Water for Food Security
FR/R0017
November 2013
Water and food are inextricably linked as significant quantities of water are required to produce our food. Water is fundamental to agricultural production: crops require water to grow; livestock require water for drinking and hygiene; and farms need water for operations and processing. Inland fisheries and aquaculture cannot exist without freshwater. The water consumed in food production is either sourced directly from precipitation or from soil moisture (green water), or withdrawn from aquifers, streams and lakes (blue water).
Agriculture and food production are not necessarily the same thing. Large areas of the world are devoted to agriculture, growing crops such as cotton, or crops which are used to produce fuel or other non-edible products (bio-diesel, palm oil). As demand for food to feed the ever growing world population increases so does the emerging conflict between crops for food and crops for other purposes. This ROCK introduces and explains some of the main aspects of the water and food relationship.
Copies of the report are available from the Foundation for £15.00, less 20% for FWR members.