Foreword: The 2026 Inflection Point
The report opens by situating 2026 as a pivotal moment for food and water security. Approximately 735 million people faced chronic hunger in 2022, an increase of more than 120 million from pre-pandemic levels. By 2026, an estimated 1.8 billion people are projected to live under conditions of absolute water scarcity, while two-thirds of the global population may experience water stress.
The committee underscores inequities in innovation access. Smallholder farmers in Africa and Asia, who produce a significant portion of global food supply, frequently lack access to improved seeds, digital technologies, and capital. Simultaneously, many water-stressed regions rely on outdated infrastructure. The report frames collaboration across governments, development banks, agritech firms, research institutions, and community leaders as essential to navigating this decisive decade.
Assessing the Role and Impact of Technology
Technology remains central to food and water systems, spanning security, transmission, treatment, desalination, and agriculture. However, the emphasis has shifted from pursuing novel technologies toward scaling and facilitating adoption of solutions already proven effective.
Committee members observed that technological capacity to improve food and water outcomes is largely available. The challenge lies in adoption gaps, particularly in the Global South. Financing hesitancy, perceived risk, and limited access to capital impede uptake, especially among smaller farmers and water operators.
Major utilities and large agricultural enterprises are more readily embracing smart agriculture and water innovations, while smaller entities face high upfront costs and risk exposure to volatile global markets and geopolitics. Farming’s inherent uncertainty limits appetite for additional technological risk.
Ecosystem-based deployment models were highlighted as promising. The Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM for Climate), led by the UAE and the United States, mobilized over $1 billion to scale climate-smart agriculture technologies through coordinated engagement among governments, development banks, philanthropic institutions, researchers, and ministries. These collaborative frameworks illustrate how aligning stakeholders can accelerate adoption.
The report emphasizes contextualization. Technologies must be adapted to soil conditions, climate realities, cultural factors, and local economics. Investment in soft infrastructure agricultural extension services, training programs, and data-sharing platforms is described as equally critical as hardware deployment.
Commoditizing Water: Pricing as a Catalyst for Conservation
A central structural issue identified is the persistent undervaluation of water. In many regions, particularly across the GCC, long-standing subsidies have fostered inefficient water use. In Abu Dhabi, approximately 60 percent of water consumption derives from groundwater, much of it allocated to agriculture. At current depletion rates, reserves may become largely unusable within 8–15 years without intervention.
Subsidized water pricing disincentivizes conservation. Even when water-saving technologies promise significant reductions up to 90 percent in some examples farmers may decline adoption because water costs remain negligible.
The committee examined reform options including tiered pricing systems and tradable water allocations. Australia’s water market model was cited as an example where farmers receive defined allocations that can be used or sold. This mechanism encourages economically rational conservation and reallocates water toward higher-value uses.
Recognizing water as a commodity with tangible value is framed as foundational to behavioral change and technology adoption. Without pricing reform, conservation incentives remain structurally weak.
Pushing for Water Security Through Integrated Systems
Water security extends beyond pricing reform to technological optimization. In the UAE, a significant shift from thermal desalination to reverse osmosis (RO) has occurred over the past decade. RO now delivers potable water at approximately 50 US cents per cubic meter, emitting less than one-eighth the CO₂ of thermal desalination.
Despite these advances, desalination is not universally replicable and must be viewed as one component within a broader toolkit. Decentralized thermal desalination using industrial waste heat offers alternative pathways for producing ultrapure water in sectors such as chemicals and data centers.
Wastewater reuse presents both opportunity and challenge. An attempt in Abu Dhabi to substitute treated wastewater for non-potable uses encountered cost and quality barriers, demonstrating economic complexities. Blending moderately treated effluent with desalinated water, dual water networks supplying differentiated quality grades, and partial desalination for salt-tolerant crops were discussed as efficiency-enhancing strategies.
Emerging water sources such as stormwater capture and atmospheric water extraction remain niche and comparatively expensive but may serve off-grid or remote communities. The overarching conclusion is that integrated water management delivering the right water quality to the right use maximizes system efficiency.
Mobilizing Investment and Market Reform
Transforming food and water systems requires substantial capital and market restructuring. Traditional financing mechanisms have underserved smallholder agriculture and rural water projects, particularly in emerging markets. Public budgets and development aid face constraints, including reductions in major international funding programs.
Public procurement was identified as a powerful lever. African governments collectively spend over $2 billion annually on food procurement for institutions such as schools and hospitals. Redirecting even a portion of this toward domestic production could stabilize markets for smallholders and incentivize private investment.
Within the UAE, investment fragmentation across public and private actors can create uncertainty for innovators. Clearer alignment with national sustainability objectives would direct capital more efficiently. Government policy signals national roadmaps, targeted subsidies, and coordinated priorities are described as critical to de-risking private investment.
The report asserts that correcting market imbalances can trigger improvements in production practices, as stable demand and viable profit outlets incentivize innovation and sustainability.
Building Climate-Resilient and Alternative Food Systems
Climate change necessitates dual strategies: fortifying traditional agriculture and expanding alternative food sources. Innovations include plant-based and cellular proteins, controlled-environment agriculture (CEA), and novel crops such as water lentils (duckweed) cultivated in brackish water under UAE food technology initiatives.
Alternative protein technologies face cost and consumer acceptance challenges, though progress is evident. Lab-grown meat prices have declined dramatically, and plant-based milk alternatives have achieved growing market share.
The AIM for Climate coalition secured over $29 billion in funding by COP29, supporting nearly 130 projects with more than 800 partners. These initiatives focus on smallholder support, methane reduction, and technological innovation, including early-warning systems and satellite monitoring to mitigate climate risks.
Controlled-environment agriculture offers water-efficient yield stability but requires clean energy integration due to higher electricity demands. Clean cooking transitions also represent an essential component of food system resilience; approximately 2.3 billion people still rely on polluting fuels for cooking, contributing to health and environmental harms.
Diversification across crops, systems, and protein sources is presented as essential for reducing vulnerability to climate volatility.
Key Takeaways and Strategic Outlook
The committee identifies five interconnected priorities: accelerating equitable technology adoption; reforming water pricing to incentivize conservation; integrating complementary water technologies; mobilizing coordinated investment through public and private alignment; and fostering diversified, climate-resilient food systems.
The overarching message is systemic. Technological solutions exist, but structural barriers economic, policy, and institutional limit impact. Addressing these barriers through coordinated governance, market reform, and targeted investment will determine whether global food and water systems remain viable under intensifying climate pressures.
