Desalination is an increasingly common method of improving water security in arid and semi-arid regions. According to the International Desalination Association, the 19,000 desalination plants that now operate globally each day produce 88.6 gigalitres of water. The water from those facilities supports 300 million people.

This paper argues that if African countries can successfully harness their demography to drive economic growth, the continent will rapidly develop, leading to greater reductions in food insecurity.

On a country-wide scale, China has an adequate supply of water. Those water resources are not uniformly distributed throughout the country, however, with four-fifths of the supply located in the south. This imbalance of water resources leaves some parts of the country with high levels of water stress.

Despite trouble spots, there are grounds for long-term optimism in the development of African agriculture.

China loses or wastes at least six per cent of the food that it produces.