No Agriculture without Water
Why water is vital for food security
l/day and capita Essential Abundant Quality
Drinking 2 4 ***
Domestic 40 400 **
Food
(Evapotranspiration)
1000 5000 *
– About 50% of accessible water resources are currently mobilized for human use
– Agriculture represents 69% of all water use (85 to 95% in developing countries) but are the largest consumer
– Irrigation represents less than 20% of cultivated land but contributes 40% to overall food production
Water use and food production
Freshwater withdrawal for Agriculture
Map showing agricultural water withdrawal as percentage of renewable water resource in 1998 by country, where withdrawals for agriculture are critically high (category 5) and
No data < 2.5 2.5–5 5–20 20–35 >35
% undernourished
800 millions undernourished people
Sources of growth in crop production
To meet the food demand between today and 2030 an increase in production of about 50 % is needed. FAO estimates that for 93 developing countries this
increase will come from:
Irrigation efficiency and withdrawal:
Irrigation efficiency (%)
Irrigation water withdrawals as a percentage of renewable water resources
sub-Saharan
Africa AmericaLatin North AfricaNear East/ SouthAsia EastAsia 93 developingcountries
New approaches in
agricultural water
management
Improving rainfed production
• Soil and water conservation techniques
– Reduce run-off and increased water infiltration • contour stripping, terracing, micro-basins
– Increased soil moisture storage
• Increased soil and rooting depth
• improve soil structure
• Crop selection
Improving water production
• Shift in cropping pattern (from rice to wheat)
• Increasing irrigation efficiency (60% water losses in irrigation) - Water saving technologies and management
• Use of non-conventional water sources:
Empowering people:
• Allocation of land and water resources to users (men and women)
• Power and responsibilities to the users (water use associations)
Improving management
-at scheme level
Irrigation modernization, moving from:
• Protective to productive irrigation
• A supply-oriented to service-demand approach
Improving management
at farm level
• Improving productivity at farm level implies the following actions
• improving water use efficiency • diversify crops
• This is done through:
• training and information
Reform of national water and land policies
• Ensuring fair and equitable access • Secure water rights
• Water management at the river basin (upstream-downstream) • Provide incentives to conserve water to reduce losses
• Recognising the full value while protecting the poor
• Regulations for protection of aquifers, rivers, lakes and wetlands (quality and quantity)
International agreements on trans-boundary water resources Investments
Improving management and policies
Include technical and institutional costs. Operation and maintenance cost are estimated to be 10 % of the investment costs
0
Large scale developments
Irrigation rehabilitation
Rainfed/water harvesting
Household irrigation
Small holder irrigation
Lowland development
Investment costs per ha
No Agriculture without Water
Pro-poor and
Role of water in poverty alleviation
• Raise food supply and cash income
• Reduced migration from rural areas to cities
• Irrigation allows for timely, secure increase in production without increasing the land holding
• Conditions
– Affordable technologies
– Local manufacturing capacity
– Land, water and technology should be under farmer control – low operation and maintenance costs
– Easy to install and to operate
Case 1: Conservation Agriculture
• Traditional approaches in South America
• Requires animal use and high management skills
Collecting of water in structures ranging from small furrows to dams Allows farmers to conserve rainwater and direct it to crop for increased food security in drought prone areas
Case 2: Water harvesting
• Traditional approaches in arid and semi-arid countries • High productivity
• Less risks
• Vulnerable to dry periods • Requires water use groups
Case 3: Low-cost well drilling
Hand drilling technique from Asia
helps farmers to improve their access to water
• Simple and manual • Low cost
Case 4: Water lifting
Simple pumping technologies combined with improved surface water distribution techniques
helps farmers to manage the water better and reduce losses
• Simple • Low costs
• No risk for groundwater overexploitation
• Requires time and cultural acceptance
Case 5: Family-kit drip irrigation
Complete drip irrigation system for 50-2500 m2
No Agriculture without Water
Managing the
environmental and health impacts of irrigated
Impacts of irrigation
Salinization
Overuse and misuse of water in irrigated agriculture deprive downstream users (inc. environment)
Poor management of irrigation and lack of sufficient drainage waterlogging and salinity problems
Drawbacks of drainage
risk for flooding downstream and reduced groundwater recharge
Overuse of groundwater
falling groundwater levels
On health and environment
• Water conservation
• Reuse of drainage water
• Treatment of drainage water • Safe disposal of drainage water • Reducing favorable conditions
for vector-born and water-related diseases by:
Mitigating of adverse effects
– improved management of irrigation systems
(decrease breeding sites)
• Prevention of water-borne and water-washed diseases can be done through:
– Education , training, media campaigns
– Improved drinking water supplies, sanitation and housing – Strict control over the wastewater effluent quality being
discharged
• Problem: In many countries, treatment facilities are inadequate or lacking altogether.
Conclusions
• Water is an essential element to secure food production, but it
is not the only one;
• Development of land and water resources will need to be much more strategic;
• Agriculture has to improve water productivity
• We have to empower the water users
• Agriculture has to shoulder its environmental responsibilities
Thank you !
World food day: http://www.fao.org/wfd/
