the high yield variabilityexport availability from this region has already demonstrated its impact on world commodity price volatility agriculture consumes about of the world s freshwater withdrawals in oecd countries water use projections to suggest that the water supply to some of the world s population mostly in developing countries will be under severe stress largely because of developments outside of agriculture in some instances supporting agricultural production may not be regarded as the most socially or economically desirable use for scarce water supplies