IWMI and DWFI partner on Cambridge Sustainability Commission on Water for Food Futures
Agriculture uses 70 percent of global freshwater, and farmers will need to grow more food with less reliable water availability to meet the demands of a growing population. To address the critical challenges of balancing water security and food security over the next 15 years, Cambridge University Press has launched a new Cambridge Sustainability Commission on Water for Food Futures (CWFF) led by the International Water Management Institute and the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute at the University of Nebraska. Results will be published in Cambridge University Press’s Global Sustainability journal in 2027, contributing vital research and insights to the global understanding of these pressing issues.
This new partnership brings together the expertise of two leading organizations dedicated to sustainable water and food solutions. By combining their knowledge and resources, IWMI and DWFI are committed to driving innovative approaches and policies to ensure a more secure future for both water and food systems worldwide. At the 2025 Water for Food Global Conference hosted by DWFI in Lincoln, Neb., the two institutes kicked off their partnership with an exploratory side session to engage stakeholders in shaping the commission’s priorities, partnerships and outputs.
The commission will build upon the collective missions stemming from the Transformative Futures for Water Security dialogue, which was a bottom-up led process to capture the priorities of more than 1,000 water or food stakeholders, and 440 institutions across the Global South. It will also build and expand upon the recent report from the Global Commission on the Economics of Water, which calls for the “launch of a new revolution in food systems.”
The commission’s purpose is to critically examine existing approaches to water management in food systems, identify limitations in meeting future needs amidst climate uncertainty and resource pressures, and highlight emerging innovations and policy directions. Through a demand-driven approach informed by stakeholder consultations, the CWFF will explore themes such as meeting societal water and food demands, aligning consumption with water uncertainty, embedding water in agricultural practices and intensification, and optimizing water use across the food system. The findings of the CWFF will be captured in a high-level report to be launched in 2027, contributing vital research and insights to global understanding and catalyzing action for a more secure future for water and food systems worldwide.
