Dear Director-General QU Dongyu,

Honorable ministers, 

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and gentlemen,

I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) for this invitation. It is a great pleasure to gather here for the High-Level Rome Water Dialogue on WASAG – The Global Framework on Water Scarcity in Agriculture. In the face of the increasingly acute situation of global grain and water security in agriculture, the FAO’s initiative in hosting this dialogue is highly significant. It plays a crucial role in enhancing integrated water resources management within the agricultural food system.

China is a major agricultural power. Its unique geographical and climatic conditions make water the lifeline of agriculture. In recent years, the Ministry of Water Resources of China has effectively implemented President Xi Jinping’s water-governance concept of “prioritizing water conservation, balancing spatial distribution, taking systematic approaches and promoting government-market synergy”. We have undertaken a range of vigorous measures to continuously enhance water security for grain production in agriculture.

First, we have made significant efforts to develop modern irrigation areas. By constructing a national water network that is “systematic, safe, reliable, efficient, sustainable, intelligent, unobstructed, and well-organized”, we have optimized the overall allocation of water resources. Additionally, we have built and renovated numerous modern irrigation areas, completing a robust farmland water infrastructure system. By the end of 2023, China had established over 7,000 large and medium-sized irrigation areas. These 71.64 million hectares of irrigated land, which account for 56% of the national arable land, produce 77% of the country’s grain and more than 90% of its cash crops. 

Second, we have promoted water conservation and higher efficiency in agriculture. China has enacted the Water Conservation Regulations, implemented a mechanism that uses water resources as a rigid constraint, launched the National Water Conservation Initiative, strengthened total quantity control and quota management of water use, and advanced the reform of water tariff, the trading of water rights, and the development of water-saving technologies in agriculture. By the end of 2023, high-efficiency water-saving irrigation areas extended over 27 million hectares, while irrigation water consumption per hectare was reduced to 5,205 m³. This ensured consecutive years of grain harvests from increasing irrigation areas along with stable total irrigation water consumption in agriculture. 

Third, we have strengthened the enabling role of science and technology in irrigation areas. We have made significant strides in constructing digital twin irrigation areas, promoting the automation of farmland irrigation, upgrading irrigation methods, and enhancing the intelligent management of irrigation areas. Irrigation plans are now automatically generated based on crop planting structure, sowing area, growth stage, and water consumption patterns. A three-level system of stations and networks, comprising the MWR General Irrigation Experiment Station, basin/provincial central irrigation experiment stations, and key irrigation experiment stations, has been established. This system provides robust support for precise water supply in irrigation areas and scientific irrigation by water users.

Fourth, we have enhanced disaster prevention and reduction capabilities in agriculture. Among others, we have established and improved a basin-specific system of flood control works, a rainwater monitoring and forecasting system, and a flood and drought disaster prevention work system. Additionally, we have reinforced forecasting, early warning, drilling, and planning functions to minimize the impact of flood and drought disasters on agricultural production. For example, in the summer and autumn of 2022, the usually water-abundant Yangtze River basin experienced the most severe drought in 60 years. In response, we scientifically scheduled the operation of 75 large and medium-sized reservoirs in the basin, precisely defining scope, target, duration, and specific measures. This met the irrigation water demand for more than 12 million hectares of autumn grain crops, enabling a bumper grain harvest in an extraordinarily dry year. These measures have strongly supported China in achieving 20 consecutive bumper harvests in grain production and stabilizing grain output at over 650 million tons for 9 consecutive years. With just 9% of the world’s arable land and 6% of the world’s freshwater resources, China feeds nearly 20% of the global population. 

Ladies and gentlemen,  

Water resources are the decisive factor for grain productivity in agriculture. To effectively respond to the complex and profound changes in the global water resources situation, and in line with China’s practice and experience, we advocate for prioritizing water conservation, balancing spatial distribution, taking systematic approaches and promoting government-market synergy. We also emphasize the improvement of a system for water conservation and higher efficiency in agriculture to provide a strong water security guarantee for grain production. Specifically, we advocate for the following:

• Building a robust scientific irrigation system: Implement total quantity control and quota management of water use, set accurate quotas, and conduct precise irrigation based on water supply, crop planting structure, and water demand patterns.
• Developing a robust water metering and monitoring system: Improve the coverage, accuracy, and practicality of water metering and monitoring in agriculture, to support demand-side management of agricultural water use.
• Establishing a robust agricultural water tariff policy framework: Facilitate a scientific and reasonable water price formation mechanism, curb unreasonable water demand, promote water-saving irrigation and effectively attract private investment in the construction and management of irrigation areas.
• Constructing a system of robust market mechanisms for water conservation: This includes promoting market-oriented transactions of water rights, improving incentives for water conservation, and mobilizing agricultural water users to conserve water.
• Enhancing technology and service systems for water conservation: This involves publicizing advanced and applicable water-saving irrigation technologies, and providing professional guidance and convenient service to improve efficiency. 

