THESTATEOFTHE

WORLD’S

LAND

AND

WATERRESOURCES

FORFOODAND

AGRICULTURETHEPOTENTIALTOPRODUCE

MOREANDBETTERSome

rights

reserved.This

work

is

made

available

under

the

Creative

Commons

Attribution-4.0

International

licence(CC

BY4.0:

/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.en).Underthetermsofthislicence,thisworkmaybecopied,

redistributed

and

adapted,

providedthat

thework

is

appropriately

cited.In

any

use

of

this

work,there

should

be

no

suggestion

that

FAO

endorses

any

specific

organization,

products

or

services.The

useofthe

FAO

logois

not

permitted.Ifatranslationoradaptation

ofthiswork

is

created,

it

must

includethe

following

disclaimer

along

withthe

requiredcitation:“Thistranslation[oradaptation]wasnot

created

bythe

Food

and

Agriculture

Organization

ofthe

United

Nations(FAO).FAOis

not

responsibleforthecontentor

accuracy

of

thistranslation

[or

adaptation].The

original

English

editionshallbetheauthoritative

edition.”Anydisputearisingunderthislicencethatcannot

besettled

amicablyshall

be

referred

to

arbitration

in

accordancewiththeArbitration

Rulesofthe

United

NationsCommissionon

InternationalTrade

Law(UNCITRAL).The

partiesshall

be

bound

byanyarbitrationaward

renderedasaresultofsucharbitrationasthe

final

adjudication

of

such

a

dispute.Third-party

materials.This

Creative

Commons

licence

CC

BY4.0

does

not

apply

to

non-FAO

copyright

materials

included

in

thispublication.Userswishingto

reuse

materialfromthisworkthatisattributedtoathird

party,suchastables,figuresor

images,are

responsiblefordeterminingwhether

permissionis

neededforthat

reuseandforobtaining

permissionfromthecopyright

holder.The

riskofclaims

resultingfrominfringementofanythird-party-ownedcomponent

inthework

restssolelywith

the

user.FAOphotographs.

FAO

photographsthat

mayappear

inthisworkare

notsubjecttothe

above-mentioned

Creative

Commonslicence.Queries

for

the

use

of

any

FAO

photographs

should

be

submitted

to:photo-library@fao.org.Sales,rights

and

licensing.

FAO

information

products

are

available

on

the

FAO

website

(www.fao.org/publications)

and

printcopiescan

be

purchasedthroughthedistributors

listedthere.Forgeneralenquiriesabout

FAO

publications

pleasecontact:publications@.Queries

regarding

rightsand

licensingof

publicationsshould

besubmittedto:copyright@.COVERPHOTOGRAPH?Quang

NguyenVinhThisflagship

publicationispartofTheStateoftheWorldseries

ofthe

Food

and

Agriculture

Organization

ofthe

United

Nations.Required

citation:FAO.2025.

The

State

of

the

World’s

Land

and

Water

Resources

for

Food

and

Agriculture2025–

The

potential

to

producemore

and

better.

Rome.https://doi.org/10.4060/cd7488enThedesignationsemployedandthe

presentationof

materialinthis

information

productdo

not

implythe

expression

of

any

opinion

whatsoeveronthe

partofthe

FoodandAgricultureOrganizationofthe

United

Nations

(FAO)

concerningthe

legal

or

developmentstatusofanycountry,territory,cityorareaorofitsauthorities,or

concerningthe

delimitation

of

its

frontiers

or

boundaries.Dashed

lineson

maps

representapproximate

border

linesforwhichthere

may

notyet

befullagreement.The

mentionofspecificcompaniesor

productsof

manufacturers,whetheror

notthese

have

been

patented,does

notimplythatthese

have

beenendorsed

or

recommended

by

FAO

in

preferencetoothersofasimilar

naturethatare

not

mentioned.ISBN978-92-5-140285-6?

FAO,2025VIETNAM.AlonefarmerwalksbetweenricepaddyfieldsinYen

Bai.2025THESTATEOFTHE

WORLD’S

LAND

AND

WATERRESOURCES

FORFOODAND

AGRICULTURETHEPOTENTIALTOPRODUCE

MOREANDBETTERFoodandAgricultureOrganizationoftheUnitedNationsRome,2025CHAPTER3PRODUCINGMOREANDBETTER:THEPOTENTIAL25Suitabilityanalysis27

Landpotentialforcultivation:unevengeographicaldistribution28

Yieldgapandopportunitiestoincreaseproductiononexistingrainfedland34

Theroleofwaterinfutureagriculturalintensification37Assessingtheimpactsofclimatechangeonlandandwaterrequirements

