Dr. M. Ahmad, FAO Cairo

1. Water and Food Security Nexus
Regional Gap Analysis
(24-26 June , 2013, Cairo)
International Conference on Polices and Food Security in Dry Area
Dr. Mahmood Ahmad
FAO Consultant on agriculture water policy
Senior Policy Officer ,
FAO Regional Office, Cairo (Retired)
Demand Management or Supply
EnhancementCost of Water Development or Saving (Piasa/Cm)
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900
Improve Surface
Irrigation
Promote Modern Irrigation
change Cropping
Pattern
Reduce
Wastage
Progessive Domestic
Tariff
Demand
Management
Well
Field
Storage
Dams
Recharge
Dams
Desalinization
s
Taknker
Imports
Supply
Enhancemnet

2. The Gaps
• Gap1. There is a general weakness in scaling-up from
many successful case studies
• Gap 2: Most of the (dis)incentives to water inefficiency
lie outside of the water domain. The necessary multi-
disciplinarily has not yet been mobilised
• Gap 3: There is an absence of explicit food security
strategies, for now and the future, to guide water
interventions. In light of different (blend of) pathways
available to countries

3. GAP 1: Food Security Policies changed
overtime with water availability

4. FOOD SECURITY-NEXUS
CHANGED WORLD FOOD EQUATION
• Supply : Land Degradation, Water Scarcity,
Inputs and Transport costs, Rising energy cost,
Climatic changes, Farm structure, labour and
technology
• Demand : Globalization, Population Growth,
Poverty, and inequality, consumption water
intensity, bio-engineering
• Trade and Markets: Supermarket, financial
markets, virtual water, policies

5. Agriculture Policy
Energy
Trade
Water Valustion/ incentive Structure
Improving productive & Allocative Efficiency
Market Access for small farmers
Subsidy Depleting GW
Shortage and High Cost
Comparative and competitive
advantage, virtual water, distorted
global markets
Food
Security
/Water

6. Low Risk Appetite
Weak Market
Orientation
Low Investment/waterLow Margins
Low land & water
Productivity
Low Value Addition
Small Farmer Caught in vicious cycle of
underdevelopment having impact on
water/FS nexus
Unless we don’t provide him
access to technology, credit
and market, impact
of water reforms very minimal

7. GAP Analysis: Role of Technology: Cost of Saving Water-case of Iran
on the rate of return on the technology ----function of amount of
water saved and cost of water paid by farmers
0 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.1 0.12
Cost of water of saving
Cost charged to farmers
Cost Saving Water $ per cubic
meter

8. Price is low and Impact…..

9. 2. Most of the (dis)incentives to water inefficiency lie
outside of the water domain.
• Totally agree, but we need to prioritize which
are important, lets not distract ourselves from
key areas which critical, doable, and has
impact
• Would briefly share our experience in the
region with
• Agriculture Policy (Incentive structure)
• Trade and Marketing
• Energy policy

10. Agricultural Sector
86
Industrial
9%
Domestic
5 %
Apply Water
saving policies,
strategies and
technologies
to all
sectors of the
economy
Reallocation
of water
(Inter and
Intra
reallocation)
End-User Efficiency
“More crop per drop”
Technically and politically
relatively to implement
Allocative Efficiency
“More jobs per drop”
Technically simple
but socially and politically
complex to implement
Demand Management Policies
Implementation
Pakistan, India, Iran, Egypt, Syria, Sudan, CIS and Yemen
High: Morocco, Tunisia, Cyprus, and Sudan
, Morocco,
Cyprus and Malta

11. and in our view Value Chain Approach
to develop a competitive Agriculture with focus to link small
farmer to the market– a win win policy option for poverty
reduction and agriculture growth
Input Suppliers Farm Production
Wholesale
Markets
Processors
Exporters/importe
r
Retailers
Consumers
Knowledge and Information
Key Issues to unlock water potential
Energy, technology up gradation, credit and market access both to domestic and export markets
Agricultural Policy
Choice of Technology
Traditional versus
Modern Irrigation
Produce more
with less water
Minimize Produce
Loss
Chain Dominated by Middleman
Food/water losses are significant
at post harvest and marketing levels
Virtual water

12. Tomato
Cabbage
Eggplant
Chicko
Pumpkin
Date (H)
Capsicum
ucumber (PGH)
Cucumber
Squash
Rhodes Grass
Peper (PGH)
Peper
Date (M)
Water Melon
Date (A)
Onion
Potato
Banana
Lemon
Mango
Orange
Impact of Energy Cost on Efficiency of Resource Use: Case of Al-
Batinah region of Oman
Very high sensitive
crops for changes in
electricity price
Quite low
sensitive crops
for changes in
electricity price

13. Gap 3 : absence of explicit food security strategies
to guide water interventions in light of different
(blend of) pathways available to countries
• Yes we need develop a strategy to bridge present and
future food gap with growing water scarcity
• It is becoming a consensus that agriculture has to
produce more with less water
• For food security there are good and bad news,
• Good terms of trade for agriculture, news high
international prices need to be transferred to farmer to
produce commodities with comparative and
competitive advantage with sustainable advantage
• Bad news, prices are not transferred to farmers and
high cost food for consumers
• These policy in place the virtual water can also be an
option

14. Massage to carry
• For water food security to work, look at broader issues
of improving the competitiveness of value chain
• The competitiveness also be inclusive for small farmer
in providing access to technology, credit and markets
• Focus on water demand management, the trade off
established within and among improving productive
and allocative efficiency
• For future actions/policy reforms in agriculture are
important to water scarcity issues.
• Analysis of water, agriculture, energy nexus,
Potential of alternative renewable energy (solar) to run
our agriculture tube wells and other farm machinery