In the coming decades population growth will take place particularly in the emerging and least developed countries. This implies that these countries will be confronted with the need to increase their food supply by a larger production in their own territory, maybe in combination with increased imports. With respect to the required increase in food production in combination with the need for sustainable rural development a wide range of issues is of importance. From the point of view of food production there is a common feeling that 90% of the required increase will have to be realised on existing cultivated land and 10% on newly reclaimed land. From the point of view of sustainable rural development, socio-economic and environmental aspects play crucial roles.
In this paper the focus is on how improvements in water management may contribute to the developments that may be expected. This is discussed in light of population growth and illustrated with the global distribution of the production of cereals and rice. Within this framework the different means of water management that may contribute to the required increase in food production and sustainable rural development are presented. With respect to this it is, among others, of importance that at large scale irrigation management transfers are taking place in the emerging countries and in countries with a transition economy.