41CHAPTER4SUSTAINABLELANDANDWATERRESOURCESMANAGEMENT:TECHNICALSOLUTIONS51Technicaloptionsforrainfedagriculture52Technicaloptionsforirrigatedagriculture54Technicaloptionsforcropproductioninurbanandperi-urbancontexts58Technicaloptionsforpasturelandandfeedproduction59Technicaloptionsforforestsandtherestorationofdegradedland

62Technicaloptionsforinlandfisheriesandaquaculture67Towardsintegratedsolutions70CHAPTER5ANENABLINGENVIRONMENTFORSUSTAINABLESOLUTIONS

73Levers:integratedapproaches75Enablers:scalingupsustainablelandandwaterresourcesmanagement81Lookingahead:opportunitiesforcreatinganeffectiveenablingenvironment93FOREWORDviMETHODOLOGYviiACKNOWLEDGEMENTSviiiABBREVIATIONS

ixGLOSSARYxiCORE

MESSAGES

xivEXECUTIVESUMMARYxviCHAPTER

1CHALLENGESFORLANDANDWATERRESOURCES1Human-inducedlanddegradationanddeforestation3Competitionforland5

Waterscarcityandwatershortages6

Groundwaterdepletion

7

Pollutionandsalinization7

Sandandduststorms7

Biodiversityloss7

Climatechange—anexistentialthreattoagrifoodsystems7CHAPTER2STATUSANDTRENDSINTHEMANAGEMENTOFLANDANDWATERRESOURCES11Theextentofcroplandintheworld12Evolutionofagriculturallanduse12Pastperformanceofagriculturalsystems16Contributionofirrigationtoglobalcropproduction20Thecurrentstatusofwaterresourcesforagriculture

22CONTENTS|ii

|1Globaltrendsincroplandareapercapitaandgrossproductionvalueofcrops,1992–2022

22Human-inducedlanddegradation,2020

43

Nitrogennutrientbalancesperunitareaofcropland,2022

54Trendsinconsumptionofbioenergy,2010–2023

65Averageannualtemperaturechangebycountry,2024

86Distributionofcroplandarea,2020

137Componentsoftheworld’slanduseandnetchanges,2001–2023

148

Netchangeincroplandareabyregionandland-usecomponent,2001–2023

149Historicaldroughtfrequencyonrainfedcropland,1984–2023

1510Historicaldroughtfrequencyonrainfedpastureland,1984–2023

1511Sourcesofvariationincerealproduction,1964–2023

171Variationinarea,yieldandproductionofcerealsbyregion,

1964–2023

162Variationincroppingintensity(allcrops),1964–2023

183

Estimateoflandusedforcerealproduction,1964–2023

184Changeinextentofagricultural

land,1964–2023

195Changeinextentofagricultural

land

byland-usecategory,1964–2023

196

Evolutionoflandequippedforirrigation,1964–2023

207

Irrigatedandrainfedlandbyregion,andtherelativeproductionvalue

218SuitabilityclassesconsideredintheGlobalAgro-EcologicalZoninganalysis

289

Extentofsuitableareaunderhistoricalclimatescenario(2001–2020)andnetvariationsforfutureclimatescenarios(2081–2100):SSP2.6(lowemissions)andSSP8.5(highemissions)

42CHAPTER6CONCLUSIONS97Thechallenges97Statusandtrends97Thepotentialtoproducemoreandbetter98Technicalsolutionstoachievebetterproduction99Anenablingenvironmenttosupporttechnicalsolutions100ANNEX102REFERENCES

10710

Netirrigationdemandinthehistoricalperiod(2001–2020)andpercentagevariationsinthefuture(2081–2100)underSSP2.6(lowemissions)andSSP8.5(highemissions)climatescenarios

4911

NinestepsintheFAOguidelinesforintegratedland-useplanning

77A.1SharedSocioeconomicPathwaysinthe

IPCCSixthAssessmentReport

104A.2Countrycompositionoftheregionsandsubregionsinthereport

105FIGURESTABLES|

iii

|12Variationintheuseoffertilizersincropland,1964–2023

1913

Evolutionofglobalsectoralwaterwithdrawals,1900–2020

2214SDGIndicator6.4.2–

Levelofwaterstressonirrigatedareas,2018

2315Globaldistributionoflandsuitableforcultivationbylandcoverclass,underlow-input(L)andhigh-input(H)managementscenarios,average2001–2020

