Prospects for Agricultural Water Productivity,Efficiency and Saving in the NENA Region

Amman, Jordan 15-18 December, 2013

Pasquale STEDUTODeputy FAO Regional Representative

Near East & North Africa OfficeCairo, Egypt

The contextThe context

Soaring of food pricesSoaring of food pricesPrices volatilityPrices volatility

Food crisisFood crisis

A. A. Food SecurityFood Security

(Lagi et al., 2011)

• Social unrestSocial unrest

• Wheat importWheat import

• DemographyDemography

B. B. Water ScarcityWater Scarcity

PhysicalPhysicalWater scarcityWater scarcity

Incipient physicalIncipient physicalWater scarcityWater scarcity

EconomicEconomicWater scarcityWater scarcity

Negligible or Negligible or NoNo

Water Water scarcityscarcity

No dataNo data

Simple rules of thumb:1 liter of water per 1 Kcal

1.5 m3 of water per 1 kg of wheat15m3 of water per 1 kg of beef meat

(consumed water)

C. C. Collateral DistressesCollateral Distresses• Increased degradation

of Natural Resources

• Progressive intensification of energy demand (+50% by 2050)

• Uncertain financial situations

• Increased competition

for Natural Resources

runoff ≈ year 2050(Milly et al., 2005)

• Increased climate variability and change

The challenge: + food; - The challenge: + food; - waterwater

• Augment the availability of water (+virtual)

• Reducing food losses and waste

• Increasing the efficiency and productivity of water use

30%

Water Productivity=

the beneficial output per unit of water used

Agricultural Water Agricultural Water ProductivityProductivity

beneficial output = physical, economical, social, environmental

water used = withdrawn/diverted, applied, consumed

typical units = Kg/m3, Kcal/m3, $/m3, …

some considerations:• Increasing water productivity is not necessarily synonymous of water

saving(increased WP may come with increased

consumption)• high water productivity does

not mean high yield (we may have high WP with

low yield)• non water-related practices and

factors are also very important to increase water productivity (pest and diseases

control, fertility management, seeds, market, institutions, etc.)

The necessary distinctions in water use

Consumptive use

Non-consumptive use

Beneficial (T)

Non-beneficial (ES/Tw)

Recoverable (D)(quality)

Non-recoverable

(Water Productivity)

(irrigation efficiency)

Dry-Land MaizeLoess Plateau -

China WP=1.64 kg/m3(convention

al

practices)WP=2.53 kg/m3(plastic-film

mulching)

Courtesy of prof. Shulan Zhang (Northwest A&F University)

(≈ + 60%)

Some experimental values of wheat WPin the NENA Region (kg of grain per m3)

Morocco 0.45-1.15

Iran 0.46-1.28

Algeria 0.46-0.53 (rainfed)0.70-1.80 (irrigated)

Tunisia ≈ 0.62 (long term average)

Lebanon 0.62-0.84

Jordan 0.45-0.86

Syria 0.63-0.91 (rainfed)0.80-1.12 (irrigated)

Turkey 0.40-1.13

Large variabilitywithinand

betweenCountries

World wheat WP assessment (base-line 2000-05; 1km pixel)

World wheat WP score normalized for climate(base-line 2000-05; 1km pixel)

Morocco (2010-11; 30m pixel)

Syria (2010-11; 30m pixel)

WheatWheat

From Sadras & Angus (2006)

Yield & WP gaps

Source of variability of WP

• Climatic environment - seasons - ET - CO2

• Crops/varieties - A/T - phenology - canopy - roots - resistances

• Management - soil health - fertility - pest/diseases/weeds - water soil moisture irrigation

Physical (Y, biomass, Kcal per mPhysical (Y, biomass, Kcal per m33))

Economic ($ per mEconomic ($ per m33))• Market - prices of produces - prices of input factors - risks

Proposal of a work plan

[inception phase]establish a platform of stakeholders in representation ofselected countries, key organizations, authorities, etc.

[framework-definition phase]Update the operational definition of water productivityand adopt a simple but practical framework as to howto assess water productivity in different agriculturalsystems

[identification phase]select relevant agricultural systems where to intervene(rainfed, irrigated, agro-pastoral, cropping systems, etc.)

[diagnostic phase]‘diagnosis’ of the selected systems/sub-systems in termsof ‘yield’ (physical –biomass/yield–, economical, etc.),‘yield gaps’, water use (‘consumptive’, non-consumptive’), as well as ‘management’, ‘infrastructural, ‘governance’(institutional and policy) and ‘non-management’components of the systems affecting water productivity(valuation)

A special focus would be given to policies for waterallocation, water demand management, water pricingand scaling up of modern technology + institutions

One additional focus can be on assessing field experience in managing watershed and their contribution (including investments) on soil moisture and recharging ground water

[intervention phase]‘design’ the interventions that would introduce ‘changes’ into the above mentioned ‘components’ with the objectiveof improving agricultural water productivity. A clear ‘business model’ and a consistent ‘water-accounting/auditing’framework should be applied to each type or set of interventions in order to have always clear the ‘gain’ forcorresponding ‘losses’ of water

[monitoring-WP phase]develop a robust ‘benchmarking’ & ‘monitoring’ system to: • quantify without ambiguity the raise of water productivity; • identify where the water saved (if any) goes; • evaluate the success of interventions,Indicators and time-bounded targets will be defined

Concluding Concluding RemarksRemarks

• There is enough scope and variability of WP in the NENA Region to expect significant potential gain in water saving and food production by focusing on its improvement (10-40%)

• The water scarcity situation in the NENA Region requires high-impact strategies in support of food and water securities

• Given the multiple interactions between factors influencing WP, a robust water accounting and monitoring system is key

• Achieving high-impact will require a critical mass of commitments, financial resources and an effective work plan on medium term

• Farmers are the ultimate managers of natural resources (soil/water). They need to be engaged from the on-set in any work-plan• Innovative governance promoting the inclusion of farmers, researchers, governmental authorities and private sector in improving WP has shown to be key for achieving results

Thank You

http://neareast.fao.org