Climate change to reduce water available for agriculture, report says

Jun 13 2011

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) "on Thursday warned climate change will restrict the availability of water for farming in decades to come, including in the Mediterranean region, and urged governments to take action," Agence France-Presse reports (6/9).  

In a report (.pdf), the FAO said climate change will result in higher temperatures, more frequent droughts and reduced water availability, Reuters reports. The report provides recommendations for strategies to improve water management but notes that it is particularly difficult for small-scale farmers in the developing world to adopt these methods because of limited access to capital (Kovalyova, 6/9).

In a press release, FAO said that "far too little is known about how climate change impacts on water for agriculture will play out at the regional and sub-regional level, and where farmers will be most at risk." "Greater precision and focus is needed to understand the nature, scope and location of climate change impacts on developing country water resources for agriculture," according to the report (6/9).

In related news, Reuters looks at how scientists are trying to address food production challenges due to climate change and other developments (Fogarty, 6/10).