The Center on Food Security and the Environment is a joint effort of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment.
Water
Recent Scholarly Publications
Records 24 / 55
Water-food-energy challenges in India: political economy of the sugar industry
July 2020
Sugar is the second largest agro-based industry in India and has a major influence on the country's water, food, and energy security.
On the role of anthropogenic climate change in the emerging food crisis in southern Africa in the 2019–2020 growing season
February 2020
Researchers including David Lobell analyze how human-caused climate change has impacted a water defecit in Southern Africa and might contribute to a rising food security crisis in the region.
Flood Size Increases Nonlinearly Across the Western United States in Response to Lower Snow‐Precipitation Ratios
December 2019
Many mountainous and high‐latitude regions have experienced more precipitation as rain rather than snow due to warmer winter temperatures.
The role of irrigation in changing wheat yields and heat sensitivity in India
September 2019
Irrigation has been pivotal in wheat’s rise as a major crop in India and is likely to be increasingly important as an adaptation response to climate change.
Water Use Efficiency as a Constraint and Target for Improving the Resilience and Productivity of C3 and C4 Crops
April 2019
The ratio of plant carbon gain to water use, known as water use efficiency (WUE), has long been recognized as a key constraint on crop production and an important target for crop improvement.
The paradox of irrigation efficiency
August 2018
Reconciling higher freshwater demands with finite freshwater resources remains one of the great policy dilemmas.
Historical effects of CO2 and climate trends on global crop water demand
November 2017
A critical question for agricultural production and food security is how water demand for staple crops will respond to climate and carbon dioxide (CO2) changes1, especially in light of the expected...
Impact of a rural solar electrification project on the level and structure of women's empowerment
September 2017
Although development organizations agree that reliable access to energy and energy services—one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals—is likely to have profound and perhaps disproportionate...
Prevalence of anemia, deficiencies of iron and vitamin A and their determinants in rural women and young children: a cross-sectional study in Kalale district of northern Benin
January 2017
Recent reviews of dietary intake data from Benin showed that recommended daily intakes of key micronutrients, such as vitamin A and Fe, were not met( 1 – 4 ).
Prevalence of anaemia, deficiencies of iron and vitamin A and their determinants in rural women and young children: a cross-sectional study in Kalalé district of northern Benin
January 2017
Objective: To identify the magnitude of anaemia and deficiencies of Fe (ID) and vitamin A (VAD) and their associated factors among rural women and children.Design: Cross-sectional, comprising a...
Invisible water, visible impact: groundwater use and Indian agriculture under climate change
August 2016
India is one of the world's largest food producers, making the sustainability of its agricultural system of global significance.
Solar-powered drip irrigation Impacts on crops production diversity and dietary diversity in northern Benin
March 2016
In 2007, "solar market gardens" were installed in 2 villages for women’s agricultural groups as a strategy for enhancing food and nutrition security.
Colocation opportunities for large solar infrastructures and agriculture in drylands
March 2016
We explored the potential to colocate solar installations and agriculture.Water use at solar installations are similar to amounts required for desert plants.Co-located systems are economically...
Growing sensitivity of maize to water scarcity under climate change
January 2016
Climate change can reduce crop yields and thereby threaten food security.
What aspects of future rainfall changes matter for crop yields in West Africa?
September 2015
Abstract: How rainfall arrives, in terms of its frequency, intensity and the timing and duration of rainy season, may have a large influence on rainfed agriculture.
High Time for Conservation: Adding the Environment to the Debate on Marijuana Liberalization
June 2015
The liberalization of marijuana policies, including the legalization of medical and recreational marijuana, is sweeping the United States and other countries.
Temperature impacts on the water year 2014 drought in California
June 2015
California is experiencing one of the worst droughts on record.
Photosynthetic seasonality of global tropical forests constrained by hydroclimate
March 2015
The response of tropical forests to droughts is highly uncertain.
The Evolving Sphere of Food Security
September 2014
The Evolving Sphere of Food Security seeks to answer two important questions: How do the priorities and challenges of achieving food security change over time as countries develop economically?
The case for distributed irrigation as a development priority in sub-Saharan Africa
July 2013
Distributed irrigation systems are those in which the water access (via pump or human power), distribution (via furrow, watering can, sprinkler, drip lines, etc.), and use all occur at or near the...
Water and Agriculture in Africa: The politics of the belly or the politics of the mirror?
May 2013
The water and agriculture glass in Africa is half-empty: Africa has failed to develop its massive water resources and failed to achieve agricultural growth.
The critical role of extreme heat for maize production in the United States
March 2013
Statistical studies of rainfed maize yields in the United States and elsewhere have indicated two clear features: a strong negative yield response to accumulation of temperatures above 30 °C (or...
Evaluating the Contribution of Weather to Maize and Wheat Yield Trends in 12 U.S. Counties
December 2012
Evaluating the contribution of weather and its individual components to recent yield trends can be useful to predict the response of crop production to future climate change, but different modeling...
People
Rosamond L. Naylor Senior Fellow William Wrigley Professor of Earth System Science, Senior Fellow, Stanford Woods Institute and Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Professor, by courtesy, Economics, Senior Fellow and Founding Director, Center on Food Security and the Environment 
Pamela Matson Chester Naramore Dean of the School of Earth, Energy and Environmental Sciences, Richard and Rhoda Goldman Professor of Environmental Studies, Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment, FSE Affiliated Faculty Professor, Earth Sciences, Senior Fellow, Stanford Woods Institute 
Steven Gorelick Cyrus F. Tolman Professor and Senior Fellow, Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment 
