Concern For Food Security Research Articles

Relevance and reliability of evidence for microplastic contamination in seafood: A critical review using Australian consumption patterns as a case study.

Seafood contamination with, and human consumption of, microplastics (MPs) have recently been highlighted as an emerging concern for global food security. While there is evidence that commercial marine species are contaminated with MPs, it is still unknown if seafood can act as a vector for MP transfer to human consumers. Microplastics have been reported in the digestive tract, gills and in select internal organs of marine animals. However, many of these tissues are not typically eaten by human consumers but discarded. In this critical review, we examined the peer-reviewed literature for evidence of MP contamination in seafood, and the potential transfer to human consumers. Based on known seafood consumption patterns in a typical Australian diet, we assessed the relevance and reliability of the current body of literature to examine the prospect and risk of MP transfer. The relevance of data was considered based on the organism studied, origin of the samples, and the tissues analysed, while reliability was assessed based on procedural methodologies used to derive the data. A review of 132 studies found limited evidence of MP contamination in edible tissues from fresh fish or crustaceans. MP presence was confirmed in packaged fish, as well as in fresh and packaged bivalve molluscs. The limited number of studies satisfying the relevance and reliability criteria (n=24) precluded a quantitative assessment of the potential risk associated with MP transfer. While consumption of packaged fish and bivalve molluscs may result in the consumption of MPs by humans, it is currently unknown whether this presents a health risk.

Protective Effect of Natural and Processed Coconut Water by Non-thermal Technologies Against Oxidative Stress in Brine Shrimp (Artemia salina)

Coconut water is widely consumed and appreciated due its sensory, nutritional, and functional characteristics. Despite being widely consumed, this beverage has a short shelf life that can be improved through processing technologies including non-thermal technologies. Although this processing is promising, it also can generate toxic bioactive compounds of natural and synthetic origin. Their safety has been long discussed, and concern for human food security is now clearly manifested by warnings added on products labels. The aim of this work was to evaluate the toxic and the protective effect of natural and processed coconut water by non-thermal technologies against oxidative stress in brine shrimp (Artemia salina). For acute toxicity test, A. salina nauplii instar II were exposed to different concentrations and ozone-processed (OTCW), plasma-processed (PTCW), and ultrasound-processed (UTCW) coconut water. The non-processed sample was the negative control. By the end of experiment (48 h), dead nauplii were counted and investigated under optical and electron microscopy. The protective effect was evaluated against H2O2 and morphological changes were also investigated. Coconut water treated with plasma and ultrasound was not toxic to Artemia salina nauplii at 10, 100, or 1000 μg mL−1; however, ozone-treated artificial seawater caused a mild toxicity to nauplii exposed to 1000 μg mL−1. All coconut water samples, included untreated samples, presented protective effect against oxidative stress caused by H2O2 reaching levels of 87.5% protection compared to control (24 h of experiment).

Challenge of Bovine Foot Skin Fibroblasts With Digital Dermatitis Treponemes Identifies Distinct Pathogenic Mechanisms.

Bovine digital dermatitis (BDD) is a common infectious disease of digital skin in cattle and an important cause of lameness worldwide, with limited treatment options. It is of increasing global concern for both animal welfare and food security, imposing a large economic burden on cattle farming industries each year. A polytreponemal etiology has been consistently identified, with three key phylogroups implicated globally: Treponema medium, Treponema phagedenis, and Treponema pedis. Pathogenic mechanisms which might enable targeted treatment/therapeutic development are poorly defined. This study used RNA sequencing to determine global differential mRNA expression in primary bovine foot skin fibroblasts following challenge with three representative BDD treponemes and a commensal treponeme, Treponema ruminis. A pro-inflammatory response was elicited by the BDD treponemes, mediated through IL-8/IL-17 signaling. Unexpectedly, the three BDD treponemes elicited distinct mechanisms of pathogenesis. T. phagedenis and T. pedis increased abundance of mRNA transcripts associated with apoptosis, while T. medium and T. pedis increased transcripts involved in actin rearrangement and loss of cell adhesion, likely promoting tissue invasion. The upregulation of antimicrobial peptide precursor, DEFB123, by T. phagedenis spirochaetes may present a microbial ecological advantage to all treponemes within BDD infected tissue, explaining their dominance within lesions. A commensal, T. ruminis, significantly dysregulated over three times the number of host mRNA transcripts compared to BDD treponemes, implying BDD treponemes, akin to the syphilis pathogen (Treponema pallidum), have evolved as “stealth pathogens” which avoid triggering substantial host immune/inflammatory responses to enable persistence and tissue invasion. Immunohistochemistry demonstrated increased IL-6, IL-8, RND1, and CFB protein expression in BDD lesions, confirming in vitro fibroblast observations and highlighting the system’s value in modeling BDD pathogenesis. Several unique shared gene targets were identified, particularly RGS16, GRO1, MAFF, and ZC3H12A. The three key BDD Treponema phylogroups elicited both distinct and shared pathogenic mechanisms in bovine foot skin; upregulating inflammation whilst simultaneously suppressing adaptive immunity. The novel gene targets identified here should enable future vaccine/therapeutic approaches.

