Agricultural water use efficiency and conservation

Land Resources, soil fertility and plant nutrition policies, planning and management

Integrated land, water and plant nutrient management

Waterlogging and salinity control, environmental effects of irrigation and reclamation of problem soils

Land and Water Information Systems, Databases and Statistics

Knowledge Management and Partnership Services

Advice to Member Countries and Support to Field programme, SPFS and Emergency and Relieve Operations

International Programme for Technology and Research in Irrigation and Drainage (IPTRID)

Project 
Agricultural water use efficiency and conservation

Rationale
The World Food Summit has recognized that water control in general and irrigation in particular, are crucial for increased food production and global food security. The food supply of future generations will depend even more on the capacity of irrigated agriculture to produce food in an environmentally, economically and financially sustainable manner. However, increasing water consumption and acute competition among water use sectors serious affect the possibility of expanding agricultural water use. Irrigated agriculture must use water more efficiently; it must face the challenge to produce more with less water.
Increasing the efficiency of agricultural water use will require simultaneously improvements in water management, technology, knowledge and capacity building at all levels, from the farmers in the field to irrigation agencies to basin and national water resources institutions. Improving the sustainability and productivity of existing and new irrigation schemes will require innovative approaches to the use and development of new water resources such as increase of the role of the private sector, institutional reforms and a framework of national water policies, regulations and economic instruments that are conducive to a rational allocation and efficient use of water resources.

Recent conferences such as CSD-6 have underlined the pressing need for member countries to take action in this regard. There is a growing demand for technical assistance, capacity building at all levels, technology transfer and increased investment. FAO, with its range of expertise with the Land and Water Resources Division and in other divisions, is particularly well placed to provide the required technical assistance and synthesise experience and best practice at all levels of water management, in a consistent and comprehensive framework.
This project will contribute to the organization’s priority areas related to food insecurity and rural poverty, supply increase, resource sustainability and will contribute directly to departmental medium-term objectives of Production and supply of food and agricultural products; Efficient Market-Oriented Agriculture; Household Food Security and Agricultural Sector Opportunities for the rural poor; and Sustainable Intensification of Natural Resources.

Objectives
To promote the efficient use and conservation of agricultural water through: A/ the introduction of appropriate irrigation technologies and water management practices at farm level; B/ maximizing agricultural production and/or returns through the development of small-scale irrigation and under non-optimal irrigation conditions (supplemental irrigation, water harvesting and wetland development); C/ improving the performance of large irrigation systems; and D/ the promotion of water sector policy reform and development of institutional frameworks and economic instruments for rational water allocation and management in member countries.

Project 
Land Resources, soil fertility and plant nutrition policies, planning and management

Rationale
Natural resources, particularly land and water are increasingly restricted both in quality and quantity in most parts of the world. The FAO study Agriculture Towards 2010 indicates that the expansion of arable land will continue and is expected to contribute substantially to increased food production particularly in developing countries as a result of the needs of food for the increases in population densities. However, there is considerable variation in land resources potential and availability among regions and countries. This trend goes with the process of agricultural intensification and the rising need of irrigation in total land use. It is estimated that production intensification is expected to contribute approximately 80 per cent of the increases in crop production through increased yields and higher cropping intensities. Government decisions for viable land use, land management and fertilizer policies and strategies are vital and need to take into account the agro-ecological and socio-economic conditions specific to each context and that lead to efficient resource utilization by land users matched with market forces in place.

Within the framework of divisional and departmental goals this project proposes to address soil productivity improvement and sustainable land use through:
i) integrated plant nutrition Management and soil fertility enhancement
ii) soil management and soil and water conservation technologies
iii) policies and strategies for land use planning, management and fertilizer use

This technical project will also contribute to several FAO’s strategic goals and WFS Action Plan in assisting member countries by providing knowledge and information and promoting the application of appropriate land use and land conservation and management policies, technologies and decision support for the improvement of land productivity thus enabling intensified and diversified crop production in support of food security. It will also contribute to the implementation of international Conventions on Desertification, Biological diversity, and Climate Change as well as the Land Cluster of Agenda 21.

Objectives
1 - To develop appropriate policies, guidelines, methodologies and techniques for sustainable land use and land management , fertilizer use and integrated plant nutrition system,
2 - Promote their application by member countries, technicians and farmer groups through technical support, training and Farmers Field schools
3 - Provide assessment methods and cost benefit analysis for the adoption of selected land use and land management systems in different ago-ecological zones which enhance soil fertility, soil and crop biodiversity and carbon sequestration in the framework of international Conventions and the Land Cluster of Agenda 21.