China is committed to becoming an agricultural powerhouse. The Ministry of Water Resources of China seeks to collaborate with countries and international organizations worldwide. Together, we can boost exchanges and cooperation, share experiences and technologies under the guidance of the Global Development Initiative, support the various actions of the FAO’s Global Framework on Water Scarcity in Agriculture, address global water scarcity challenges in agriculture, and make greater contributions to achieving the agriculture and water-related goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. 

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen, 

It is an honor to address you today on behalf of the Kingdom of the Netherlands at the Rome Water Dialogue on Water Scarcity in Agriculture 

Before I was appointed Water Envoy for the Kingdom of the Netherlands I have dedicated my entire professional life to fighting poverty and hunger. I have taken pride in our collective achievements, as year after year, we saw reductions in poverty and food insecurity. Unfortunately, this trend has reversed. Driven by economic shocks, conflict, and climate change, nearly one billion people are now food insecure. This is unacceptable.

Water is the cornerstone of food production. Agriculture accounts for over 70% of water use and significantly impacts our water systems through drainage, pollution, and overuse. To feed the world, we must manage our water resources efficiently, necessitating collaboration between agriculturalists and water managers.

The Kingdom of the Netherlands, through our Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is a founding member of WASAG and has served on its first interim steering committee in 2017-2018. This is because we are aware that the challenges of require collaboration for food security, nutrition, nature as well as peace.

These last few years we have become increasingly aware that agriculture in the Netherlands is being affected by climate change in the form of seasonal water related issues such as water scarcity and salinization. As a country deeply committed to addressing agricultural challenges, we recognize the critical importance of innovative solutions. Solutions ranging from optimizing current production processes, as well as solutions for long term systemic change for agriculture and nature. By developing multiple parallel strategies with different time frames, we hope to ensure global food security while at the same time dealing with the increasing challenge of water scarcity in its many facets as well as protecting nature. 

As a Delta country we increasingly facing salinity intrusion. We are aware that these challenges will only continue to increase in the future posing an increasing threat to both our agriculture production as well as the quality of our nature conservation. 

For that reason, we are working on developing appropriate responses together with private sector such as farmers, the financial sector, seed companies as well as with research institutes and civil society. Both within the Netherlands, bilaterally as well as multilaterally. 

As rivers and ecosystems extend beyond national borders, the impacts of agriculture, biodiversity loss and water scarcity present complex, transboundary challenges that require collective, integrated action. We must break down the silos that separate our policies and approaches and embrace a holistic, international strategy.   

In the Netherlands, water and soil systems are used as guiding principles in our spatial planning. Despite regions differing, valuable joint learning that takes place by working together, from different perspectives, on issues like climate adaptation, agriculture, ecosystem management and nature conservation. 

We wish to share with others dealing with similar issues the knowledge and know how that we develop both in the Netherlands as well as bilaterally regarding water for agriculture as well as saline agriculture. At the same time we also wish to learn from others working on addressing similar issues.   

The Netherlands is also learning from WASAG. We have asked WUR to look into how the FAO’s Famers guidelines on soil and water management in salt-affected areas prepared by the WASAG working group on saline agriculture are applicable in the Netherlands and to see how Dutch farmers might benefit from them. This December we expect to obtain the preliminary results.

In 2023 we funded a Dutch national knowledge network that brings together agricultural entrepreneurs as well as all knowledge centers working on salinity in The Netherlands in a knowledge cluster SALTA.

The NL government has also funded the Netherlands Food Partnership and the Netherlands Water Partnership to work jointly on reaching out internationally, with Dutch stakeholders, both to share NL knowledge and knowhow as well as to learn alongside others and fostering cross-sector collaboration internationally.

 The Netherlands also has collaborated with WASAG, and other institutions such as the Asian Development Bank, Wageningen University and Research as well as VU university of Amsterdam to promote saline agriculture at three consecutive COPs of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). At COP28 with a high-level panel with representatives from ICARDA, ICBA, FAO moderated by our Water Envoy at the Food Systems Pavilion.

