Ensuring Inclusive Digital Innovations in Agricultural Water Management: Workshop on Water Use Tool (WUT) and IREY Mobile Application in Tunisia

On 19 and 20 November 2024, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) hosted a workshop on promoting gender-inclusive digital innovations in agricultural water management.

The workshop focused on two key tools: the Water Use Tool (WUT) and the IREY mobile application, which uses WaPOR data to monitor water and land productivity. The WUT is designed to help the Ministry of Agriculture monitor water allocation in irrigation schemes in Jandouba, while the IREY application enhances irrigation management for wheat crops in Tunisia.

The event, held at the Tej Soltan Hotel in Hammamet, brought together 30 participants from various departments of the Ministry of Agriculture, including the Water Allocation Office (BPEH), the General Directorate of Water Resources (DGRE), the General Directorate of Rural Engineering and Water Exploitation (DGGREE), the General Directorate of Agricultural Production (DGPA), the Regional Commissariat for Agricultural Development of Kairouan and Jendouba, the Forest Directorate (DGF), the General Directorate of Agricultural Land Planning and Conservation (DGACTA), and the National Institute of Field Crops (INGC), along with local farmers.

The workshop aimed to foster an inclusive process for designing gender-responsive and socially inclusive tools, and to equip WaPOR project partners and stakeholders with a collaborative approach to designing such tools, tailored to their specific operational contexts, using the GenderUp framework and the Multi-dimensional Inclusivity Index.

Through interactive discussions over the two-day event, participants were guided in identifying gender and social inclusion challenges, as well as pathways for developing and implementing tools that are both gender-responsive and socially inclusive.