Table Of ContentsNext Page

Preface

Food and agriculture are by far the largest consumers of water. They require one thousand times more than we use to drink and one hundred times more than we use to meet basic personal needs, with up to 70 percent of the water we take from rivers and groundwater going into irrigation. Global food production has kept pace with population growth in recent decades; yet nearly 800 million people remain undernourished, and the population shift from rural to urban environments will certainly increase the pressures and problems associated with food security. A growing population will need more food and thus more water. What is the status of food production in the world? How can it be made more efficient without compromising the environment? What are the contributions from rainfed and irrigated agriculture and from fisheries? What role does the market play? What is the connection between food security and poverty? These questions are discussed in this publication. However, the question remains whether we shall rise to the challenge of feeding the world's hungry by being more efficient and productive in our use of water while still respecting the resource base and demands from competing sectors.