Nanoparticles in the soil–plant system: a review

Nanoparticles are increasingly used in many industrial sectors due to their unique properties, yet their introduction in ecosystems is of concern for health and food security. In particular, the accumulation of nanoparticles in soils may disturb the soil and plant system, possibly inducing a risk for crop production. Here, we review recent advances on nanoparticles in the soil–plant system. We focus on sources, emission, transformation, bioavailability, interactions, phytotoxicity and plant uptake of nanoparticles. We emphasize the genomic, metabolomic and proteomic alterations in plants caused by nanoparticles. Besides negative impacts, benefits of nanoparticles for plant growth are discussed.

Changes in Food Consumption Patterns in Sri Lanka: Food Security and Sustainability: A Review of Literature

Food is one of the basic necessities that play a major role in human life. Over the past two decades, food consumption patterns in many countries have changed rapidly. The concern of food security has emerged as a global food crisis in recent decades. These global changes probably affect Sri Lankan food consumption habits. Sustainability is an essential component and a precondition for long-term food security. Hence, this study used an in-depth non-systematic literature review on a global scale emphasizing the Sri Lankan context, to better understand the situation of changes in food consumption patterns using comprehensive household survey data in Sri Lanka. The study found out that income growth, urbanization, structural changes in the population on demographics, and several other socio-economic changes significantly influenced transformations in global food consumption patterns. Other than these, many significant differences are evident in food consumption patterns especially geographically, in urban, rural, and estate sectors in Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan diet shows a tendency to shift from traditional cereal consumption to meat, fish, dairy products, and fast foods and processed foods, posing a significant threat concerning the future food security and sustainability of Sri Lanka. Therefore, the study recommended a critical analysis of changes in food consumption patterns in Sri Lanka.

Heat stress and cowpea: genetics, breeding and modern tools for improving genetic gains

High-temperature stress is an important abiotic stress that significantly affects the growth and yield of agriculture crops, including cowpea, and is thus a great concern for global food security. Harnessing variability in crop germplasm through various breeding techniques could be a viable option for improving tolerance to various abiotic stresses, including heat stress. Classical breeding approaches have been used to determine the genetics of heat tolerance in cowpea. However, progress has been hampered as heat tolerance is governed by multiple genes and is highly influenced by G × E effects. During the last decade, the increase in cowpea genomic resources has played a key role in elucidating the QTLs controlling heat stress tolerance. Advances in transcriptome resources have also uncovered plausible candidate gene(s) in response to heat tolerance. Likewise, proteomic and metabolomic approaches have offered novel insights into the response of various heat shock and other related proteins and metabolites involved in heat stress tolerance. Most importantly, increasing the precision of phenotyping approaches would enable us to close the genotype–phenotype gap to better understand the heat tolerance response in cowpea. Next-generation breeding techniques, such as MAGIC, genomic selection, speed breeding, and genome editing tools, have the potential to accelerate the creation of heat-tolerant cowpea genotypes.

Assessment of future climate change impact on rainfed wheat yield in the semi-arid Eastern High Plain of Algeria using a crop model

