World needs ‘more crop per drop’ amid pressures of climate change

• March 22, 2012

Water droplet on crop leaf

Creative Commons: CIAT International Center for Tropical Agriculture, 2010

Water must be used more efficiently and its waste reduced if the world is to meet rising food demand from a fast-expanding population amid the pressures of climate change, experts have said ahead of World Water Day.

Marked each year on March 22, the United Nations hopes the 2012 event will focus attention on water’s critical role in feeding the world.

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) says the world will have to produce up to 70 percent more food to feed a global population expected to reach 9 billion people by 2050, from the current 7 billion. That will require better management of water, boosting farmers’ resilience to climate shifts, and cutting food and water waste.

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  • Caroline Yeend

    Canada must not have precious resources like water included in trade deal with the EU especially giving corporations more power over municipalities awarding contracts for work to local companies.This is on the table in the trade deal now being decided. The Canadian government has not even publicly told the Canadian people about this we have found out by leaks by very concerned public servants!!! This is a crisis of government dealing very poorly with our water resources!!!

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Karl Burkart is the Digital Communications Director for the GCCA, the Global Call for Climate Action, and TckTckTck, a network of 400+ diverse organizations working around the world for greater action on the growing problem of climate change. Karl also blogs on technology and the environment for a variety of publications. You can follow him on Twitter @greendig.

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