Project 
Integrated land, water and plant nutrient management

Rationale
Within the overall objectives of conservation and sustainable use of natural resources the project addresses integrated approaches to land, water and plan nutrient management.

The components of the project are:
 - Soil and water conservation at field level;
 - Watershed-based land and water management and;
 - Productivity of water and fertilizer use.

Because of its composition and experience the Land and Water Division is particular qualified to work and synthesize knowledge in the above fields. The components have a each common interface at the level of intervention, i.e. the field, the watershed and the global perspective. Through its focus on integrated approaches the project supplements the two discipline oriented projects A1 and A2 on water use efficiency and soil fertility improvement. The project will thus ensure valuable outputs that are relevant for decision making of farmers and their resource management practices.

The proposed project components combine the analysis of constraints and articulation of guidelines for farmers’ training on soil and water conservation in rainfed areas; the development of methodologies that establish effective mechanisms that link upstream land users with downstream water beneficiaries in watersheds; and the compilation and dissemination of information on accurate water and fertilizer inputs to assess tradeoffs in water and fertilizer policy.

Objectives
1. To improve of rainfed-cropping systems’ productivity through the selection and use of more appropriate soil moisture conservation and soil fertility management in areas with restricted, irregular and distinct seasonal rainfall patterns.
2. To relate the impact of land use on water resources in rural and mountainous watersheds and to identify mechanisms that permit the balancing of costs and benefits accrued to upstream and downstream stakeholders in medium size watersheds.
3. To assess the actual and potential productivity of joint water and fertilizer use for use in sub-sector analysis, projections and planning by member states, civil society and international organizations (including FAO itself).

Project 
Waterlogging and salinity control, environmental effects of irrigation and reclamation of problem soils

Rationale
Irrigated agriculture has been described by some as unsustainable, environmentally unfriendly and a risk to health of rural population. While FAO does not agree with this assessment it can’t be denied that irrigation in some cases has caused serious environmental damage due to faulty design and/or management. Of approximately 250 million ha of irrigated lands 20 to 30 million ha are damaged by waterlogging and salinization. Reuse and safe disposal of wastewater and drainage water have been neglected in the past but are important components of comprehensive water management and have the potential to increase water resources available for agriculture and protect the quality of downstream water resources.In addition, soils with specific limitations such as clay soils, sandy soils, saline and gypsiferous soils, acid soils and peat soils, need cost effective reclamation and management to achieve their potential productivity.

Objectives
The overall objective of the project is to protect land and water resources and to increase the productivity of the agricultural lands through the control of waterlogging and salinity, safe re-use and disposal of drainage and waste-water, and reclamation and management of problem soils.

Project 
Land and Water Information Systems, Databases and Statistics

Rationale
Appropriate geo-referenced information on land and water resources potential and use is of substantial value in the analysis of economic feasibility and environmental acceptability of agricultural and rural development and food security programmes. Over the last years FAO has established geo-referenced data bases on land and water resources and use, analytical tools and land classification models. FAO is the lead agency in the development of the agro-ecological zoning (AEZ) methodology and related decision support tools which allows the analysis of land productivity, crop intensification, food production and sustainability issues. Particularly those models related to food security and population supporting capacity at global, regional, national and sub-national scale have been used to call attention to the opportunities and the limitations of available resources and constraints to food security, agricultural production and development. Water availability is one of the major constraint for food security, as recently reiterated during the World Food Summit. A better knowledge of the state of water resources and use, including irrigation, at regional level, is necessary for global, regional and national food security strategies. There is now a need to merge information on land and water and establish linkages with sectoral information and improved decision support tools into a coherent and comprehensive information system that allows access to low cost multi-scale information and multi-purpose analysis in support of decision-making. This effort should be accompanied with a monitoring of the status and utilization of land and freshwater resources worldwide, as emphasized by CSD6 and the 15^th session of COAG. The CP relates to the AG Department objective of developing and supporting the use of Integrated information systems on natural resources in Member Nations for improved efficiency of private and public sectors. It will contribute to FAO’s objective to collect, analyze and disseminate information for sustainable increases in food production and productivity.

Objectives
To provide member states and civil society with up-to-date information (and analysis) on the global status of land and water resources, water development and land and fertilizer use and availability; to assist member states in setting up national information systems and enhancing their capacity to use such systems in monitoring land and water resources.

