By 2050, food production is projected to increase by about 70 percent globally and nearly 100 percent in developing countries.
This incremental demand for food, together with demand from other competing uses, will place unprecedented pressure on many agricultural production systems across the world. That’s according to The State of the World’s Land and Water Resources for Food and Agriculture, a new report from The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). These ‘systems at risk’ are facing growing competition for land and water resources, it says, and they are often constrained by unsustainable agricultural practices. They therefore require particular attention and specific remedial action.
In this landmark report, FAO analyses a variety of options for overcoming constraints and improving resource management in these areas of heightened risk. In each location, it suggests, a mix of changes in institutional and policy measures will have to be combined with greater access to technologies for better management of land and water resources. Increased investments; access to novel financing mechanisms; and international cooperation and development assistance will also help overcome these constraints.