Population growth, industrial and urban development, diet changing to more thirsty crops, dairy products and meat, increasing food consumption, increasing tourism, and increasing the demand of biofuel are putting unprecedented pressure on renewable, but finite, water resources, particularly in arid regions. Worldwide, agriculture is the main consumer of water on the globe. By 2050 the world’s population is expected to reach 9.1 billion, a 50% increase compared to 2000. Nearly all of this population increase will occur in emerging and least developed countries. One of the greatest global challenges is to secure access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet the world’s population dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life (food security) while use the scarce water resources in an equitable and sustainable way (water security).

In support of sustainable agriculture, water and food securities it would be necessary to prepare and implement sustainable agriculture plans at regional and sub-regional level. The macro-regional scale (e.g. West Africa, Europe / Euro-Med, Central Asia, Arab Region, Central America, etc) is a relevant scale to avoid conflicts and thus to develop, where appropriate, shared visions and ambitious policy frameworks for food security. European Union is a historical example. Experience however shows that this was not often the case. The new challenges of regional and global food and water security, under climate change would thus have to lead to reinforce the importance of this scale for strategic planning and action. Challenges are enormous in some regions of the world. Unprecedented challenges will need unprecedented innovative solutions.

The ‘sub-regional’ scale (national level, sub-national regions, large agricultural areas) could be seen as the right scale to mobilize major professional actors (cooperatives, agro-industries, professional organizations ...) to build shared visions, strategies and action plan for sustainable agriculture development and sustainable food security. Such economic visions and strategies may lead for example to an appropriate selection of crops and practices.

The ‘territorialisation’ of strategies and approaches could also be the way to reconcile the economic, social dynamics and the environmental challenges, to find the necessary trade-off between these three dimensions of sustainable development and to establish synergies among them. It can help stakeholders to decide, in due time (to avoid the shock impact), the necessary changes and adjustments of the economic and production practices to achieve equity. It can help actors to avoid confrontation with difficult situations due to lack of anticipation. The ‘territorialisation’ can also help in better identifying the assets of the territories from which agriculture could make profit, and it allows synergies development with other regional actors: industries, cities, tourism, etc., for win-win strategies.

Sustainable development strategies at such scales are also a prerequisite condition to meet many objectives stated by environmental policies (water, biodiversity, climate, etc). Some states and regions are beginning to engage in these new approaches. States and / or local governments with major agriculture players are already elaborating territorial diagnostics, scenarios and action plans.