As a result, a Call for Action has been published, with the aim to mobilize further collaborative action to maximize the opportunities offered by saline agriculture, by calling for increased investments and  providing guidance through objective indicators for the required actions, at local, national and global levels. 

We appreciate, and actively use, the work done by the different working groups of WASAG focusing on capacity building and training.  

As an example of our commitment to finding innovative solutions for water scarcity, we support initiatives like WaPOR, which plays a crucial role to measure  sustainable water management in agriculture. WaPOR provides accurate data and information on water use in agriculture, essential for informed decision making and water allocation. WaPOR allows monitoring of water productivity and is used in a wide range of applications that can benefit a broad range of stakeholders like farmers, basin managers and policymakers. This could contribute to a better and more informed use of water resources and a sustainable increase in agricultural production.

The Netherlands reaffirms our commitment to support WASAG and we look with interest to its new operating mechanisms. It is time for all countries to be actively involved in WASAG through a Member-led Steering Committee, to further the multilateral actions on saline agriculture at several levels and strengthen the international collaboration towards a more impactful WASAG. We congratulate FAO and the Land and Water Division for organizing the Rome Water Dialogue. The Netherlands looks forward to supporting WASAG to work with other countries towards accelerating the required actions.

Mr. Chairman,

Dear Colleagues,

Excellencies,

Distinguished Delegates,

It is both an honor and a privilege to join you today at the Global Water Scarcity in Agriculture Dialogue. I extend my sincere thanks to the organizers and participants for their dedication to addressing water scarcity in agriculture, one of the most critical challenges of our time.

As climate change worsens, water scarcity increasingly threatens agricultural productivity and food security worldwide. Droughts and changing rainfall patterns are disrupting the livelihoods of farmers and deepening food insecurity, particularly in vulnerable regions. This is not just an agricultural issue—it impacts economies, ecosystems, and communities globally.

The Rome Declaration emphasizes the need for efficient and sustainable agrifood systems. With the global population expected to reach 10 billion by 2050, it is crucial to adopt innovative water management practices. Collaboration is essential to protect ecosystems and the resources they provide.

The Global Framework on Water Scarcity in Agriculture (WASAG) fosters cooperation among diverse stakeholders, encouraging the development of concrete solutions to tackle water scarcity. Cyprus recognizes the importance of collective action and has made water resources management, a national priority.

Recently, Cyprus hosted the EUMED-9 Agriculture Ministers' Meeting, which focused on water scarcity. The joint declaration singed by nine Mediterranean Ministers outlined five key priorities:

1. Sustainable Water Management
2. Strengthened Mediterranean Cooperation
3. Integrated Legislative Approaches
4. Support for the European Water Resilience Strategy
5. A Water Conservation Culture

Your excellencies, dear colleagues, dear friends,

We strongly believe that in this battle, everyone has a significant role to play and that global collaboration is essential since this challenge concerns us all. Let us commit to robust and transformative actions to address the pressing water challenges in our agrifood systems.

By embracing integrated water resources management, we can ensure food security, protect livelihoods, and safeguard the well-being of future generations. Now is the time to act and pave the way to secure a sustainable and water-secure future for all!

Thank you for your attention!

Your Excellencies,

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is with great honor that I take part today in the “Rome High-Level Dialogue on Water”. This framework, dedicated to the fight against water scarcity in agriculture, is being held at a crucial time for the future of our water resources and global food security in a context of climate uncertainty. 

I would like to thank the FAO, firstly for its invitation, but also for its leadership and the important role it plays worldwide in ensuring food security for populations, and for its efforts to find resilience and adaptation solutions to situations of water scarcity, particularly in arid and semi-arid zones. 

And it's no coincidence that the Hassan II Great World Water Prize, in its 8th edition, was awarded to this organization. It is in recognition of its commitment to the global water and food security agenda and its efforts to improve the availability of water for agricultural production and raise incomes, and in tribute to all the initiatives and projects it has implemented in the field to feed millions of people around the world. 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Water scarcity is a global challenge, affecting many parts of the world, including Morocco. Our country, like many others, is facing increasing pressure on its water resources, due to climate change, population growth and the growing water needs of various sectors, particularly agriculture, which remains a major pillar of our national economy. 

This is evidenced, in particular, by its weight in gross domestic product (GDP – around 12%) and its status as a provider of employment for a significant proportion of the population (almost 38% of the working population), not forgetting the sector's central role in certain regions of the Kingdom. 