Maintaining sustainability in rainfed wheat production under changing climate is a grave concern for food security in Algeria. This study aims to assess the impact of future climate change on rainfed wheat yield in the semiarid Eastern High Plains (Setif and Bordj Bou Arreridj (BBA)) in Algeria using AquaCrop model. For this purpose, the EURO-CORDEX climate projections by 2035–2064 and 2065–2094 were downscaled using ICHEC_KNMI model under two representative concentration pathway (RCP) scenarios RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5. The crop model predicted wheat yield increase by 82–95% and 77–118% at Setif and by 8–16% and 133–135% at BBA under the RCP 4.5 (2035–64 and 2065–94) and RCP 8.5 (2035–64 and 2065–94) scenarios, respectively, compared to the yield of the baseline period of 1981–2010. Future yield improvement is due to the fertilizing effect of the elevated carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration in the atmosphere, which offsets the negative impacts of rising temperature, decreasing precipitations and the net solar radiation. The expected increase in yield is much higher under RCP 8.5 compared to RCP 4.5 because CO2 concentration is higher under RCP 8.5. The model predicted an increase in wheat water productivity because of the expected decrease in evapotranspiration losses. To adapt rainfed wheat to future climate change in the study area, early sowing in mid-October provides better yields because it allows the wheat crop to take more benefits from increased precipitation during the vegetative development stage and to avoid the spring warming temperature.

Pesticide residues in food: distribution, route of exposure and toxicity: in review

The safety of food has significant impact on human health hence the increasing concern on safe food consumption. One of the recent issues that have globally attracted the concern of consumers is the presence of pesticide residues in food. These residual chemicals are persistent organic contaminants that have serious lethal effect on human health when exposed beyond certain levels. The fears of the envisaged increased in the global population has further increased the use of pesticides due to concern for food productivity and security. The present paper examines the presence of pesticide residues in food, their sources and strategies for reducing the concentrations of these toxic chemicals. Attempt is also made in reviewing the Risk Assessment of Pesticide Residue in Food.

Food Security, Safety, and Nutritional Concerns during a COVID-19 Pandemic: the Global Challenges

The world has already been suffering from the long-standing problems of food security, safety, and nutrition. The situation intensifies severely during the COVID-19 pandemic. Around 2 billion people had no daily access to healthy, nutritious, and sufficient food as per pre-COVID-19 statistics of food and drug administration. This number has been increased exponentially during this pandemic situation. The efforts are being made by the government and several non-government organizations (NGOs) for the distribution of food among the needy people at the national and international levels. In India, the public distribution system (PDS-system) plays a crucial role in achieving the targets for food security. Similar operations are carried out by various countries to fill needy people's bellies during this corona pandemic. Apart from food security, food safety and nutritional security are the primary concerns that must be addressed to ensure proper nutrition and safety for the consumers. In India, people mostly purchase the food items from the mobile vendors moving around, mandis, and/or nearby markets where the fruits, vegetables, and other food items are sold in an open environment. This market culture is responsible for thousands of death due to foodborne illness annually. It is worst in India and other developing countries that foods are sold in the open while shoes in a controlled environment. So, there may be risks and hazards associated with the food items available in the market that may increase the severity of primary infection with the nCOVID. Therefore, precautionary measures should be taken by food employers and consumers to meet sanitation and hygiene requirements. People should also follow the food and nutrition guidelines have been released by WHO and other statutory organizations to rejuvenate and strengthen the immune system during the quarantine period. Although, in the world, a great deal of effort is being made. However, there is a significant lack, especially in underdeveloped and developing countries, of such resources and facilities that could have been used to raise awareness and save lives in this pandemic COVID-19 and future.

Reactive Nitrogen in Crop, Fishery and Livestock Sectors of Bangladesh

Agriculture in Bangladesh is characterized by crop, fishery and livestock sectors. Urea-N is used in all three sectors. Crop sector plays a dominant role in urea consumption to supply of food for ever burgeoning population. Application of inorganic N fertilizer definitely increased agricultural productivity. This however playing a significant role in altering global nutrient budget, water quality, greenhouse gas emission, and ultimately affecting the global climate. Though cropping intensity and use of N fertilizer have increased, yield plateauing is a concern for food security. Recovery efficiency of N rarely exceeds 30% in both crop and fish culture, while remaining reactive N is a global concern. Different industries have emerged in the last decade producing huge amounts of effluents discharging to the environment without treatment which appeared as a potential threat in damaging and disintegrating the environment. Resultant negative effect from application of large amount of organic and inorganic fertilizers and feeds in fishponds is a matter of boundless anxiety as it might act as a source of reactive N. Livestock sector comprising poultry and dairy produce huge amount of manure annually which is equivalent to 0.30 million tons of N and because of poor manure management reactive N is spreading in the environment. Reluctant attitudes on these crucial issues might bring a disaster through stopping natural ecosystem functions of the environment from where ‘U’ turn will rather be impossible. Adoption of resource conservation strategies, judicial and optimum use of N fertilizers in all agricultural sectors, improved management of livestock manure and industrial effluents are strongly recommended for environmental sustainability.
 The Agriculturists 2020; 18(1) 144-163

