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New IWMI-FAO report : Revitalizing Asia's Irrigation:
to sustainably meet tomorrow's food needs

A comprehensive new study of irrigation in Asia warns that, without major reforms and innovations in the way water is used for agriculture, many developing nations face the politically risky prospect of having to import more than a quarter of the rice, wheat and maize they will need by 2050. The study was carried out by IWMI and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) along with researchers from partner organizations with funding from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

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Topics: Irrigation

Interview: Communication in Agriculture -
Jean-Marc Faures talks to LE Monde

	Communicating from a network point to another, knowing the soil moisture, train technicians and farmers: information plays a growing role in the management of large irrigation schemes. Jean-Marc Faures, water resource management expert with FAO’s Land and Water Division explains the whys and hows communication has entered in one of the oldest world practices: agriculture.
	Read interview with Le Monde - (French)

New section : Masscote

MASSCOTE, the step-wise methodology to evaluate and analyze different components of an irrigation system and then develop a modernization plan, has a new section fully dedicated to its case studies, modules and technical documents.

Go to the Masscote Section
Irrigation and drainage paper #63: Modernizing irrigation management - the MASSCOTE approach

FAOWater Calendar : Download November 2009

The FAO Water calendar is now available in its second edition. Click below to download the desktop calendar for the months of November in Large or Xlarge format
Download Large (1024x768) November Download XLarge (1280x960) November

Water Report #33: Scoping Agriculture - Wetland Interactions

People have had an intimate association with wetlands from prehistory to the present day. Wetlands such as swamps, marshes and estuaries have been among the most attractive areas in the landscape, satisfying a variety of needs for hunting and gathering, spirituality, water resources and agriculture.
View Water report #33 View more FAO Water Documents

Land and Water discussion paper 7 :
Coping with Water Scarcity: What Role for Biotechnologies?

Water scarcity affects all social and economic sectors and threatens the sustainability of the natural resources base. Addressing water scarcity requires an intersectoral and multidisciplinary approach to managing water resources in order to maximize economic and social welfare in an equitable manner without compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystems. Integration across sectors is needed. This integration needs to take into account development, supply, use and demand, and to place the emphasis on people, their livelihood and the ecosystems that sustain them.

Land and Water discussion paper 7

Access other FAO Water Publications

Water and the Rural Poor

For millions of smallholder farmers, fishers and
herders in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), water is
one of the most important production assets.
Water is key to enhancing rural people livelihoods, because insecure access to water for consumption and productive uses is a major constraint on poverty reduction in rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa. FAO and IFAD are working together to explore ways to better the livelihoods of many, through targeted interventions.

Read more about the study

Access the report (PDF 4.8Mb)

Water report : Irrigation management transfer

One of the most important reforms within the irrigation sub-sector has been irrigation management transfer (IMT). It is the process of devolvement of authority and responsibility from government agencies managing irrigation systems to farmers’ organizations and has been utilized as a tool for irrigation sector reform in more than 60 countries. FAO, IWMI and others partners have made an effort to document and understand the implications of this reform process.

Irrigation Sector Reform pages

Document in html

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Modernizing irrigation management - the MASSCOTE approach

A step-by-step methodology for water engineering professionals, managers and practitioners involved in the modernization of medium-scale to large- scale canal irrigation systems from the perspective of improving performance of conjunctive water supplies for multiple stakeholders.
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Water at a Glance

	A brief introduction to some of the issues facing FAO Water including the relationship between water, agriculture, food security and poverty. The reader will also learn about effective ways of managing agricultural water.
	View Brochure (PDF)

DISCOVER WATER:
10 minutes guided tour.

This ten-minute guided tour is intended primarily for people who are not familiar with the relationship between water, agriculture, food security and poverty. The reader will also learn about effective ways of managing agricultural water.

Take the tour:
Animated Tour [needs Flash]
Html Version [no flash required]

	© FAO 2009	last updated: 12-Nov-2009	FAOWater Development and Management Unit