ST09 - Towards water-efficient agrifood systems that deliver food security for all.

 

On 15 October 2026 from 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM CET at Green Room, FAO Headquarters (Rome, Italy) The "ST09 - Towards water-efficient agrifood systems that deliver food security for all", a specialized thematic session will be held during the FAO Science and Innovation Forum 2026, which is part of the broader World Food Forum (WFF) flagship event organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The session focuses on navigating the complex intersection of water scarcity, climate change, and global food demands.

Focus Areas & Core Concepts

The Water-Food Security Paradox: Exploring the evidence-based trade-offs between water security and food security. It explicitly tackles the Jevons paradox rebound dynamic, assessing why technology-level improvements (like drip irrigation or solar pumping) often fail to yield basin-level savings without deliberate policy governance.
Technology vs. Hype: Separating demonstrated impact from marketing claims regarding frontier technologies like atmospheric water capture, desalination, and water harvesting.
Advanced Resource Management: Assessing practical implementations of basin-scale water accounting, satellite-based water productivity tools, groundwater monitoring, and integrated nutrient management.
Financing & AI Integration: Evaluating financial instruments such as water pricing models and testing the direction of artificial intelligence investments specifically toward smallholder irrigation networks.


Key Participants: Prominent global experts, including representatives from organizations like ICARDA (such as Dr. Vinay Nangia, Sustainable Water Management Research Team Leader), who present on dryland agricultural productivity.

Watch the ST09 - Towards water-efficient agrifood systems that deliver food security for all!

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