2916

Regionaldistributionoflandbysuitabilityforprevalentlandcover/landuseunderlow-inputandhigh-inputmanagementscenarios,average2001–2020

3117

Regionaldistributionofprimeandgoodlandingrasslandandshrublandunderlow-inputmanagementandrainfedconditions,withandwithoutgrazinganimals,2015

3318Attainableandactualyields,globalandregionalresultsforcereals,oilcrops,androotsandtubers,average2001–2020

3519Yieldgapsformaize,riceandwheatbyseveritylevel,average2001–2020

3820Mainsoilandterrainconstraintsinconditionsoflow-inputmanagementincurrentcroplandbyregionandsuitabilityclass

3921Trendsinlandunder

irrigationand

rainfedcropping,1990–2020

4022

Levelofwaterstressbymajorriverbasin,2018–2021

4123Historicalandprojectedextentofsuitable(primeandgood)landunderrainfedconditionsbyregionforfourmaincropsunderdifferentclimatescenarios

4324Impactofclimatechangeontheextentofprimeandgoodlandforfourcropsunderrainfedconditions,SSP8.5

451Howirrigationcontributestocropproduction2SoilandterrainfactorsconsideredinGlobal

Agro-EcologicalZoning3

Levelsofinputandmanagementconsideredin

GlobalAgro-EcologicalZoning4Unlockingthepotentialof

marginal

lands5

FAO’sAgriculturalStressIndexSystem6Cropdiversification,compostingandraised

bedsinCuba7

PrioritizationofIrrigationSchemesfor

Modernization/RehabilitationinTajikistan8Enhancingwater-useefficiencythroughremotesensingdronetechnologyinLebanon9Fourfactorsforsuccessfulirrigation

modernizationbenchmarking10Soilandwatermanagementinpasturelands

ofChina11

Precisionlivestockfarmingtechnologiesin

pasture-basedsystems12ApplyingtheParticipatoryInformed

LandscapeApproachinNigeria25Impactofclimatechangeontheextentofprimeandgoodlandforfourcropsunderrainfed

conditions,SSP2.626Trendsinproductionoffivenon-woodforest

products,2000–202227TheninestepsoftheFAOguidelinesfor

integratedland-useplanning28

FAOConceptualFrameworkforIntegrated

LandandWaterResourcesManagement47677894212729325354565657606264BOXESCONTENTS|iv

|13

ForestandlandscaperestorationinMorocco14Scalingoutgreenvaluechains:theSustainableLandscapeProductionFramework15

NationalPlanofActionforSustainable

Small-ScaleFisheriesin

Uganda16

Innovationininlandaquaculture17

Integratingfisheriesintoirrigationsystemsin

KirindiOya,SriLanka18

Mainfeaturesofintegratedland-use

planning(ILUP)19

Morocco:developingaTerritorialPlanning

PactintheSouss-Massaregion20Making

integratedwaterresourcesmanagementworkforfisheries

7921Repurposingagriculturalsubsidies

8322

Decisionsupportsystemsforirrigationmanagement

8723

Using

FAO’sSEPALplatformtoassessforestrestorationpotential

8824TheFarmer

FieldSchoolapproach

9225Prioritizinginstitutionalcapacitydevelopment

9365666869697676|

v

|Land,soiland

waterresources

arethefoundationsforagriculturalproductionand

globalfoodsecurity.

By

2050,

the

globalpopulationisprojectedto

reach

9.7billion,

andagriculturewillneedtoproduce

around50percentmorefood,feed

andfibre

than

in2012.Meetingthisdemand

will

place

additional

pressureonresourcesthatarealready

underseverestrain:over

60percent

ofhuman-induced

landdegradationoccursonagricultural

lands(includingcroplandandpastureland),andagricultureaccountsformorethan

70

percent

of

globalfreshwaterwithdrawal.With95

percent

offoodproducedonland,

the

combinedthreats

oflanddegradation,waterscarcity

and

weather

extremesposesignificantchallenges

to

agrifood

systems,livelihoods,andbiodiversity.Thisthirdedition

of

The

State

of

the

World’sLandand

WaterResources

forFood

andAgriculture

examineshowwecanproduce

more,

andbetter,whilesafeguardingtheworld’sfiniteresources.Itfocusesonthepotential

ofmajorcultivatedcrops–bothnowandunderfutureclimatescenarios–and

on

thepolicies,practices

andtechnologiesthatcan

helpcloseyieldgapssustainably.Whilepastgainsinagriculturalproductionandproductivityhavebeenabletokeeppace

