The State of the World's Land and Water Resources for Food and Agriculture (SOLAW)

This edition of The State of the World’s Land and Water Resources for Food and Agriculture presents objective and comprehensive information and analyses on the current state,

trends and challenges facing two of the most important agricultural production

factors: land and water.

Land and water resources are central to agriculture and rural development,

and are intrinsically linked to global challenges of food insecurity and poverty,

climate change adaptation and mitigation, as well as degradation and depletion

of natural resources that affect the livelihoods of millions of rural people across

the world.

Current projections indicate that world population will increase from 6.9 billion

people today to 9.1 billion in 2050. In addition, economic progress, notably in the

emerging countries, translates into increased demand for food and diversified diets.

World food demand will surge as a result, and it is projected that food production

will increase by 70 percent in the world and by 100 percent in the developing countries.

Yet both land and water resources, the basis of our food production, are finite

and already under heavy stress, and future agricultural production will need to be

more productive and more sustainable at the same time.