By Abdullahi Lukman
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has expressed the need for an urgent, smarter management of the planet’s limited land, soil, and water resources to enable the world feed the globe’s projected 10 billion population by 2050.
FAO expressed this need in its new State of the World’s Land and Water Resources for Food and Agriculture (SOLAW 2025) report released, Monday, December 1.
The report stresses that these natural resources are finite and under increasing pressure, making their protection essential for present and future global food security.
It highlights the untapped potential of land and water systems to sustainably boost food production under the theme “The potential to produce more and better.”
FAO notes that in 2024, about 673 million people faced hunger, and food crises remain frequent across many regions.
With the global population expected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050, agriculture must produce 50 percent more food, feed and fibre than in 2012, along with 25 percent more freshwater — despite worsening environmental constraints.
The report identifies the core challenge as producing more with less. While global agricultural output tripled over the past 60 years with minimal land expansion, FAO data shows that more than 60 percent of human-caused land degradationnow occurs on agricultural land.
Expanding farmland through activities such as deforestation is no longer viable, the agency warns, as it would damage biodiversity and key ecosystem functions.
SOLAW 2025 outlines science-backed strategies for sustainable resource management, noting that the world could theoretically feed 10.3 billion people by 2085, when population growth is expected to peak. However, reaching that potential depends on how food is produced and at what environmental and social cost.
The report calls for productivity gains through better, not more, production, including closing yield gaps, adopting resilient crop varieties, and tailoring farming practices to specific local conditions.
Rainfed agriculture — the backbone of millions of smallholder farmers — holds major opportunities through conservation agriculture, drought-tolerant crops, moisture-saving techniques, composting, and crop diversification.
Integrated systems such as agroforestry, rotational grazing, forage improvement, and rice–fish farming offer additional paths to sustainable intensification. Potential gains are especially high in developing regions; in sub-Saharan Africa, rainfed crop yields currently reach only 24 percent of their attainable potential under proper management.
FAO emphasizes that there is no single universal solution. Effective progress requires aligned policies, strong governance, accessible technology and data, sustainable finance, and strengthened institutional and community capacity.
With climate change reshaping global agriculture, FAO Director-General QU Dongyu writes that today’s decisions on land and water management will determine the world’s ability to meet rising food needs while safeguarding the planet for future generations.
The report also looks ahead to major environmental conferences in 2026 under the CBD, UNCCD, and UNFCCC, noting that SOLAW 2025 offers cross-cutting solutions supporting integrated, resilient agrifood systems.
It underscores that sustainable land, soil, and water management is central to global food security, nutrition, and long-term human well-being.
