1、FOODCHALLENGEAchieving Prosperity Through Water Technology and InvestmentTHE ASIA Oliver Wyman2The Asia Food ChallengeBACKGROUND AND INTRODUCTIONIn this fourth edition of The Asia Food Challenge,we focus on the critical nexus between agri-food and water,highlighting the growing water stress across A
2、sia and its profound economic,environmental,and social implications.Asia remains an agriculture-heavy region.With 1.7 billion hectares of agricultural land,Asia accounts for more than 50%of global crop production.Rising populations and food demand are placing increasing pressure on already-constrain
3、ed water resources.The region withdraws over half of the worlds groundwater,yet more than 500 million people still lack access to basic water supplies,underscoring the imbalance between water use and water security.Agriculture is by far the largest consumer of water in Asia,responsible for over 80%o
4、f withdrawals,but the adoption of water-efficient management practices lags behind other regions.At the same time,Asia is already the worlds most disaster-affected region from weather,climate,and water-related hazards,with floods and droughts striking with increasing frequency.Without more sustainab
5、le water management,these pressures are set to intensify,placing escalating strain on both food security and water availability in the decades ahead.This report explores the scale of Asias water challenge,the central role of agri-food in driving water stress,and the key barriers to change.It identif
6、ies promising technologies and practices that can improve agricultural water efficiency,as well as the potential benefits(including significant financial returns and savings)that could be unlocked if solutions already demonstrated globally were more widely adopted in Asia.At the same time,it recogni