4 ways to address food and water security in the Intelligent Age

More holistic and integrated data on food and water systems is critical for advancing sustainable interventions and enhancing decision-making.

The challenges posed by climate change, nature loss and water risks, combined with rising global food demands, necessitate a coordinated approach to data management.

For two years, the Global Future Council on Food and Water Security has examined this issue and created a data stack framework to empower stakeholders to make well-informed decisions.

Data stacks can consolidate and synthesize diverse datasets on one integrated platform and use emerging technologies including artificial intelligence (AI) to inform recommendations.

In siloed sectors such as food and water that require more integration, a stack can be vital for stakeholders from different business units, ministries or industries to make more sustainable and regenerative food and water choices.

However, new technologies such as AI use enormous quantities of water and energy, as well as virgin metals and minerals and are not yet designed to be circular, renewable and sustainable. Thus, it is essential to design AI with a limited environmental input itself.

If that is achieved and the risk of misinformation and disinformation accounted for, then AI could provide major opportunities for identifying efficient, effective and just solutions.

The Global Futures Council on Food and Water Security calls for appropriate governance frameworks to mitigate the risks of AI and harness the benefits.

The council has acknowledged the opportunity presented by generative AI and other emerging technologies to aid decision-makers; it explored how the stack can be applied by different stakeholder groups across the value chain – from policymakers to farmers and investors.

At the One Water Summit hosted by the Governments of France and Kazakhstan, the Global Futures Council will launch the stack and associated analysis in the white paper Food and Water Systems in the Intelligent Age.

The Council recommends the following principles be applied by leaders to implement and scale the stack to aid in food and water-related decision-making in local and country contexts.

A stack should be co-created with end users, such as farmers or policymakers, to ensure applicability to local scenarios. This will guarantee ownership and commitment to long-term improvement of implementation.

A neutral, trustworthy platform should manage the stack, and guardrails must be set in place against misuse and interference. When incorporating proprietary information, common data-sharing protocols and contours around privacy, access and monetization must be developed.

Various sources of financing can be used to develop and maintain the stack, and in the long run, collective analysis of the stack can demonstrate the benefit of its use by linking water and food to climate and nature finance.

More concessional financing is needed to support highly impacted countries, as adaptive farming is essential due to climate change's impacts.

Coordination across ministries and stakeholder types is essential, as it better integrates food and water data, including data on water boundaries, permits, contracts, concessions and other property rights available within these boundaries and thus how to better allocate water resources, which allows for a more holistic approach.

Additionally, coordination can ensure that food and water outcomes are included in national action plans, including climate and social development targets.

Finally, working with private actors and users in a pre-competitive, cross-industry manner will drive more rapid adoption and allow for the implementation of sustainable and environmentally friendly solutions in real-world scenarios.

While developing the stack, account for future food decisions, including the impacts of climate change on water (every 1 degree Celsius rise in temperature increases water evaporation), the use of different quantities of water for different foods and other products and alternative proteins.

The food and water landscape is constantly innovating and adapting, so it is essential to ensure that new circular and renewable technology and emerging solutions are accounted for in the stack framework.

The use of data stacks, together with other cutting-edge technologies, should be an essential cornerstone in scaling multistakeholder action to build secure water and food systems in the face of droughts and other climate challenges impacting many regions, including Latin America and the Caribbean.

The transformation of these systems requires significant support in terms of access to knowledge, finance and markets.

Key geographies are emerging as leaders in implementing similar frameworks in their food and water decision-making. In India, farmers are using similar frameworks to choose more climate-resilient crop varieties and private sector actors can provide innovative solutions for water efficiency, informed by the needs articulated through the stack.

The stack has helped researchers monitor transboundary watersheds like the Limpopo River Basin, model future scenarios and provide evidence for governments to use in designing policies to protect water resources.

It is critical to acknowledge the outsized impacts of climate change on developing countries and ensure that legacy impacts are addressed through supportive mechanisms like the Loss and Damage Fund launched in COP28.

These emerging cases demonstrate the opportunity to use a stack framework for decision-making in the food-water context. In the long term, there is an opportunity in the training today’s leaders and tomorrow’s generations receive to better steward a stable climate and hence a secure water-food future.

Increasing the amount of high-quality data available will create more accurate and fit-for-purpose AI models that can continue to guide decision-making in an accessible way.

Of course, just having such data does not always lead to action, as in relation to phasing out fossil fuels. While AI has the potential to significantly improve decision-making on farm, landscape, national, and regional levels, it should be adopted in accordance with precautionary principles to allow for its wide use while limiting its environmental impact.

By prioritizing data integration and investing in innovative solutions, stakeholders can navigate the complexities of food and water security while promoting resilience against future climate, AI and other challenges.

This proactive approach not only safeguards resources but also ensures that agricultural and water management practices remain equitable and capable of supporting sustainable development in the face of climate change for generations to come.

This blog is the third in a series published by the Global Future Council on Food and Water Security.