Agriculture, Water and Food Security

The adverse impacts of climate change and global warming are mainly threatening water and food security in developing countries. The vulnerability of agriculture and food security to both climate change and climate variability is well established. The general consensus is that changes in temperature and precipitation will impact plant growth and crop yield and, subsequently, affect food security. In many developing countries, climate change is also expected to change farming systems and to put more pressure on the rural community to cope with these changes and build up their adaptive capacities. The problems resulting from climate change are also worsening by the rapid population growth and the unplanned conversion of cultivable lands into urban areas.

The link between adverse climate change and water and food security is related to changes in crop yield and levels of water consumption by agriculture and other sectors. The projected temperatures increase and precipitation reduction would adversely affect crops and water availability, thus critically influencing the patterns of future agricultural production. Crop yield is roughly proportional to transpiration; more yields require more transpiration.

In Pakistan with scarce water resources, the adverse impacts of climate change on available water resources are increasing the problem of food security, as most of developed water resources are used for agriculture. The bottom line is that each individual needs 2 to 5 liters of drinking water, 20 to 400 liters of water for daily household use and about 2,000 to 5,000 liters of water for food production, depending on how productive their agriculture is and what kind of food they eat. On average, each of us requires about one thousand cubic meters of water each year for food, or about 3 cubic meters (3 tons or 3,000 liters) of water per day, considering that about one liter of water is required per calorie of food supply. These figures assume that 2,800 to 3,000 calories must reach the market in order for each of us to consume about 2,000 calories.

In Pakistan, the challenge to meet population needs from food and water is well-known at all levels. Water availability is likely to be the most sensitive to climate change induced impacts. Climate change is expected to have significant impacts on water supplies and agricultural production in Pakistan. The country has limited water resources, which increases the competition for water among the different sectors.

The combined effects of climate change and population growth are expected to put more pressure on the limited water resources in Pakistan and to increase the challenge of sustainable development in the country. EPF aims to assess the risks of climate change, population growth and land use change on water resources and food productivity in Pakistan. EPF’s efforts to support Pakistan’s activities in the area of capacity building and adaptation to climate change. EPF is also helping in providing implications for building adaptive capacities to minimize the adverse impacts of climate change on water and food security in Pakistan.

Aims