Objectives

• Sharing lessons across projects and activities with a strong land and water component
  Promoting the use of existing methodologies, guidelines and tools in support to projects design, implementation and performance and impact monitoring (Masscote, Scampis, Aquacrop, LADA-local, PNTD, etc.);
• Understanding knowledge gaps in project design and implementation approaches and working out practical modalities for more effective technical support to field projects at various spatial scales;
• Discussing trends in land and water management and irrigation across regions and implications for activities on the ground; and
• Moving towards strategies and mechanisms for effective, sustainable and people-centered approaches to land and water management.

Background and rationale

• The need to improve performance of field projects in land and water management in terms of their sustainability, effectiveness and livelihood benefits, and to learn from and replicate successful projects.
• The weak linkage between available technical knowledge and its effective application in the field, with limited mutual interactions and poor feedback mechanisms.
• The growing concerns related to increasingly scarce natural resources, exacerbated by rising concerns about climate change, and the need for appropriate responses in terms of soil and water management practices.
• The need to develop new models of sustainable intensification based on resilience building and adaptability of farming systems and communities.