By definition, dry areas are water thirsty, but things are getting worse. In 1950, the water availability in Asia was 10,000 m³ per person; it is projected at only 3,000 m³ in the year 2,000. For Africa, it is expected to be 5,000 m³ against 21,000 m³ in 1950.
Sustainable agricultural systems are not possible without sufficient water. Demand for cereals is leading to increasing use of irrigation, and agriculture is using 80% of the water in the Middle East. Moreover, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimates that as much as 60% of the water diverted or pumped for irrigation is wasted through leakage, system faults or misapplication. Also, the consequences of growing cereals on the desert margin in areas with annual rainfall of just 100 mm are worrisome. There is no water to waste in the world's dry areas, and water use efficiency in agriculture in these areas remains the crucial area for research.
        So, what should be done about it? ICARDA and the National Agricultural Research Systems (NABS) of nine countries of West Asia and North Africa have got together recently to launch an ecoregional initiative on water. Click here for more details on this, but the outcome of our discussions with the NARS is that we will be looking hard at water-use efficiency, rather than trying to expand supply. One of  the two main areas of this research will

be supplemental irrigation-which is far more efficient than full irrigation in many circumstances, and less likely to turn the soil saline. The second will be water harvesting.
        There is nothing new about water harvesting. It has been a success for thousands of years. Our task is to up

date and refine the concept so that it is an economic option for farmers. As a first step, satellite images are being used to identify areas of potential. Click here to get a report on this.
       There is much more in this issue of Caravan. But water is featured as our key item because of its importance. We will be looking at it again in future issues. It is a large subject, and water harvesting is just one aspect of improved water use. The FAO figures 1 quoted above make that lamentably clear.
        If the balance between water supply and demand cannot be put right, the consequences for food supply and the environment will be abominable.