A Good Rain’s a-Gonna Fall

Water is the number one food-limiting factor in many parts of Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Currently some 850 million people in the world are undernourished and, with another three billion in the world by 2050, the challenge to increase food production is daunting. Existing water resources are already under severe pressure and even the most optimistic calculations show that thewater used in irrigation farming from rivers, lakes and aquifers simply will not be enough.But has the potential of the ultimate water resource, rain, been understood and utilised, particularly in water-short, dry climate countries?