L’eau nécessaire pour produire notre nourriture quotidienne représente mille fois le volume d’eau que nous buvons chaque jour et cent fois celui nécessaire pour satisfaire les besoins domestiques des ménages. L’agriculture pluviale ne peut assurer seule l’approvisionnement en nourriture de la population du monde, et plus de 70 pour cent de l’eau que nous prélevons des rivières et des nappes aquifères sont destinés à l’agriculture irriguée. L’agriculture est la principale source de nourriture et de loin le premier secteur consommateur d’eau dans le monde.

The Seventh Session (Special Meeting) of the FAO Agriculture and Land and Water Use Commission for the Near East (ALAWUC) was held in Cairo, Egypt, during 8-9 May 2012. The Opening Ceremony of the Commission was attended by (35) persons, including (20) participants from (13) Member Countries, (3) Observers representing regional organizations in the Near East; in addition to (2) Observers from Algeria and Palestine. SUMMARY OF MAIN RECOMMENDATIONS 1.

The Agricultural Water Solutions Project aims to unlock the potential of smallholder farming by identifying, evaluating and recommending a variety of agricultural water management (AWM) solutions - including technologies as well as the necessary supporting policies, institutions, financing arrangements and associated business models. This is being achieved through a series of interlinked activities in the seven project sites in Africa (Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Tanzania and Zambia) and in India (Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal).

This document is prepared for fisheries biologists, managers and administrators concerned with lagoon fisheries and aquaculture. Our main objective is to draw attention to the need for greater understanding of relationships between the hydraulics and productivity of lagoon fish and shellfish. The fishery yields from lagoons vary widely, and, probably, predictably, once such relationships are understood. Furthermore, the productivities of many lagoons could probably be enhanced by hydraulic manipulations, but the hydraulic manipulation is presently risky, except in dystrophic lagoons.

This month, we invite you to participate in the e-consultation on Voluntary Guidelines on Responsible governance of tenure of land and other natural resources. Following a lengthy regional consultation process, additional input is being requested prior to the drafting of the Zero Draft Guidelines. FAO Headquarters marked World Water Day 2011, examining the urgent need for safe water supplies for the world’s rapidly growing urban populations.

This paper explains the operation methods in canal irrigation delivery systems using the MASSCOTE approach. It argues that on-farm irrigation scheduling is only possible when the delivery system provides the irrigation water at the expected time, rate and duration.

Policy makers as well as scientists have started to acquire an honest appreciation of the possibilities of reducing the wastage of materials which could be profitably utilized for improving or maintaining soil productivity. In addition, the great opportunities offered by making more efficient use of the potentials of biological nitrogen fixation in farming systems are now fully recognized. A number of recommendations and suggested guidelines were made by the various Working Groups during the two-week Workshop.

As World leaders forged two new big deals in late 2015 – the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Climate Change Agreements – over 200 experts and technical officers working in fields related to land and water management, participated in the 3rd Land and Water Days held at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Headquarters in Rome, from 10 to 12 November 2015.

This month, we will be marking the annual World Water Day celebration on 22 March. This years theme is Water for the cities: Responding to urban challenges. In this issue, we look at some of the challenges posed to water resources by rapid migration and we consider one possible solution for improving the use of these resources. In this issue, we are pleased to welcome a new Executive Secretary to the Commission for Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture and we spoke with her about the role of the Commission and its main priorities over the next months.