withtheincreasingneeds

ofa

rapidly

growing

population,mainlythroughintensification,theseachievementshaveoftencome

at

a

high

environmentalandsocial

cost.Inmanyregions,food

security

and

agrifood

systemsareat

risk.Yet

solutions

exist.Sustainableagriculturalpracticescan

counterthisriskbyrestoringland,

soil

and

waterresourcesandbygeneratingvaluableecosystem

benefits.Inparallel,sustainablemanagement

of

land,soilandwater

resources

can

significantly

mitigatetheeffects

of–

and

strengthenadaptationto–climate

change.Futuregainsmustcomefrom

smarter

–

notjust

increased–foodproduction,byclosing

yieldgaps,diversifyingtheselectionof

suitable

and

resilientcrops,andapplying

locally

adapted,

resource-efficientpracticessuitedtoland,soilandwaterconditions.

There

isno

single

pathway,noone-size-fits-all

solution.Thereportexplorespractical

options

forsustainableland,soiland

wateruse

andmanagement.Itpresentsactions

andsolutions,

illustratedwithexamples,andidentifies

thekey

enablersrequiredtoscale

themupforlastingandsustainedimpactand

tomakeouragrifood

systemsmoreefficient,inclusive,resilientandsustainable.FAO’sworkonland,

soil

andwater

resources,

guidedbytheFAO

Conceptual

FrameworkforIntegratedLand

andWaterResourcesManagement,supportsMembersin

developing

policies,programmes,bestpracticesandmanagementtoolsthatensureproductive

and

efficientuseofland,

soil

andwater

resources.Iinviteyouto

explore

this

edition

of

The

State

of

the

World's

Landand

WaterResources

for

Food

andAgriculture,andtojoinus

in

transforming

agrifoodsystemsforbetterproduction,better

nutrition,abetterenvironmentand

abetterlife

forall,leavingno

onebehind.

The

choiceswe

maketodayforthemanagementof

landandwaterresourceswilldeterminehow

we

meet

currentandfuturedemandswhile

protecting

theworldfor

generations

to

come.FOREWORDQuDongyuFAODirector-General|

vi

|Thefirstedition

of

The

Stateof

the

World’sLand

and

Water

Resources

for

Food

andAgriculture,

published

in

2011,presentedup-to-dateandcomprehensiveinformationandanalysesonthe

global

state,trends

and

challengesoflandandwaterresources.The2011edition

alsoelaborated

on

options

and

strategies

for

addressingevolvingissuessuchaswaterscarcityandland

degradation.Thesecondedition,publishedin2021,providedan

update

of

theknowledgebase,

accompanied

by

a

suite

ofrelatedrecommendationsandactions

for

decision-makers.This2025

edition

of

The

Stateof

the

World’sLandand

Water

Resources

for

Food

andAgriculture

focuses

onthehiddenanduntappedpotentialoflandandwaterresources

toenhancesustainable

agriculturalproductionformaincropsandfoodsecurity.Whilethereportlooks

atland

andwaterin

an

integratedway,consideringcrops,rangeland,fisheriesandaquaculture,aswell

asforests,

particular

attention

is

paid

tocropsthroughathoroughanalysisofmain

cropproduction

potentialbased

on

data

andinformationderivedfromversion5oftheGlobalAgro-Ecological

Zoning

(GAEZ)

assessment

co-ledby

FAO

and

the

InternationalInstituteforAppliedSystemsAnalysis

(IIASA).Chapter

1providesanoverviewofthechallenges

affectingland,

soil

andwaterresources,before

Chapter2

presentsthestatusofland,soilandwater

resourcesbased

on

aliteraturereview

andfocused

analysis,usingdatafromFAOandother

sources.Chapter

3

describes

and

discussestheresults

of

theGAEZ-based

analysis,showingland’ssuitabilityformaincropsnow

and

underfuture

climate

scenarios,

assuminghigh-levelinputmanagement.Themethodologyusedinthisanalysisis

also

presentedinChapter3andfurtherdetailedintheAnnex.Theanalysisfocuses

onsoil,terrain

and

climaticconditions,

without

considerationofsocioeconomicandecologicalfactorsdirectly

affectingpotentialproduction.

