Water Management and Agricultural Trade
Improved water management practices and trade in "virtual water" can help alleviate water scarcity, release water for more efficient uses, increase productivity, and ultimately reduce food prices for consumers. Investments in these areas can therefore drive growth and poverty reduction, both directly and indirectly- because they may reduce food costs and supply uncertainties, improve the diets of the rural and urban poor, raise and diversify incomes, provide employment and entrepreneurial opportunities both inside and outside cities, and induce smallholder farmers' productivity gains, which would increase their opportunities for wealth creation and better integrate them into local, national, and international markets.
Summary: | Improved water management practices and
trade in "virtual water" can help alleviate water
scarcity, release water for more efficient uses, increase
productivity, and ultimately reduce food prices for
consumers. Investments in these areas can therefore drive
growth and poverty reduction, both directly and indirectly-
because they may reduce food costs and supply uncertainties,
improve the diets of the rural and urban poor, raise and
diversify incomes, provide employment and entrepreneurial
opportunities both inside and outside cities, and induce
smallholder farmers' productivity gains, which would
increase their opportunities for wealth creation and better
integrate them into local, national, and international markets. |
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