

South Korea’s food self-sufficiency ratio (SSR) dramatically decreased from 56 % in 1980 to 27 % in 2010, due to changes in food production and consumption patterns. Naturally, the changes in food self-sufficiency and consumption patterns will affect the world agricultural trade. This study aims to analyze trends in water footprints (WFs) on the basis of statistics for per capita food consumption in the last 25 years. The WFs for potential water requirements (WFsPWR) were estimated using food production and consumption scenarios for the targets of the SSRs in 2015 and 2020. The WFs for per capita food consumption (WFscₐₚ) were estimated at 512.9 m³ (1985) and 822.9 m³ (2010). Cereals and meats accounted for 36.3 and 21.5 % of the total WFscₐₚ in 1985, and 18.3 and 38.6 % in 2010, respectively. This implies that with economic development, Korea’s dietary patterns have changed from cereal to meat-oriented. To achieve the targets of 52 % (2015) and 55 % (2020) food SSR based on calories, additional WFsPWR are estimated to be 1255.5 Mm³ (2015) and 1923.9 Mm³ (2020). Results of this study are expected to be a useful basis for making long-term policies for sustainable agricultural production and water management from technical and social perspectives.

This study aimed to determine the quality of drinking water supplied in different types of food stalls in Jashore Municipality, Bangladesh. A total of 35 water samples were collected from different tea stalls, street side fast food stalls, normal restaurants and well-furnished restaurants. The water quality was evaluated by determining the distinct physical, chemical and biological parameters. The results revealed that the water used in the food stalls and restaurants for drinking purpose was in desired quality in terms of turbidity, electrical conductivity, pH, total dissolved solids, nitrate (NO₃⁻), sulfate (SO₄²⁻), phosphate (PO₄³⁻), chloride (Cl⁻), sodium (Na) and potassium (K) concentrations. The values were within the permissible limit proposed by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics and the World Health Organization. Concentrations of calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) found in several samples were higher than the World Health Organization standard. Iron (Fe) concentrations were higher than the permissible limit of the World Health Organization. Only 46% exceeded the permissible limit of Bangladesh Bureau Statistics. The threatening result was that the samples were contaminated by fecal coliform, indicating that the people of Jashore Municipality may have a greater chance of being affected by pathogenic bacteria. The drinking water provided in the street side fast food stalls was biologically contaminated. The findings demonstrate that the drinking water used in food stalls and restaurants of Jashore Municipality did not meet up the potable drinking water quality standards and therefore was detrimental to public health.

The importance of integrating water, energy, and food (WEF) resource management into nexus approach has been widely recognized. However, despite its rapid growth, there are little discussion of the knowledge transfer from nexus research to practice of WEF nexus implementation in Africa. This research examines the WEF nexus implementation baseline through critical analysis of present studies and official project reports initiated by African government institutions from 2011 to 2021. The findings indicate that numerous WEF nexus research projects in Africa focus on generating fundamental knowledge with limited practice. Indeed, among the 237 WEF-related applied projects analyzed, only 26 projects correspond to the nexus approach in three resource sectors. Many proposed projects are managed at the level of individual resource areas and are prioritized according to urgent needs or regional contexts rather than being integrated for mutual benefit. The word "production" receives a high score in the statistics of term frequency and inverse document frequency (TF-IDF), expressing that it is considered very relevant in the process of implementing the nexus approach. The results of the similarity index between the content messages of the academic articles and the project implementers' reports show a low similarity score of 0.25, indicating some imbalance in understanding and adapting nexus concepts between these two critical sectors. Hence, reflecting on the various nexus opportunities reviewed in this study, such as Bonn nexus conceptions and projects allocation, may serve as a focal point and assist WEF nexus implementers, particularly scholars, in resolving the numerous ambiguities that exists in WEF nexus research and practice.

Food system analysis in arid and semi-arid countries inevitably meets water availability as a major constraining food system driver. Many such countries are net food importers using food subsidy systems, as water resources do not allow national food self-sufficiency. As this leaves countries in a position of dependency on international markets, prices and export bans, it is imperative that every domestic drop of water is used efficiently. In addition, policies can be geared towards ‘water footprints’, where water use efficiency is not just evaluated at the field level but also at the level of trade and import/export. In this paper, Egyptian food systems are described based on production, distribution and consumption statistics, key drivers and food system outcomes, i.e., health, sustainable land and water use, and inclusiveness. This is done for three coarsely defined Egyptian food systems: traditional, transitional and modern. A water footprint analysis then shows that for four MENA countries, differences occur between national green and blue water volumes, and the volumes imported through imported foods. Egypt has by far the largest blue water volume, but on a per capita basis, other countries are even more water limited. Then for Egypt, the approach is applied to the wheat and poultry sectors. They show opportunities but also limitations when it comes to projected increased water and food needs in the future. An intervention strategy is proposed that looks into strategies to get more out of the food system components production, distribution and consumption. On top of that food subsidy policies as well as smart water footprint application may lead to a set of combined policies that may lead to synergies between the three food system outcomes, paving the way to desirable food system transformation pathways.