World Food Day 2023 Highlights the Critical Role of Water in Achieving Food Security!

One of the most urgent development challenges of our time is water scarcity. 2.4 billion individuals are living in water-stressed countries. In the past two decades, freshwater resources per capita have decreased by 20%, and water availability and quality are rapidly deteriorating due to pollution, climate change, over-abstraction of groundwater, and decades of improper management.

As water scarcity becomes an escalating source of conflict, competition for this invaluable resource is intensifying. Many individuals are smallholder farmers who are already confronted with the challenge of providing essential services such as sanitation and hygiene, as well as nutritious food and drinking water. Women, refugees, migrants, and indigenous peoples are disproportionately affected.

Increased and frequent extreme weather events, including floods and droughts, are exacerbating the strain on our ecosystems, ultimately leading to devastating consequences for global food security.

Lifeng Li is Director, Land and Water Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in his new article "Water Scarcity, the Climate Crisis and Global Food Security: A Call for Collaborative Action.", emphasized that that establishing partnerships is the first step towards more inclusive water management.  In order to achieve this, governments must engage in collaborative efforts with international organizations, academic institutions, research institutions, the private sector, and civil society in order to develop sustainable solutions that ensure future food and water security.

World Food Day 2023 served as a call to action, urging stakeholders to collaborate and redouble efforts to create a future where water and food security go hand in hand.