FAO Colombia organizes training on WaPOR: Strengthening capacities to improve water productivity in agriculture
Santa Marta hosted the second regional training on the WaPOR platform, a public-access database developed by FAO that allows the monitoring of water productivity using satellite data.
On June 11 and 12, 2025, the University of Magdalena hosted a training session on the use of the WaPOR platform (WAter Productivity through Open-access of Remotely sensed derived data), developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in partnership with the Institute for Water Education (IHE-Delft, Netherlands) and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI). This session contributed to the capacity development component of FAO's ScaleWat project, which promotes integrated and sustainable water resource management in Colombia.
Colombia became the first country in Latin America to organize WaPOR trainings, with the aim of facilitating the use of satellite information to assess water productivity in both irrigated and rainfed crops. The platform provides access to data at three levels: global (300 meters per pixel), national (100 meters), and subnational (20 meters), making it a valuable tool for agricultural and environmental planning.
The tool is already being used in the four main irrigation districts of the Department of Magdalena, benefiting banana and plantain producers in particular. In coordination with the Banana Growers’ Association of Magdalena and La Guajira (ASBAMA), farm-level analyses have been developed, as well as analyses of water management decision-making processes for producers and other local stakeholders.
Over 20 participants took part in the training, including representatives from the Ministry of Environment, the University of Magdalena, ScaleWat project partners, and members of the Water Stewardship Platform. Thanks to the hands-on "learning by doing" approach, participants completed applied exercises using real WaPOR data, including farm, basin and agro-environmental variable analyses through tools like QGIS, Python and Google Colab.
"This is a tool with great potential. It provides access to data that would otherwise require high costs, advanced technical knowledge, or long processing times. Now it’s available online, easily and free of charge," highlighted Jorge Gutiérrez, WaPOR project coordinator in Colombia, who led the activity.
A new 20-meter resolution analysis area in northern Valle del Cauca will soon be available, expanding the opportunities for using WaPOR in Colombia across other productive sectors.
FAO's ScaleWat project, active in the Frío and Sevilla river basins, will continue to strengthen water governance through participatory processes and knowledge generation.