Water Availability and its Impact on Global Agriculture

Increasing demand for meat and milk in urban areas of developing countries will strain water supplies used for agriculture and feed production. DRIP, DRIP, GONE WATER AVAILABILITY AND GLOBAL AGRICULTURE Most countries in the near east and North Africa suffer from acute water shortages. Drought is the number one stress crops endure which limits yield, and is of growing concern due to the globe's diminishing water supply and climate change. 100 IIIIII VEARS During the last century, global water use has increased at more than twice the rate of population growth. More than one in six people worldwide - 894 million - don't have access to 70% improved water sources. of the world's freshwater is used to produce food. 40% of the world's food supply is produced using irrigation. WHAT CAN WE DO? Water use is predicted to increase by 50 percent in developing countries, and 18 percent in developed countries. Two-thirds of the world's BY 2025 population could be living in water stressed conditions. BY 2050 The world's diminishing water supply will be further pressured to provide more food and energy to support the livelihoods of an additional 2 billion people. One solution to improve agriculture is to find new ways to make plants less water dependent. Danforth Center research is Food and energy crops cannot grow without water, but improving their response to drought will help them yield more crop per drop. developing food and energy crops that require less water. Drought-tolerant plants can open up large, once-unusable areas of land for farming in developing countries. DONALD DANFORTH PLANT SCIENCE CENTER www.danforthcenter.org DISCOVER • ENLIGHTEN SHARE NOURIS H |