FAO Director-General calls for better water management and improved access for small farmers

Figure: Millions of family farmers in developing countries already suffer from lack of access to freshwater.

FAO 20 January 2017, Berlin - Growing water scarcity is now one of the leading challenges for sustainable development, and that challenge is poised to intensify as the world's population continues to swell and climate change intensifies, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva warned today.

Competition for water will intensify as humanity's numbers exceed 9 billion people around 2050 — already, millions of family farmers in developing countries suffer from lack of access to freshwater, while conflicts over water resources already surpass those tied to land disputes in some regions, he noted in remarks made at the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (19-21 January) in Berlin.

Additionally, climate change is already altering hydrological regimes everywhere, Graziano da Silva said, citing estimates that around one billion people in dry regions may face increasing water scarcity in the near future. These are regions with a high concentration of extreme poverty and hunger.

Agriculture is both a major cause and casualty of water scarcity. Farming accounts for around 70 percent of fresh water withdrawals in the world today, and also contributes to water pollution due to pesticides and chemicals.

To tackle these challenges, the international community created a standalone sustainable development goal (SDG) on water and wove better management of this key natural resource throughout the entire architecture of the SDGs, Graziano da Silva said. Improved water matter is particularly important to the SDGs related to extreme poverty, hunger and malnutrition, and climate change, he added.

"Agriculture and food systems bring all of these global goals together and provide opportunities for a transformational change," he said.

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See more: http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/463792/icode/