Feeding the World is a Daunting Water Challenge Even though a post-industrial society is conceivable, “there is no such thing as a post-agricultural society”. Just as there cannot be a post-agricultural society, there should not be a world where people lack a proper diet. Yet, for hundreds of millions, hunger and undernourishment is a reality. For today’s undernourished, and for the 70 million added to the planet each year, the need for more food is obvious. Fairer access to the food actually produced is as important. While the number of undernourished had slowly but steadily declined for decades, the most recent analysis shows disturbingly that it has turned upward in the new Millennium. Currently, 852 million are undernourished, or about 15% of the world’s population. Paradoxically, the number of overweight and obese has increased, too;an additional 15% fall in this category. The challenge to increase food production is daunting, given that water and land resources are already under severe pressure, with serious repercussions on natural aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. The only alternative is to produce more food from each unit of water and each plot of land, without further jeopardising ecosystem functions. Food and nutrition insecurity coincide with a host of constraining circumstances: rampant overty, use of outdated technologies and a lack of farm-to-market roads and other infrastructure. Similarly, institutional weaknesses and poor access to credit effectively block opportunities to improve land and water use practices. Mental barriers, disenfranchisement and disengagement are major obstacles. The bad news is that these circumstances tend to reinforce each other. The good news is that investments for improvements are likely to yield higher returns. The synergy that can be realised if packages and programmes are co-ordinated is substantial.