Effects and Quantıty Ranges of Some Auxıns on Embryogenıc Callus Inductıon From Upland Rıce Cultıvars: An Overview

Embryogenic callus induction from indica rice sub-species, upland cultivars has remain a challenging task, but PGRs have been found to play a vital role in enhancing the production. Hence, solving this tricky problem and achieving optimum embryogenic callus induction from this special type of rice is a welcome development as food security concern, while proper examination of the appropriate PGRs is the only solution. Here we reviewed on two auxins-PGRs that promote the embryogenic callus induction from upland rice, viz., 2,4-D and NAA with their recommendable quantity ranges. 2,4-D and NAA were the most commonly employed and discovered best growth hormones in PTC irrespective of explant in all cereal plants. They are found the most suitable hormones and positively upgrade the production of reproducible callus. Classical analyses implies that medium supplemented with such PGRs provides necessities for quality callus from upland rice. Evidences indicated that callus induction or somatic embryogenesis from matured seeds of upland rice is persuade by 2,4-D between 1.0 – 2.5 mg/L concentrations. Whereas for NAA, to obtain its desired effects on upland rice callus induction it must be fortified in concentrations ranging from 0.5 mg/L to 10 mg/L. But convincingly, 0.5 – 5.0 mg/L NAA with other PGR like 2,4-D would be more proper. Hence, extensive studies of these hormones and others will provide insights on their potentialities to embryogenic callus induction and probably identify more of their roles in PTC analysis.

Assessing the Potential Impacts of Climate Changes on Rainfall and Evapotranspiration in the Northwest Region of Bangladesh

Changes in the natural climate is a major concern for food security across the world, including Bangladesh. This paper presents results from an analysis on quantitative assessment of changes in rainfall and potential evapotranspiration (PET) in the northwest region of Bangladesh, which is a major agricultural hub in the country. The study was conducted using results from 28 global climate models (GCMs), based on IPCC’s 5th assessment report (AR5) for two emission scenarios. Projections were made over the period of 2045 to 2075 for 16 administrative districts in the study area, and the changes were estimated at annual, seasonal and monthly time scale. More projections result in an increase in rainfall than decrease, while almost all projections show an increase in PET. Although annual rainfall is generally projected to increase, some projections show a decrease in some months, especially in December and January. Across the region, the average change projected by the 28 GCMs for the moderate emission was an increase of 235 mm (12.4%) and 44 mm (3.4%) for rainfall and PET, respectively. Increases in rainfall and PET are slightly higher (0.6% and 0.2%, respectively) under high emission scenarios. Increases in both rainfall and PET were projected for two major cropping seasons, Kharif (May-Oct) and Rabi (Nov-Apr). Projections of rainfall show increase in the range of 160 to 250 mm (with an average of 200 mm) during the Kharif season. Although an increase is projected in the Rabi season, the amount is very small (~10mm). It is important to note that rainfall increases mostly in the Kharif season, but PET increases for both Kharif and Rabi seasons. Contrary to rainfall, increase in PET is higher during Rabi season. This information is crucial for better adaptation under increased water demand for agricultural and domestic use.

REVIEW ON THE BURGER EFFECT: BEEF INDUSTRY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

The world needs to decrease emissions from agriculture, and fossil fuels to halt global warming adequately. Animal-based meals are nourishing and very vital to livings and nutrition in developing nations, though they are a similarly incompetent source. Producing beef is growing further dynamic, yet forests are still being cut down. People state they desire to consume more plants, although eating beef is yet increasing. Consuming meat is among the main factors for global warming. Provided that the globally growing market for meat, and the severe effect of manufacturing meat on the planet, cutting down animal protein regarded as public health and food security concern. A future with sustainable food would need a variety of approaches from the farmer to the consumer. This review explores the relation between producing beef and the emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and the debate of consuming more or fewer resources. It also displays the beneficial impact of cutting down beef consumption. Finally, it suggests some methods to produce beef sustainably.

