Water is the lifeblood for the people of Afghanistan, not just for living but also for the economy. The economy has traditionally been dominated by agriculture, which now accounts for over half the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and employs 66% of...

Soil information, from global to local scale, has often been the one missing biophysical information layer, which absence added to the uncertainties of predicting potentials and constraints for food and fibre production. The lack of reliable and harmonized soil data has...

FAO and IFAD have recently produced a report where they argue about the existing potentials for well-targeted, local interventions in water that can contribute to the rapid improvement in the livelihoods of the rural poor in SSA. The same interventions that can...

Tropical coastal deltas represent one of the most diverse and rapidly changing biophysical regions in the developing world. These deltas are home to large population centers such as Dhaka, Yangon and Bangkok, and are significant centers of agricultural production and industrial development. Coastal deltas also contain critical ecosystems such as...

19 December 2007, Rome – High levels of arsenic in rice could be reduced by applying improved irrigation management practices in Asia, FAO said today in a new report entitled Remediation of Arsenic for Agriculture Sustainability, Food Security and Health in Bangladesh. Studies have shown that high concentrations of arsenic in...

11 December 2007, Rome – Higher temperatures are affecting mountain ecosystems and their populations, as melting glaciers increase short term water availability but also raise the likelihood of flooding, species migration and long term water shortage, FAO warned today during the commemoration of the International Day of Mountains. “As glaciers disappear...

Easier, cost-effective, better perfoming irrigation systems for the farmers, environmentally frendlier and economically sound for all water users. This is MASSCOTTE: "MApping System and Services for Canal Operation TEchniques." What is MASSCOTE? The MASSCOTE is a step-wise methodology to evaluate and analyze different...

11 June 2007, Rabat/Madrid – A project designed to support Morocco’s National Water Economy Plan was launched today in an effort to combat the country’s water shortage problem, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). During the past 20 years, Morocco has suffered from a constant...

22 March 2007, Rome -- As the number-one user of water worldwide, the agriculture sector must be in the lead in addressing the rising global demand for water and its potential drain on the earth’s natural resources, FAO said today on the occasion of World Water Day. Agriculture accounts for about...

The theme for this year’s World Water Day is Coping with Water Scarcity. In this interview, Dr Jacques Diouf, Director-General of FAO, the coordinating agency within the UN system for World Water Day this year, addresses the issue. How serious is the problem of water scarcity? Global water use has been growing...