Water scarcity threatens food security

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Water scarcity is challenging food security in the Asia-Pacific region as demand for food surges with growing population while production is hindered by ever scarcer water resources, a senior UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) official said as the World Water Day falls on Thursday.

A villager walks on the dried-up bed of the Xinba reservoir in Shilin County, China's Yunnan Province, March 22, 2012. A severe drought has lingered in Yunnan for three consecutive years. [Xinhua]

A villager walks on the dried-up bed of the Xinba reservoir in Shilin County, China's Yunnan Province, March 22, 2012. A severe drought has lingered in Yunnan for three consecutive years. [Xinhua] 

Food production has to increase by 60 percent globally by 2050 when the world population is expected to reach 9 billion. The Asia- Pacific region has little potential for water resources with about 78 percent of water supply already being used for irrigation, said Hiroyuki Konuma, FAO assistant director-general and regional representative for the Asia-Pacific region.

Nearly 600 million people are suffering from hunger and malnutrition in the Asia-Pacific region where food prices are twice as high as a decade ago. Food prices will continue to increase in the next ten years, Konuma told Xinhua.

"If we are going to increase food production by as much as 60 percent in the next 40 years, that means we need more water. And how to get this amount of water is the biggest concern of not only FAO but also the world community as a whole," he said.

Water and arable land are the essential resources for agriculture. It takes about 1500 liters of water to produce 1 kg of wheat and 10 times more to produce 1 kg of beef. With economic development, there will be greater demand for meat and dairy products, leading to even greater need of water, according to statistics from FAO.

"We have realized the importance of food safety, but we seemed to forget the importance of water. Intense livestock production and overuse of chemical fertilizers or pesticides have contaminated water bodies, greatly reducing water availability and affecting people's health," Konuma said.

"It is critical to hold users accountable for the pollution and waste of water, which can undermine productive usage of this vitally important resource," he said.

In addition, water cycle is affected by climate change, causing more frequent draughts and floods that destroy crops and put food production at risk, he said. Last year, the worst flood in decades hit Thailand, the world's largest exporter of rice, reducing the country's rice production by more than two million tonnes.

"Water and food security calls for the attention from the highest level of government. We must promote sustainable intensification of agriculture, or increase food productivity with limited resources," Konuma said.

Policy and financial supports are needed to provide incentives for sustainable farming, such as the promotion of drip irrigation that can help improve efficiency in water use, he added.

The World Water Day has been held annually on March 22 since its debut in 1993. It highlights an aspect of fresh water each year. This year's highlight is water and food security.

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