Project
Knowledge Management and Partnership Services

Rationale
A key role of AGL is act as a service and reference centre on important land, water and plant nutrition issues to guide effective planning and sound management of land and water resources in agriculture and application of fertilizers. To achieve this objective, international, regional and national institutions and agencies dealing with the agricultural sector, food production and food security need to have access to FAO’s knowledge base to obtain sound and timely advice and reliable synthetized information on all aspects of land, water and plant nutrient management including resources availability; best practices in soil conservation and management; water management, development and irrigation technology and plant nutrient management. The CP will also provcide the resources that are required to respond to ad hoc requests from UN agencies, international bodies and partners.

AGL needs to maintain the capacity to continue to function effectively as a reference and information centre on land and water. AGL has, over the years, been accumulating and is continuing to build up vast quantities of knowledge and experience in land and water issues which are unique both in terms of global coverage and the wide range of its technical in-house expertise. However this knowledge base must be made more accessible and system of continuous update and electronic dissemination of information must be established. AGL needs to maintain the crucial service of its Documentation Centre, the guardian of one of the largest map collections world wide, to respond to the increasing number of individual requests for information, documentation and consultation of maps and documents on many questions related to land and water.

At the time of the information revolution and rapid changes in the state of knowledge on land and water issues FAO management must provide time and resources to technical staff to continuously keep abreast of new technologies and developments in the land and water area in order to effectively serve Member Nations and the international community.

Implementation of a comprehensive information system will require close cooperation with partners outside of FAO. These services are not covered by the projects, which aim at specific outputs, but provide the capacity to respond to ad-hoc requests and information needs of member nations and institutions.

This CP relates to the AG departmental goal of promoting and providing information to enhance knowledge for improved decisions on natural resources management so as to enhance the base of natural resources for agricultural production and achieve sustainable intensification of production systems in member countries. It will contribute to the FAO Service goal of being a centre of excellence and reference centre on all issues related to agricultural production and sustainable resource management.

Objectives
The key element of this CP is for AGL to be a reference centre and to maintain an information system on major aspects of land, plant nutrients and water resources management and use in relation to food security and environmental conservation.

Project
Advice to Member Countries and Support to Field programme, SPFS and Emergency and Relieve Operations

Rationale
In addition to its function as a normative body FAO is also an agency that provides technical services to member countries and their institutions. The demand for these services is increasing particular in the field of water and soil fertility management. Adequate statt time must be set aside to respond to these requests while it is assumed that most of the non-staff costs will be covered from project funds.

Objectives
To provide timely and high quality technical services to member countries and their institutions

Project
International Programme for Technology and Research in Irrigation and Drainage (IPTRID)

Rationale
Water in general and irrigation and drainage in particular, play a dominant role in increasing food production and meeting the goal of food security. However, the impending water crisis and acute competition among water use sectors are serious factors to be considered in promoting irrigation and drainage as means to increasing food production. Agriculture should be able to use less water and produce more. In this context, among others, the role of research and technology innovation, adaptation, and transfer in irrigation and drainage is critical. IPTRID’s mandate is to enhance the standard of irrigation and drainage research and technology development in and by developing countries in order to increase the production of food and agricultural commodities. It contributes to enhancing food security and assist in eliminating poverty. The objective of IPTRID is clearly related to the Departmental and corporate Medium-Term objectives of the Organization and the programme is designed to meet the needs of the Member countries. It enjoys extrabudgetary support from World Bank, UNDP and bilateral donors.

IPTRID is a program that is built on the capacities and inputs of six outstanding international institutions in the field of water development and irrigation. The secretariat function and program management are assured by FAO.

Objectives
The objective of the TS is to to enhance the standard of irrigation and drainage research and technology development in and by developing countries in order to increase the production of food and agricultural commodities. The benefits to Member nations in general and irrigation and drainage research and technology institutions in particular and ultimately to the farming community at large are:

• identification and formulation of R&D needs, strategies and programmes in up to 5 countries ;
• facilitating funding for selected/identified R&D needs/programmes in up to 8 countries;
• assisting in the monitoring and evaluation of R&D programmes in up to 10 countries;
• providing for information sharing, research results and technological developments through networking in 20 countries and four regions;
• promoting the application of research findings through synthesis of research results, advocacy papers, workshops and seminars ;
• strengthening national capacity in applied research and technology development and adoption through thematic networks, workshops to senior research managers and training courses to practising engineers and technicians
• serving as a task manager / secretariat of internationally financed programs.