As defined by the United Nations' Committee on World Food Security, food security is the state of having reliable access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food. Therefore, food security is a multidimensional concept that embraces food accessibility and availability, as well as food use and stability. In recent years, the combining effects of climate changes and the expanding human population strain global freshwater availability. Therefore, to sustain the growing world population, agricultural production needs to increase, accounting for the reduction of water availability.
In this context, a global consensus on food systems suggests addressing complexity towards integrated solutions. Innovative solutions on water efficiency and tradeoffs for water and food security must be found together with the integrated action of national and global policies and combining ecosystem health. The global agri-food sector is developing and delivering solutions at different scales to meet these complex requirements and sustainably address the answers. These solutions, pursued simultaneously, include land management (by accounting for desertification, land erosion, salinization, protecting biodiversity and carbon storage potential) and yield (accounting for pest management, water efficiency, changing diets, and reducing waste).
To conclude, food security is the challenge of sustainable food for the human population while controlling greenhouse gas emissions and preserving water availability. Therefore, the scientific innovations and research dedicated to standing up to the food security challenge must cooperate in a multidisciplinary way through agriculture, water, ecology, and policy to optimize production in social justice and environmental vision.
