It takes 15 cubic metres of water on average to produce 1kg of beef, compared to six cubic metres for poultry and 1.5 cubic metres for corn.
Among human activities agriculture is one of the largest producers of methane, a potent greenhouse gas 22 times more damaging to the atmosphere than carbon dioxide.
Roughly 80% of the world's 1.2 billion poor are dependent on agriculture for their survival.
Urbanization, climate change, changing diets in emerging economies and the impact of supermarkets are putting new pressures on the land and changing the face of farming.
Only a fraction of the world’s groundwater reserves are economically available for agriculture.
Shifting from conventional surface irrigation approaches (including flood irrigation) to subsurface, drip and lowloss sprinkler technologies can increase overall water productivity by 25% to over 200% but only about 1% of irrigated farm land worldwide uses precision irrigation.
It is estimated that salinization alone causes 2-3 million ha (5 - 7 M Acres) per year of potentially productive agricultural land to be taken out of production. How much of this land is reclaimed (to various degrees) and then cultivated again is unknown. Pollution of groundwater by salts and residues of agrochemicals is also a common occurrence. Where slightly saline groundwater is used for irrigation, the repeated cycles of water application to the fields, seepage of the excess water and pumping it up again from the top of the aquifer increases the salt load of the groundwater.
Pastoralists are more vulnerable to droughts than farmers because during a drought they loose their most important asset - the livestock.
Rain is the source of water for crop production in the more humid regions of the world where some 60% of the world’s food crops are grown. Rainfed agriculture takes place on some 80% of the arable land and irrigated agriculture produces 40% of the world’s food crops on the remaining 20%.
Generally, agriculture and rural development have not benefited from systematic environmental analysis and management.
In the Punjab region of India, as in many other places in the world, the benefit of high yields from new seed types is not long-lasting. Pests are able to keep ahead of pesticides.
High oil prices, drought, over-intensive farming leading to lower yields, increased food demand in India and China and the loss of land to biofuels have all played their part in ending the long period of cheap food that the world has enjoyed for the past 30 years.
Cashews are grown throughout the tropics, but most come from are India and East Africa. They are never sold in the shell because there is an extremely caustic oil between the inner and outer layers which must be burned off before they can be sold.
The single most important factor in sustainable farming today is preventing soil erosion and maintaining healthy soil.
Pistachio production is the largest in Iran, which accounts for about 40% of the international crop.
The edges of the tropical belt are the outer boundaries of the sub-tropical dry zones. Poleward shifting could lead to fundamental shifts in ecosystems and in human settlements. Shifts in precipitation would have obvious implications for agriculture and water resources and could present serious hardships in marginal areas.
Droughts and floods already rank as the single most common cause of severe food shortages in developing countries.
Brazil nuts are resistant to cultivation and are still primarily harvested from the wild in South America.
Irrigated rice production provides about 75% of the world's rice needs. However, there is also increasing competition between rice farmers and industry over water needed for energy production.
Agriculture is a critical issue for any nation concerned about food security, the livelihood and well-being of rural people, and long-term impacts on soil and water resources.
Asia
In China, shortages of fresh water and food resources in 21st Century would become very serious. To solve food shortage, increase of agricultural production must take first priority: first of all redistribution of existing farmland is essential followed by expansion of cultivated land area. Northern and Northeastern regions of China are one of the more important food producing areas. Those are also the areas of limitless grassland and forest. Therefore, in the near future it is expected that vast farmland is utilized to the limit and the grassland is converted to the food producing farmland. The Northern and Northeastern regions are arid areas and precipitation is small while evaporation is large. There, soil and water conditions are poor, and a large amount of groundwater has to be pumped up to supplement surface water. It is, therefore, feared that the deterioration of environment including shortage of groundwater or lowering of groundwater level may result.
Africa
Australia
Europe
North America
South America
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