Water Management and Food Security by

Marc Andreini

Water-Energy-Food Security New Challenges and New Solutions for

Water Management, May 1-4,2012, Winnipeg

Global Gross Crop Water Demand

source: Wada et al. 2012

Source Robert Bailey, 2011

Land used for Agriculture

IWMI, 2000

4

43

74

6

12

87

14

06

24

86

32

55

47

29 61

50

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

7,000

Ke

nya

Eth

iop

ia

So

uth

Afr

ica

Th

aila

nd

La

os

Ch

ina

Bra

zil

Au

str

alia

No

rth

Am

erica

PER CAPITA STORAGE CAPACITY m3/capita

World Bank (2003)

Africa experiences extreme spatial and

temporal rainfall variability

Impact of rainfall variability on GDP and

Agricultural GDP growth

-80

-60

-40

-20

0

20

40

60

801

98

2

19

83

19

84

19

85

19

86

19

87

19

88

19

89

19

90

19

91

19

92

19

93

19

94

19

95

19

96

19

97

19

98

19

99

20

00

year

%

-30

-25

-20

-15

-10

-5

0

5

10

15

20

25

rainfall variability

GDP growth

Ag GDP growth

Source: World Bank 2006 (Ethiopia Water Country Assistance Strategy

in Ethiopia

We might increase

production by:

Bringing more dry land

into production

Improving rainfed yields

Building more irrigation

infrastructure

Improving irrigated

yields

Framework to diagnose and identify options to improve water productivity in farmers’ fields

0

45

90

135

180

225

270

0 10 20 30 40 50

Seasonal water supply (in)

Gra

in y

ield

(b

u a

c-1

)

1) Higher yields with better

crop mgt, same water supply

2) Less water, same yield with

improved irrigation mgt

3) Higher yields with

less irrigation water

Mean WP function

slope = 8 bu ac-in-1

WP boundary

slope =11 bu ac-in-1

By Kenneth Cassman and Patricio Grassini

Improve on-farm water management

Improve crops

Improve hydro-met data and information

Improve policies especially with regard to

ecosystem services and sustainability

Adopt Integrated Water Resource Management

(IWRM) as a way of doing business

Make sure food is accessible and nutritional

outcomes result in good health

We should make choices that

assure that high yields will be

maintained, even in the face of

major shocks, and that our

agricultural practices will have

acceptable environmental

impacts.

Established in April, 2010 with a $50 million gift from the

Robert B. Daugherty Charitable Foundation

Vision: The Water for Food Institute is a research, education, and policy

institute committed to helping the world efficiently use its limited

freshwater resources, with particular focus on ensuring the food supply

for current and future generations.

waterforfood@nebraska.edu