STOCKHOLM: Asia could face chronic food shortages and social unrest if the region fails to improve its management of water and farming, according to a UN report.

An extra 1.5 billion people will live in Asia by 2050, putting even more pressure on already scarce food supplies, said the study, issued by the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI).

There is little scope to expand arable land in most parts of Asia, which means that growing the extra food required can only be achieved with better management of land and water supplies, it found.

The report warns many developing nations in the region are facing by 2050 the prospect of importing more than a quarter of the rice, wheat and maize needed to feed their populations.

The scenarios forecast do not factor in the impact of global warming, which will likely make rainfall more erratic and less plentiful in some agricultural regions over the coming decades. LINK