Over the past six years, Morocco has experienced a difficult water situation, which we are still living through today, marked by a downward trend in rainfall and below-average cumulative rainfall, resulting in a chronic water deficit unprecedented in comparison with past drought periods.

This situation has led to excessive exploitation of aquifers, far exceeding the volume of annually renewable water, for drinking water purposes but above all for agricultural use, resulting in a significant drop in water levels in these aquifers and a reduction in their water reserves.  

In some cases, this overexploitation has led to a reduction in the flow of springs, the drying-up of some springs and natural lakes, and a deterioration in groundwater quality, as in the case of coastal aquifers.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

On the instructions of the King, Morocco has adopted the National Drinking Water Supply and Irrigation Plan 2020–27, which has helped to alleviate the gravity of the water situation. The plan was drawn up in perfect coordination with stakeholders and aimed to accelerate investments in the water sector to tackle the problem of water scarcity.

The acceleration of water projects was emphasized once again in the Royal Speech on the occasion of this year's Feast of the Throne, where he insisted on the imperative need to continually update the levers of national water policy and to define a strategic objective, whatever the circumstances: to guarantee drinking water to all citizens and to cover at least 80% of irrigation needs throughout the national territory.

This strategic orientation, aimed at ensuring water and food security for the population, will be put into practice through the construction of dams in the most heavily irrigated basins, as well as through a major seawater desalination program with a target of 1.7 billion m3 of desalinated water by 2030, the implementation of major water transfer projects between hydraulic basins, and the increased reuse of treated wastewater for watering green spaces and golf courses.

Morocco has put in place several national water and agricultural strategies and policies to improve water management in agriculture, notably through conversion to efficient irrigation (2 million hectares currently irrigated, 800 000 ha under localized irrigation), the use of renewable energies and raising farmers' awareness of water-saving techniques.  

Nevertheless, as with other countries in the region, the country still faces a number of challenges when it comes to implementing these structuring projects, including brine management, energy costs, overexploitation of groundwater, leachate treatment, silting up of dams and reduction of evaporation. These are all issues that only research and development can help to resolve through innovative solutions tailored to different national and regional contexts. 

But we know that these national efforts need to be backed up by greater international cooperation to disseminate best practices, transfer technologies and build countries' capacities in this field, hence the important role played by the FAO, which has brought us together today for this dialogue.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

This high-level dialogue therefore represents a crucial step in strengthening international collaboration in the face of the challenge of managing water scarcity, and is a good opportunity to highlight the role of innovation and creativity, research and development, and new technologies, in the search for innovative solutions contributing to improving water valuation, saving water and optimizing its use, particularly in the agricultural sector.  

Today, it is imperative to recognize that the sustainable management of water resources in agriculture is not only a question of survival for many rural communities, but also a necessary condition for ensuring the resilience of our food systems. 

With this in mind, we should, first of all, welcome the collective commitment of all of us – government institutions, intergovernmental and international organizations and others – to drawing up a Rome Declaration on Water Scarcity in Agriculture, and a roadmap including actions to be taken over the coming years.  

I therefore invite you to be bold in your proposals and ambitious in your commitments, and to examine the various possibilities for partnerships between the different institutions also present. The future of water, agriculture and food security depends on it. 

Thank you very much.

Dear Mr. Director-General,

Excellencies, 

Ladies and Gentlemen, 

It is an honor and a true privilege to deliver these opening remarks to such a distinguished assembly.

As I am not a biologist, nor a hydrologist, nor a meteorologist, I will not venture to explain how water transports nutrients, how it circulates through our ecosystems or why the water cycle is so vital for agriculture and food systems. As a diplomat, I would like to emphasize a message that is resonating more and more loudly, not only in scientific circles, but also in our daily lives: water is becoming an increasingly scarce resource! 

We have the knowledge, we have the tools to manage water sustainably. The FAO member countries demonstrated this two weeks ago, at the Committee on Agriculture, where the importance of sustainable water management including irrigation practices to support sustainable development has been reaffirmed. But action still needs to go further. 

Imagine a farmer who sees her production increase while preserving and sustainably using water resources. Her children will be able to inherit fertile land, not a dried-up desert. These are the agricultural practices we must encourage, those that integrate nature-based solutions, use climate-smart crops, promote soil health, and contribute to sustainable development in all its dimensions. Practices that combine agricultural production and the protection as well as sustainable use of ecosystems, so that our actions today guarantee a livable life for tomorrow. 

