This photo gallery shows how FAO irrigation activities have rehabilitated more than 400 000 hectar of agriculture lands in Afghanistan. With the Emergency Irrigation Rehabilitation Project (EIRP) farmers and their families will benefit from improved, reliable and equitably distributed irrigation water which will lead to increased agricultural productivity, better income, improved food security and reduce the vulnerability of farmers to droughts.

The "Handbook on pressurized irrigation techniques" is now available in French

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.

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.

Arsenic contamination in groundwater has been reported in more than 20 countries around the world and, in many, shallow groundwater is used for both irrigation and drinking purposes. The current FAO Working Paper examines remediation options with respect to food safety and yield implications and reports FAO’s successful development of water-soil-crop management practices in mitigating arsenic problem in agriculture.