ABSTRACT
One of the key challenges now is to ensure sufficient food production and global food security. The capability of individual nations to meet food demand is directly related to water resources and management. Worldwide, about 60% of food production comes from the rain-fed croplands and these constitute the backbone of the marginal or subsistence farmers. The improved rain-fed cropping system could be a better alternative to irrigated agriculture to meet global food production due to its environmental friendliness and sustainability. Approximately 80%
of the global agricultural land is under rain-fed systems, with generally low-yield levels and high on-farm water losses [1]. The substantially increased food demand is putting enormous pressure on freshwater resources. The challenge of feeding tomorrow’s world population is, to a large extent, dependent on the improved crop and water productivity within present land use, specifically in rain-fed cropland areas (CA) [2]. This clearly indicates a significant window of opportunity for improvement.
