Peer-review: No - Open Access: Yes|http://www.icrisat.org/journal/info.htm

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Agriculture currently uses 75% of the total global consumption of water. Some of the crop technologies that were able to feed the growing world in the 20th century. About a third of the current global population lives in water-stressed locations and this may increase to two thirds within the next 25 years. Consumptive water use (or transpired water) by all food and fodder crops will, therefore, need to increase from its present estimated level (7,000-12,586 km3 year) to be capable of feeding adequately the population of 2050. There are great prospects for increasing the water use efficiency of specific genotypes within crops. Water use-efficiency and water productivity are being sought by agricultural researchers worldwide to address the global challenge that especially afflicts the resource poor, in drought-prone environments across the developing world. Sub-Saharan Africa, in particular, possesses the smallest ratio of irrigated to rainfed agriculture, followed by Latin America, the Middle East and North Africa, whereas Asia has the highest proportion of irrigated land. Climate change will further exacerbate the water crisis by causing a decline in water runoff in many regions. This will be especially severe in developing world environments where rainfall is highly variable and soils are degraded. North, Eastern and Southern Africa as well as West, South and Far East Asia will be among the most water-vulnerable regions of the world in 2025. In all these regions maize and wheat are among the main staple crops, which are grown mostly in rainfed environments by smallholder farmers. The demand for both cereal crops will also increase over the next 20 years with global demand for maize as feed increasing more rapidly than its food use whereas most of the world’s wheat grain harvests will continue to be used for human consumption. Hence, agricultural researchers are seeking new genetic enhancement and natural resource management options that will help to ensure maize and wheat productivity can continue supplying sufficient food to feed the increasing human population.

Global Wheat Program

Text in English

INT1511