Forecasts on population growth and economic development indicate that there will be substantial increases in food demand for the forthcoming decades. We focus here on the water requirements of food production, on the issue of whether there would be enough water to produce sufficient food in the future, and we offer options to face this challenge based on recent trends observed in some agricultural systems. Given the competition for water faced by the agricultural sector, and the uncertainties associated with climate change, improving the efficiency of water use in both rain-fed and irrigated systems is the main avenue to face the challenge. In rain-fed agriculture, managing the risk associated with rainfall variability is a promising option to increase productivity. In irrigated systems, a case study on the improvements in water productivity in Andalusia, Spain, is used to illustrate some of the opportunities to make progress. Progress in reducing irrigation water use in recent decades has been substantial, but decreasing the consumptive use of crops is a much more difficult challenge. The need for more research and technology transfer on improving water-limited crop production is highlighted, and emphasis is placed on interdisciplinary approaches to gain the insight needed to achieve new breakthroughs that would help in tackling this complex problem.

Climate Change is real and its implications are going to be borne by the poorest of the poor. If climatic change is accompanied by an increase in climate variability, many agricultural Producers will experience define hardships and increased risk. The Sat regions, which have economies largely based on weather-sensitive agricultural productions systems, are particularly vulnerable to climate change | S P Wani, K Boomiraj, 'Climate Change- Water Food and Environmental Security', pp.1302-1328, 2011

Our thirst for water grows with our population, but the amount of fresh water available on Earth is fixed. This book explores water and food production at global and regional scales. The collection offers a comprehensive discussion of all relevant issues.

The world is on the brink of the greatest crisis it has ever faced: a spiraling lack of fresh water. Groundwater is drying up as water demands for food production, for energy, and for manufacturing are surging. Water is emerging as a headline geopolitical issue and worsening water security will soon have dire consequences in many parts of the global economic system. Directed by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon at the 2008 Davos Annual Meeting, the World Economic Forum assembled the world's foremost group of public, private, non-governmental organization and academic experts to examine the water crisis issue from all perspectives. The result of their work is this stark, non-technical overview of where we will be by 2025 if we take a business-as-usual approach to (mis)managing our water resources. Equally stunning are the potential solutions and the recommendations that the group presents. All are included in this landmark publication. Water Security contains compelling commentary from leading decision-makers, past and present. The commentary is supported by analysis from leading academics of how the world economy will be affected if world leaders cannot agree on solutions. The book suggests how business and politics need to manage energy-food-water-climate nexus as leaders negotiate details of the climate regime that replace Kyoto Protocols.

This paper analyses water availability and use within and between the Challenge Program on Water and Food basins. It describes the main features of water demand and supply in the basins and indicates where there are deficits and opportunities for development of water resources. A typology of basin water resources status uses a range of global spatial datasets. The main outcomes of basin activities on water availability are identified. Interbasin assessment of water availability is very challenging for such very large basins, due in large part to difficulties in collecting and integrating local data sets.

The emerging and least developed countries are expected to absorb virtually all the increase in the world's population. With fast-growing population and ongoing urbanization, population density with reference to cultivated land is increasing significantly. In the emerging countries the increasing standard of living and to a certain extent biofuel production are adding more pressure on the already stressed land and water resources. Currently, most hungry people live in these countries and their number has been increasing for a few years. The least developed countries especially are regular food aid recipients. The future outlook is not promising: 80-90% of the required increase in food production will need to come from existing cultivated land. However, at present only 22% of the cultivated land in emerging and 11% in the least developed countries have irrigation facilities. Drainage development is almost non-existent. Better use of already cultivated land and water resources to ensure the required food production can be the key. The role of effective water management thus is crucial to achieve the objective of food security. This paper substantiates that the improvements in agricultural water management are closely linked to global food production.

As the world has changed during the past 50 years, so has agriculture. And so has agricultural research, which continues to confront new challenges, from food security to ecological concerns to land use issues. Indeed, as Guy Paillotin, the former president of the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) has noted, agricultural research "has reached new heights in biology and is exploring other disciplines. It is forever changing, as are the needs of the society". The changing challenges faced by agricultural research were examined in depth at a conference organised by the OECD's Co-operative Research Programme on Biological Resource Management for Sustainable Agricultural Systems, together with the Czech Republic's Ministry of Agriculture. Participants came from all agricultural sectors and included farmers, industry, scientists and decision makers, as well as other stake holders.This publication presents the twenty papers delivered at the conference. They highlight recent major progress in agricultural research outcomes and address the challenges that lie ahead.

Lost in the maze of statutes, regulations, and potential liabilities that identify the current mass of water protection law? This revised document is part of the Handbook of Florida Water Regulation, which consists of 2-4 page fact sheets that provide an accurate, current, and authoritative summary of the principal, federal, and state (Florida) laws that directly or indirectly relate to agriculture. It provides a basic overview of the many rights and responsibilities that farmers and farmland owners have under both federal and state laws as well as the appropriate contact information to obtain more detailed information. Written by Michael T. Olexa and Zachary Broome, with contributions by Tatiana Borisova, and published by the UF Department of Food and Resource Economics, June 2011. FE589/FE589: 2021 Handbook of Florida Water Regulation: Food Quality Protection Act (ufl.edu)