REVIEW ON THE BURGER EFFECT: BEEF INDUSTRY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

The world needs to decrease emissions from agriculture, and fossil fuels to halt global warming adequately. Animal-based meals are nourishing and very vital to livings and nutrition in developing nations, though they are a similarly incompetent source. Producing beef is growing further dynamic, yet forests are still being cut down. People state they desire to consume more plants, although eating beef is yet increasing. Consuming meat is among the main factors for global warming. Provided that the globally growing market for meat, and the severe effect of manufacturing meat on the planet, cutting down animal protein regarded as public health and food security concern. A future with sustainable food would need a variety of approaches from the farmer to the consumer. This review explores the relation between producing beef and the emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and the debate of consuming more or fewer resources. It also displays the beneficial impact of cutting down beef consumption. Finally, it suggests some methods to produce beef sustainably.

Changes of crop failure risks in the United States associated with large-scale climate oscillations in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans

Regions that produce a large supply of agriculture commodities can be susceptible to crop failure, thus causing concern for global food security. The contiguous United States, as one of the major agricultural producers in the world, is influenced by several large-scale climate oscillations that contribute to climate variability: Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO), North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), El-Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) and Pacific-North American (PNA). Since local weather conditions are associated with these climate oscillations through teleconnections, they are potentially causing changes of crop failure risks. The objective of this study is to assess climate-induced changes of annual crop failure risks for maize and winter wheat from 1960 to 2016, by analyzing the associations of large-scale climate oscillations with the frequency of crop failure in the rainfed regions of the United States using a Bayesian approach. The analysis revealed that crop failure frequencies showed contrast spatial patterns and different extent under different climate oscillation phases. Among individual oscillations, the positive PNA and negative AMO resulted in the most substantial increase in maize and winter wheat crop failures over a high percentage of climate divisions, respectively. Among oscillation combinations, the positive AMO and negative PDO and the positive AMO and positive PDO resulted in the highest percentage of climate divisions experiencing significant increase of maize and winter wheat crop failures, respectively. Random forest models with climate oscillations accurately predicted probabilities of crop failure, with the inclusion of local surface climate variables decreased or increased the predictive accuracy, depending on regions. These results revealed the plausible drivers of long-term changes of U.S. crop failure risks and underscore the importance for improving climate oscillation forecasting for early warning of food insecurity.

Fresh-Cut Bell Peppers in Modified Atmosphere Packaging: Improving Shelf Life to Answer Food Security Concerns.

The influence of modified atmosphere packaging (MAP, 10% O2 and 45% CO2) on the quality characteristics of fresh-cut green, red and yellow bell peppers (Capsicum annuum L. var annuum) was investigated. Packaging film bags (Krehalon MLF40-PA/PE) with fresh-cut bell peppers were stored for up to 17 days at 5 °C. The in-package O2 level ranged between 10 and 15%, respecting the current recommendations for fresh-cut vegetable products. Initial CO2 levels were higher than commonly used (from 5 to 10%), decreasing progressively over time due to the permeability of the selected polyethylene film. At the end of the storage period, they stabilized between 2 and 5%. A small variation in texture, moisture, titratable acidity, pH and microbial growth was observed during the storage period, as well as a good color retention and sensory properties maintenance. Negligible losses in the antioxidant activity and bioactive compounds (total phenol, flavonoid, anthocyanin and carotenoid content) were noted at the end of the study. Sensory analysis showed that panelists could not detect significant differences among sampling periods. A PCA with predictive biplots confirmed the existence of significant correlations. The products retain their initial characteristics without severe loss of quality until at least the 17th storage day. Given the current commercial shelf life of fresh-cut bell peppers, ranging from 9 to 14 days, the described treatment enabled an increase of at least 3 days (20%) of the products shelf life, reducing food waste and contributing to food security.

The role of climate in the trend and variability of Ethiopia's cereal crop yields

Food security has been and will continue to be a major challenge in Ethiopia. The country's smallholder, rainfed agriculture renders its food production system extremely vulnerable to climate variability and extremes. In this study, we investigate the impact of past climate variability and change on the yields of five major cereal crops in Ethiopia—barley, maize, millet, sorghum, and wheat—during the period 1979–2014 using the Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT) crop model. The model is calibrated at both the site and agroecological-zone scales. At the sites studied, the model results suggest that climate in the past four decades may have contributed to an increasing trend in maize yield, a decreasing trend in wheat yield, and no clear trend in the yields of barley and millet; cereal crop yield is positively correlated with growing season solar radiation and temperature, but negatively correlated with growing season precipitation. For modeled cereal crops across the nation during the study period, yield in western Ethiopia is positively correlated with solar radiation and day time temperature; in the eastern and southeastern Ethiopia where water is a limiting factor for growth, yield is positively correlated with precipitation but negatively correlated with solar radiation and both day time and night time temperature. The national average of simulated yields of most crops (except maize) showed an overall decreasing (although not statistically significant) trend induced by past climate variability and changes. Over a large portion of the highly productive areas where there is a negative correlation between yield and temperature, yield is simulated to have significantly decreased over the past four decades, an indication of adverse climate impact in the past and potential food security concern in the future.

