"There is no food security without water security," said FAO director-general Jose Graziano Da Silva at the opening of the World Water Week which was held in Stockholm from 26 to 31 August 2012. Agriculture accounts for 70% of all water use; if current trends continue, predicted water shortages in agriculture have been identified as the single most significant constraint on crop production over the next 50 years.

Even in Europe, as stated in a 2009 European Commission report on 'Adaptation to Climate Change: the Challenge for European Agriculture and Rural Areas', high water stress areas are expected to increase from 19% today to 35% by 2070 implying "significant changes in the quality and availability of water resources". In other parts of the world, water scarcity is already a reality affecting 40% of people, leaving farmers with an increasing number of challenges to grow food.

Agricultural biotechnology can play a significant role in enabling farmers to improve yield by using water more sustainably and helping to cope with water scarcity. The two main ways in which this works are by reducing water loss and improving drought tolerance.

Agricultural biotech practices that reduce the amount of ploughing required before planting crops have already been used for more than 15 years. As voices become louder on the need to break away from a carbon-intensive economy, another interesting advantage is that less ploughing means less fossil fuel use, less carbon dioxide emissions and less soil erosion.


New biotech applications in the R&D pipeline, such as drought and stress tolerant crops, offer additional opportunities to enhance water efficiency in agriculture, adapt to climate change and increase global food security, while at the same time protecting the environment. "Genetically-engineered crops such as the drought-tolerant maize that is now available in the US offer valuable tools to farmers, allowing them to continue to produce food while making the best use of every drop of water", commented Carel du Marchie Sarvaas, EuropaBio’s Director for Agricultural Biotechnology. In the United States where drought has affected major agricultural lands this summer the new drought-tolerant maize has been trialed by about 250 farmers. In a Voice of America video report from one farm in Nebraska, where they have received about 30% of normal rainfall, the kernels on drought tolerant maize are larger than its non drought tolerant counterpart. However, they still awaiting the yield data to confirm how big an advantage this GM maize will have. Critics argue that in severe drought conditions the added gene may not help much.


EuropaBio argue that new biotech applications in the research and development pipeline - such as drought and stress-tolerant crops - offer additional opportunities to enhance water efficiency in agriculture, the chance to adapt to climate change and to increase global food security while at the same time protecting the environment.

View the VoA report here.

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