The State of THE WORLD’S LAND AND WATER RESOURCES FOR FOOD AND AGRICULTURE 2025

Challenges for land and water resources

• ➔ Land, soil and water form the foundations of agricultural production. Agricultural production and productivity were able to keep up with the increasing needs of a rapidly growing population in the past, but this was achieved at a substantial environmental and social cost.
• ➔ Human-induced land degradation affects cropland, pastures and forested land on which people depend for their livelihoods. Intensive agricultural practices and unsustainable use of chemicals increasingly lead to pollution and the depletion of land, soil and water resources.

Status and trends in the management of land and water resources

• ➔ During the 60-year period between 1964 and 2023, most of the increase in agricultural production was achieved through intensification, while the expansion of agricultural land was limited to just 8 percent.
• ➔ More than 1 660 Mha of land, corresponding to more than 10 percent of the world’s land area, have been degraded by unsustainable land-use and management practices, with more than 60 percent of this degradation occurring on agricultural lands (including cropland and pastureland).
• ➔ Future agricultural development pathways need to be based on the transformation of agrifood systems for better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life, leaving no one behind. The additional production required to satisfy the future increase in demand must be realized through more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable production systems that address the socioeconomic and environmental dimensions of sustainable development.

Producing more and better: the potential

• ➔ The potential exists to feed the 9.7 billion people predicted to make up the world’s population by 2050, and the approximately 10.3 billion people when the global population is projected to peak around 2085. The conditions under which this food production takes place will determine the associated environmental, social and economic costs. However, the potential for agricultural expansion is limited, as further land conversion to cropland would have impacts on other ecosystems and their services, including forests, grasslands and wetlands.
• ➔ There is scope for significant increases in land productivity in most developing regions and for most types of crops. The bulk of increased food production should come from reductions in yield gap, the selection of crops suitable for agroecological conditions, and the adoption of sustainable management practices adapted to each crop.
• ➔ Climate change affects land suitability for many crops, with suitable areas for given crops usually moving to higher latitudes and altitudes. For some crops, agricultural water demand will increase in future climate scenarios, while the available water resources become more variable and less reliable.
• ➔ In areas where land and water resources are scarce, satisfying competing societal objectives (agriculture, industry, urbanization, energy, biodiversity conservation) often implies trade-offs and difficult choices in resource allocation. Integrated land and water resource planning provides tools to manage the competition for resources and optimize resource use.

Sustainable land and water resources management: technical solutions

• ➔ Multiple technical solutions exist to achieve sustainable land, soil and water management. They depend on the socioecological context and production system, of which there are a wide variety around the world. An appropriate enabling environment is required for the successful adoption of solutions by land and water users.
• ➔ The productivity of rainfed agriculture can be improved through a more systematic adoption of conservation agriculture and the use of drought-tolerant crop varieties and drought-resilient practices such as soil moisture conservation, crop diversification and organic composting. These practices have the potential to make a significant contribution to the food security of millions of smallholder producers and to enhance soil health and on-farm biodiversity.
• ➔ Integrating sectoral solutions offers a unified model for sustainable land, water, forest and aquatic resource management that addresses multiple aspects of food security, climate resilience and environmental sustainability. Agroforestry, rotational grazing and forage improvement, and rice–fish farming are just a few examples of such integrated approaches. Together, these technologies and practices create a framework where sustainable resource use is tailored to specific landscapes and enhances resilience to climate change.

An enabling environment for sustainable solutions

• ➔ Integrated land-use planning, integrated landscape management, integrated water resources management, the Water–Energy–Food–Ecosystems nexus, agroecology, and the agrifood systems approach are essential sustainable and integrated approaches to address the climate, land, soil, water and biodiversity crises, while recognizing that there is no one-size-fits-all solution.
• ➔ In order for such integrated land, soil and water resources management solutions to be implemented coherently at scale, the following enablers will need to be set in place: policy coherence across sectors; governance of natural resources; data, information and technology; risk management systems including early warning and adaptation and resilience strategies; sustainable financing and investment; innovation; and institutionalized capacity development.