Lazao with reason, Qu Dongyu, Executive Director of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), has  asked African leaders and experts to come up with solutions on how to use water in a sustainable and equitableway to conserve precious liquids. called to find out.

African leaders meet in Zimbabwe for FAO’s first regional workshop on national hydrographic planning.

This three-day conference of his will explore regional and national perspectives on water issues ahead ofthe 2023 United Nations Water Conference.

Some of the goals of FAO regional workshops are to educate African countries on the overall role of waterin sustainable development, to bring governments, international organizations, civil society, the private sectorand academia together to discuss country-specific water, To provide a platform for development.schedule.

Speaking of initiating workshops in the country, QU said there is a need for concerted efforts to addresswater conservation issues. “It is clear that we need to rethink how we use water in a sustainable andequitable way, with a focus on innovation in agriculture,” said QU.

According to the FAO Director-General, national water roadmap strategies that helpstrengthen waterresource management are an important tool for addressing growing water-related challenges.

“Food is life because water is food and food is water. More than 95% of the food we eat is produced onland from soil and water.

“Nevertheless, we are facing a big water problem.
Drought and water shortages, floods and pollution,” he added. The effects of climate change areincreasing the frequency and intensity of droughts and floods, impacting food production.

In Africa, 289 million people, or 21% of the population, still suffer from hunger and food insecurity, and on thecontinent, more than 300 million people live in areas of low and erratic rainfall. , leading to drought andwater scarcity.

These extremes of too much or too little water affect farmers, crop production, livestock, food security,economies and livelihoods.

Highlighting that agriculture accounts for his 70% of global freshwater withdrawals, the Director-Generalsaid at the workshop that increasing water productivity is key and innovation in the sector is at theforefront. I was.

The Director-General emphasized that agriculture accounts for 70% of the world’s freshwater withdrawals,so he said there is a need to increase water productivity through innovation in the sector. Furthermore, QUsaid there is also a need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture through sustainable soilmanagement to prevent further disruption of water and climate cycles.

The FAO Director-General urged African countries to look at the integrated water resources managementlandscape, address increasing competition and trade-offs between sectors, and increasingly work togetherin partnership.

“Integrated water-related strategies and policies with concrete actions and strong political will are essentialfor holistic and efficient water management across sectors,” added QU.

On behalf of President Mnangagwa, Anshas Maska, Zimbabwe’s Minister of Land, Agriculture, Fisheries,Water and Rural Development, said the conference was a great opportunity to develop the vision and voiceshared at the 2023 United Nations Water Conference. He said he would provide a platform to Africa.

“I hope that this collective position shows much unity and cohesion in our diversity and, most importantly,considers the needs and aspirations of African citizens,” Maska said. . The United Nations will convene the2023 United Nations Water Conference on 22-24 March 2023 at United Nations Headquarters in New Yorkto review progress made during the United Nations Decade for Action.