Over the coming decades, global change will have an impact on

food and water security in significant and highly uncertain ways, and there are strong indications that the developing countries will bear the brunt of the adverse consequences, particularly from climate change. This is largely because poverty levels are high, and a developing-country’s capacity to adapt to global change is weak.

Furthermore, the rural populations of developing countries-for whom agriculture is the primary source of direct and indirect employment and income-will be most affected due to agriculture’s vulnerability to global change processes. The agricultural sector is the largest consumer of water resources, and variability in water supply has a major influence on health and welfare in poor areas. With water scarcity and extreme weather events expected to increase under climate change, water security could decline significantly in rural areas. — ifpri.org