The theme of this year's World Food Day is: Water: Source of Food Security. World Food Day is held each year on October 16th, the anniversary of the founding of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization in 1945.
The FAO says theme highlights "the importance of better water management practices in agriculture production. Agriculture uses about seventy percent of all freshwater withdrawn from the earth. More and more water will be used for irrigation, as world food production increases to feed a growing population."
The UN agency says a study of more than ninety developing countries "indicates that some water-scare nations are already withdrawing water supplies faster than they can be renewed. Ten countries are already in a critical state."
It's estimated there are about 840-million undernourished people in the world. The FAO says, "progress in reducing world hunger has virtually come to a halt. As a result, millions of people, including six million children under the age of five, die each year."
FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf spoke about the need for better water management. To hear his statement, click the above links.