One-Quarter of World’s Crops Threatened by Water Risks

New analysis from the World Resources Institute reveals that 25% of global crops are grown in areas with highly stressed or unreliable water supplies. This vulnerability is particularly acute for staple crops like rice, wheat, and corn, with 33% produced in such areas. The report highlights a critical dependency on a small number of countries for irrigated crops and the increasing instability of rainfed agriculture due to climate change. To mitigate these risks, the document recommends strategies including reducing food waste, shifting diets away from water-intensive meats, increasing irrigation efficiency, and investing in nature-based solutions.

• One-quarter of the world's crops are produced in regions where water supplies are either highly stressed, highly unreliable, or both. This risk is more pronounced for the three primary staple crops—rice, wheat, and corn—which provide over half of global food calories; 33% of these specific crops are grown using water supplies that are highly variable or highly stressed.
• A small group of 10 countries—China, India, United States, Pakistan, Brazil, Egypt, Mexico, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Thailand—account for 72% of global irrigated crop production. Two-thirds of these irrigated crops are subject to high to extremely high water stress.
• Rainfed agriculture, which accounts for 66% of all global crop production, is becoming increasingly unstable. While 8% of rainfed agriculture currently faces high to extremely high annual water supply variation, this figure is projected to increase by 40% by 2050 compared to 2020 levels, with significant increases expected in China, the U.S., Australia, India, and Niger.
• India faces severe sustainability challenges in agriculture, with approximately 24% of its total crop production (nearly 270 million metric tons) grown in watersheds that exceed their natural replenishment capacity. This has led to the use of non-renewable groundwater, with Northern India losing up to one foot of groundwater annually, a depletion rate that could triple by 2080.
• Niger is identified as the most vulnerable country globally for climate change-related impacts on food systems according to the ND-Gain Index. In Niger, 97% of production is rainfed, and the country experiences a drought on average every three years, contributing to chronic malnourishment in nearly half of its children.

APA

World Resources Institute (2024). One-Quarter of World’s Crops Threatened by Water Risks. https://www.wri.org/insights/growing-water-risks-food-crops

Chicago

World Resources Institute. One-Quarter of World’s Crops Threatened by Water Risks. 2024. https://www.wri.org/insights/growing-water-risks-food-crops.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=One-Quarter of World’s Crops Threatened by Water Risks |date=16 October 2024 |url=https://www.wri.org/insights/growing-water-risks-food-crops |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitute2024onequarter, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{One-Quarter of World’s Crops Threatened by Water Risks}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2024}, month = oct, url = {https://www.wri.org/insights/growing-water-risks-food-crops}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }