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Improved
agricultural water control is key to meeting the world's growing
food needs |
Rome, Italy
March 22, 2006
With 852 million
chronically hungry people in the world today and a
global population expected to increase by an additional
2 billion people by 2030, feeding this growing
population and reducing hunger will only be possible if
agricultural yields can be significantly increased. And
increased food production will depend largely on
investment in the control of water.
Getting more crop per drop
Agriculture is the largest consumer of the earth’s
freshwater, responsible for around 70 percent of all
freshwater withdrawals. As water resources shrink and
competition for water from other sectors grows, the
agriculture sector faces a complex challenge: producing
more food of better quality while using less water and
ensuring environmental sustainability.
The availability of water varies tremendously by region,
and in some regions it is exceedingly scarce. Even in
areas with limited water supplies, however, irrigation
can vastly increase agricultural productivity and is
crucial to improving food security.
By far, most of the water used to grow crops is derived
from rainfed soil moisture. Irrigation provides only
about 10 percent of agricultural water. It plays a vital
role, however. When rains are weak or erratic,
irrigation can ensure crop production and allow farmers
to diversify and invest in more productive forms of
agriculture -- which means not just improved food
security and nutrition for rural populations but also
job creation, better earnings and increased trade
opportunities.
Indeed, the productivity of irrigated land is about
three times higher than that of rainfed land. Though
irrigation covers just around 20 percent of the world’s
cropland, irrigated land contributes 40 percent of total
food production.
Underused water resources in parts of Africa offer great
potential for irrigation, especially using simple and
inexpensive technologies. Africa uses less than 6
percent of its renewable water resources, compared with
20 percent in Asia. And only 7 percent of the arable
land in Africa is irrigated, compared with 38 percent in
Asia.
Improving efficiency
Small-scale water harnessing, irrigation and drainage
works carried out at the rural community level using
local labour offer an effective and low-cost option for
improved water control. Such solutions need not be
complicated, and sometimes involve small changes to the
way things are done. Water harvesting – collecting water
in structures ranging from furrows to small dams –
allows farmers to conserve rainwater and direct it to
crops. Similarly, directing water only where it is
needed, as in drip irrigation, is more efficient than
flooding entire fields or using sprinklers.
“Carefully designed water management strategies and
programmes aimed at improving the efficiency and
productivity of water use need to be put in place,” says
Pasquale Steduto, Chief of FAO’s Water Resources,
Development and Management Service.
Large-scale public irrigation schemes, which represent
the bulk of the world’s irrigation, have contributed to
poverty alleviation and boosted agricultural production
in Asia, the Near East and parts of Latin America, but
many of these ageing systems are currently facing the
challenge of modernization.
“Upgraded infrastructures and increased flexibility and
reliability of water services are required to meet
changing market conditions and social and environmental
priorities,” says Steduto.
“Sustainable economic growth in most developing
countries can only be achieved through the development
of a strong agricultural sector,” adds
FAO Assistant
Director-General Louise Fresco. “Considerable public and
private investment in infrastructure, technology and
development of farmers’ and water managers’ technical
capacities is needed to increase food production in a
sustainable way. Improved water control is the growth
engine for rural development.”
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