Today, we launch the new Steering Committee of WASAG which will support us to meet these challenges. Let me reiterate Switzerland's commitment and candidacy for the new WASAG Steering Committee. We are dedicated to promoting constructive dialogue between countries. With our extensive experience in multi stakeholder collaboration and recognized expertise in the water sector, Switzerland is well-positioned to contribute to these important discussions and the developments of WASAG. 

Switzerland attaches great importance to citizen participation, making their active involvement a central pillar of our democracy. As this summit is being held in parallel with the World Food Forum, it provides a unique opportunity to link the two themes of youth and governance. It is essential to reform legal and administrative frameworks and ensure that decision-making processes are more inclusive. Therefore, Switzerland encourages youth organizations with expertise in water resources management to join the new Technical Advisory Committee of WASAG. Switzerland acknowledges that WASAG has already taken on a pioneering role in this regard with Mr. Stephane Lako serving as the Vice-Chair of the Steering Committee so far. 

In this context, we would particularly like to express our sincere gratitude to the current Chairman of the WASAG, Mr Felix Reinders, and the Vice-Chairman, Mr Stephane Lako, as well as to the former committee members for their valuable work and significant contributions. We look forward to a continued fruitful collaboration in the future.

Finally, water should play a pivotal role in multilateralism, becoming a key priority in international conferences focused on health, food security, and climate change.  In this regard, we would also like to address our sincere congratulations to Ms Retno Marsudithe, the new United Nations Special Envoy for Water, who will assume her role in November. We wish her every success in this important mission.

I would like to express my gratitude to FAO and all those who have made this high-level dialogue possible. 

Let me particularly pay tribute to the commitment of Cabo Verde, which has played a key role in all recent years.

I look forward to constructive discussions and hope that they will extend beyond the walls of this organization. Let’s now get active in accelerating progress towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal No. 6 and all other relevant SDGs are. 

Thank you for your attention.

Excellencies, 

Dear colleagues, 

Ladies and gentlemen, 

It is a pleasure for me to convey the greetings of the Italian Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and forests, Francesco Lollobrigida, and his wishes for a fruitful and successful "High-Level Rome Water Dialogue on WASAG," organized within the framework of the World Food Forum 2024. 

Agriculture today faces global challenges: climate change threatens traditional practices productivity and sustainability, while exponential population growth compels us to think in terms of greater efficiency and less environmental impact. This challenge directly engages us at CREA, the organization I have the privilege to lead, as we promote vital issues concerning water, not only in our role as the largest agricultural research body in our country, but also at an international level, where we participate in numerous initiatives focused on sustainable water management. 

Italy, alongside the international community, has mobilized all necessary resources and efforts to ensure proper water management in agriculture amid water scarcity as food security and water availability are profoundly interconnected. 

Indeed, droughts today are already a leading cause of crop failures in many regions worldwide, further intensifying food insecurity crises, especially in the most vulnerable countries. We also feel deeply this issue in Italy, where water scarcity has serious impacts especially on small-scale farmers, who make up most of our agricultural sector. 

I would like to take this occasion to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. QU Dongyu, Director-General of FAO, for the outstanding work he has accomplished over the years and for his unwavering commitment to fostering collaboration among countries and institutions. The effort made by FAO and WASAG in providing assistance and adapting to the ongoing challenges we face in combating water scarcity is absolutely remarkable. 

Italy participates in WASAG through a national coordination group that brings together the country’s leading institutions and public research bodies to address water management challenges in a unified way. One key initiative from this collaboration is a project developed in partnership with FAO and Cape Verde, which led to the creation of a technical document providing an integrated approach to irrigation system design and management, addressing agronomic, economic, engineering, and environmental aspects to enhance water productivity while preserving local ecosystems. 

Therefore, I would also like to extend my gratitude to H.E. José Ulisses de Pina Correia e Silva, Prime Minister of Cabo Verde, as we have undertaken many other initiatives with his country, including the ongoing research collaboration agreement between Cape Verde National Agricultural Research and Development Institute (INIDA) and CREA. 

Finally, I would like to invite all those present to continue to strengthen international collaboration and to seize every opportunity to promote innovative and effective actions on water for sustainable development. 

Our commitment will continue in this and other fora. In this regard, I am pleased to inform you that in 2026 Italy will host the first Euro-Mediterranean Forum on Water, which will be another important occasion for holding a high-level dialogue on water. Thank you all once again for your attention, and I wish you a productive continuation of the work ahead.