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On the 23^rd of March 2023, Costa Rica, PLACA (Latin American and Caribbean platform for climate action in agriculture), FAO and UNESCO will be holding a side event on the theme “Water and agriculture in Latin America and the Caribbean”.

•  Discuss the relevant aspects that affect the availability and quality of water resources in Latin America and the Caribbean, in relation to agriculture and climate change to achieve sectoral climate commitments within the framework of the Paris Agreement.
•  Raise awareness about the opportunities and role of farmers in Latin America and the Caribbean in the face of the current challenges of adaptation and mitigation in the face of climate change.
• Share the experience of PLACA as an articulating mechanism to facilitate synergies between public sector agencies, research centers, NGOs, and other actors for the implementation of solutions, including knowledge exchange and capacity building considering the particularities of the territories.

Water resources are fundamental for the sustainability of agriculture. Agricultural water extraction in Latin America and the Caribbean represents 74% of total water withdrawal, positioning agriculture as the economic activity with the highest consumption of this resource. However, it is estimated that between 50% and 70% of the water extracted is wasted due to evaporation, leaks and other reasons.

It is forecasted that water scarcity will be a growing problem. On one hand, population growth, urbanization and consumption patterns are expected to increase the demand for water. On the other, as an effect of climate change, water availability will be reduced is some areas. Taking this into account it is increasingly important to have efficient systems for the sustainable use of water in agriculture.

Agricultural production is also highly vulnerable to other effects of climate change. This can be affected by the effect of droughts, floods and other extreme weather events, situations that will happen with greater probability of occurrence because of the affectation of the climate. Likewise, agricultural production can be sensitive to the loss of quality of water resources, a situation that can also be aggravated because of various human activities.

Therefore, a transition to more efficient water use is necessary, which requires increased capacity, research, and policy frameworks, given that many of the region's water sources remain understudied. Greater knowledge about the availability and performance of surface and groundwater resources in agricultural and forest areas, and their relationship with climate and social uncertainty scenarios, will allow effective knowledge-based public policies to be established. It is also necessary to work on the efficient and sustainable use of water for irrigation, encourage innovation and investments in agricultural systems to make them more sustainable and thus achieve water and food security. In this context, cooperation and coordination between the actors involved, public and private sectors, academia and organized civil society organizations is essential. All this needs to be done using a gender perspective, as access to water is another area in which there is a gap between women and men access.

This is a valuable opportunity to join efforts among experts in pursuit of a resilient agriculture that makes efficient use of water. This high-level session will allow a dialogue between actors from Latin America and the Caribbean, to share perspectives on water governance and the sustainability of agriculture in the region. The session will also allow to deliberate on concrete solutions and points of view in terms of water management and the relevance in agricultural systems to make them more sustainable and thus achieve water, food, and nutrition security.