LAND AND WATER

Population growth puts additional pressure on natural resources. Food producers face major challenges as the world population is projected to increase from the present 6 billion people to some 8 billion by the year 2030, and the per caput land available for food production continues to decline. Countries with rapid population growth face especially difficult challenges in ensuring national food security. The amount of land most suited to arable cropping by its relief, soils and climate is about 11% of the total land surface. However, with the possible exceptions of limited areas in Africa and Latin America, most additional food will have to be produced on land that is already under some form of production. Expansion of agriculture onto less suitable land means greater input costs, more risk of crop failure and environmental degradation.

Water utilization intensity varies considerably within, as well as between, countries. The use of over 100% of renewable water in some areas suggests that water has become a production constraint where water resources are being depleted faster than they can be recharged. At the other extreme, low utilization suggests that potential may exist for better use of water. Irrigated land can yield 3 to 10 times more food value (through increased yields or higher crop-value crops) than rain-fed land.

Agriculture is a major user of water. Increasing levels of competing uses, from urban users, for example, makes the efficient use of water imperative. Better technologies and policies, and the means and incentives to implement them will increase the efficiency of water use in agriculture and food production. The efficient use of both current and potential irrigation sources, as well as the improvement of water control in general, is essential for increasing agricultural productivity as well as decreasing production variability.

Over the years, FAO has built geo-referenced databases on land and water sources and use, developed analytical tools and land classification models, and is the lead agency in the agro-ecological zone (AEZ) methodology and related decision support tools which allow the analysis of key issues of land productivity, crop intensification and sustainability.

• Land Use and Soil Fertility
  
• Agricultural Water Use

• Land and Water Development Division
  
• Agriculture 21
  
• Special Programme for Food Security Toolkit Site - Water Control