However,

it

alsoprovidesinformationtosupportdecisionsontheoverall

geographical

distribution

ofsuitabilityfor

maincropsandrecommendsoptionsandactions

for

the

sustainable

useand

managementofland

andwaterresources,leveragingkeydataandknowledgecriticaltosupporting

andinforming

policymaking

atalllevels.Chapter3alsodescribes

the

yield

gapsformaincrops.Narrowingtheyield

gap

usingsustainablemanagementoptionswillincreasefoodproduction.Examplesof

sustainablemanagementoptionsandanenablingenvironmenttonarrowthe

yieldgapare

discussedinChapter4

andChapter

5.Recognizingthatthereisnoone-size-fits-allsolution,the

reportrecommends

sometechnical

options

and

actionsforthesustainableuseandmanagementof

land

and

waterresources

(seeChapter

4)and

discusses

theenablingconditionsforsuchactionstobe

adoptedbyland

users

and

scaledup

(seeChapter5).Thislatestedition

of

The

Stateof

the

World’sLand

and

Water

Resources

for

Food

andAgriculture

targetspolicymakers,decision-makers,expertsandpractitionersfromgovernmentand

non-governmentalorganizations,academiaandresearch,producers’organizationsandthe

private

sector;it

promotesthesustainableuseandmanagementofland,soiland

waterresourcesto

enablethetransformation

ofagrifood

systemstobecomemoreefficient,moreresilient

andmore

sustainable.METHODOLOGY|vii|Thepreparation

of

The

Stateof

the

World’sLandand

Water

Resources

forFood

andAgriculture

2025

has

benefitedfromthesupportandinputofa

multidisciplinaryteam

acrossFAO,including:Overallsupervisionand

review:L.Li,

N.

Berrahmouni.Coordination:F.

Ziadat.Authors:R.Arthur,E.Barrios,N.Berrahmouni,

D.

Bojic,

R.

Boroto,

A.

Bres,

S.

Casallas

Ramirez,

F.

Chiozza,

G.Conchedda,V.Crespi,J-M.Faurès,A.

Grobicki,J.

Hoogeveen,

J.

Jorgensen,

K.

Khazal,

B.

Kiersch,M.Konyushkova,A.Lemaitre,L.Li,

F.Marttin,

G.

Munoz,

C.

Olivera

Sanchez,

L.

Peiser,

N.

RodriguezEugenio,M.Salman,G.Santini,Y.

Tong,

A.Vollrath,

X.Wang,

D.

Wisser,

Y.

Yigini,

T.

Zambrana,

F.

Ziadat.Contributors:V.Agostini,W.Ahmad,F.Boerstler,

B.

De

Ridder,

C.

Del

Campo

Aragones,

D.

Fallas

Conejo,

N.

Franz,

R.Ito,A.Lovatelli,L.Magliocchetti

Lombi,

G.

Mair,

E.

Pek,

N.

Rakotovao,

M.

Sacande,

E.

Springgay,

A.YepesQuintero.Technicalediting:J.M.

Faures.Externaland

internaltechnical

reviewers

(chapter

reviewers):O.Andreeva,A.Arslan,M.Barange,E.

Barrios,

M.

Bernoux,

F.

Castell,

A.

Cattaneo,

M.

Chaya,

B.

Crawford,

B.Dazis,A.Duchelle,M.Felix,

D.

Fernandez

Reguera,A.

Glinni,

D.

Gutierrez

Mendez,

J.

Herrick,D.Laborde,X.Liangjie,R.Mc

Donnell,

A.

Meybeck,

H.

Muminjanov,

F.

Nachtergaele,

B.J.

Orr,

C.

Pereira,

L.Philips,F.Pierri,M.Sanchez

Cantillo,

D.

Syme,

V.

Tandon,

T.

Walfram

Petursdottir,

A.

Ward,

Z.

Wu,

L.

Xin,

Y.

Yasmi.Processfacilitation:K.Khazal,

F.

Ziadat.Languageandcopy-editing:C.PedrickandthePublicationsandLibraryBranch

ofthe

FAO

Office

of

Communications.

Preparationofstatistics

and

maps:F.Chiozza,G.Conchedda,

K.

Khazal.Publishingarrangementsandcommunications:K.Khazal,J.Morgan,M.Pirauxand

the

Publications

and

Library

Branch

ofthe

FAO

Office

ofCommunications.Secretarialassistance:LandandWaterDivision

OperationsHub.TranslationsweredeliveredbytheLanguageBranchof

theFAOGoverning

Bodies

Servicing

Division.ThePublicationsandLibraryBranchofthe

FAOOffice

ofCommunications

provided

editorial

support,

designandlayout,aswellasproductioncoordination,

for

editions

in

all

six

official

languages.ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS|

viii

|GlobalInformationSystemonWaterandAgricultureAgriculturalStressIndexSystem

bestmanagementpracticesconservationagricultureCropland

Agreement

MapcroppingintensityConventiononBiological