Bacterial Consortium for Improved Maize (Zea mays L.) Production.

The ever-increasing human population is a major concern for food security. Maize is the third largest most important food crop. The major problems of cultivation arise from urbanization and land pollution. This reduces the amount of land available for agriculture. The use of chemicals in agriculture is not environmentally friendly. Thus, plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) have been proposed as alternatives. This study aims to test the growth-promoting effect of maize inoculated with six indigenous PGPB isolates. These isolates were assayed for various biochemical and plant growth-promoting activities. They were also assayed for biocontrol activities. Based on the results, six isolates viz A1, A18, A29, NWU4, NWU14, and NWU198 were used to inoculate maize seeds. The inoculated seeds were tried out on the field. A randomized block design was used. PGPB used were in single, consortia of two, and three organisms. The length of the leaves, roots, and stem, plant height, numbers of leaves, and weight of 100 seeds were taken at the fourth and eighth weeks after planting. Microbial consortia increased growth parameters compared to single inoculant treatments. Thus, they can be of advantage in the eradication of low yield. They can also serve as reliable alternatives to chemical fertilizers.

Groundwater use and rapid irrigation expansion in a changing climate: Hydrological drivers in one of the world’s food bowls

In recent decades, increased groundwater use enabled a large areal increase in irrigated dry season crops in northwest Bangladesh. Concurrent declining groundwater levels across the region are of great concern for food security. A water balance model approach that considered changes in irrigated agriculture was implemented to assess changes over the long-term to three five-year evaluation periods (1985–1989, 1998–2002 and 2011–2015) and seasonally (annual, dry season and wet season). The model used two different methods that explicitly capture changes in irrigation to compute and compare actual evapotranspiration (ETa). The first method used MODIS satellite data to estimate a crop coefficient based on vegetation indices (at 500 m spatial resolution) scaled by reference crop evapotranspiration (ETref). The second method used a crop coefficient approach based on survey data of crop areas at the district level and subsequently scaled by ETref. Both methods yielded very similar results at the district level, with correlation coefficients between 0.75 and 0.89. The maximum difference between the monthly averages was only of 5.4%. Notwithstanding the observed overall increase in irrigated areas, estimated overall mean annual ETa is similar through the analysis (ca. 1100 mm) and district-level trends were mixed (some increasing and some decreasing) showing in some districts a weak association between ETa and the related declining groundwater level. From the water balance, it is inferred that both the groundwater extraction (by pumping for irrigation and capillary rise to supply roots) and the groundwater recharge reduced from 1998–2002 to 2011–2015, and with deeper groundwater in later years, much of the irrigation water supply is by soil water storage rather than by groundwater. As highlighted in this paper, there are other factors aside crop expansion that may have contributed to the groundwater decline, thus a single policy or management change such as restricting groundwater extraction for irrigation may alone be inadequate to reverse declining groundwater trends.

Forty years of irrigation development and reform in China

This study reviews 40 years of irrigation development in China including the transformation of the institutional and incentive structures in irrigation management. After rural reforms in the 1970s, irrigation investments slowed until the late 1990s. In North China, farmers became major investors in groundwater irrigation, leading to property rights’ transfer of tube wells from collective to private ownership. Despite positive effects in cropping patterns, farmer income and development of groundwater markets, privatisation has accelerated groundwater table deterioration. Since the middle of 1990s, Water User Associations have replaced village collective management of surface irrigation. This approach was adopted by most provinces by early 2001 with mixed results; only institutions with water‐saving incentives realised efficient irrigation. The Government is reforming water price policies to provide water‐saving incentives to farmers while not hurting their income. While China has focused on water rights and markets, and despite regulations and pilot projects, full implementation of water rights has been slow. Research reveals greater policy scope for expanding irrigation technologies that generate real water saving to rural areas. Given pressure associated with water scarcity and concern for food security, further effective reforms in irrigation and policy incentives are expected. The Government has also initiated some pilot projects to resolve increasing water scarcity problems through adjusting agricultural production activities.