Capability Statements

International Water Management Institute (IWMI)

Who we are and what we do

Who we are

Download IWMI's Capability Statement
Download IWMI’s Capability Statement

The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) is a non-profit, scientific research organization focusing on the sustainable use of water and land resources in developing countries.

We are a:

  • think tank driving innovative research and ideas for solutions;
  • provider of science-based products and tools; and
  • facilitator of learning, strengthening capacity and achieving uptake of research findings.

Our vision is ‘A water-secure world’.

IWMI is headquartered in Colombo, Sri Lanka, with regional offices across Asia and Africa. We work in partnership with governments, national and international organizations, civil society and the private sector to develop scalable water and land management solutions that have an impact on poverty reduction, food security and ecosystem health.

Download Capability Statements

Solutions for Improved Water Management in West Africa’s Smallholder Agriculture

Solutions for Improved Water Management in West Africa’s Smallholder Agriculture
Solutions for Improved Water Management in West Africa’s Smallholder Agriculture

Agriculture is the backbone of the economy in West Africa, employing 60% of its labor force and contributing 35% of its GDP.1 The sector currently
consumes close to 80% of the region’s water resources, a situation that cannot be sustained in future. Population pressure, coupled with economic growth and rising energy consumption, will boost demand for water, intensifying competition between industrial, domestic and agricultural uses.

Helping farmers improve their water management is critical, if they are to succeed in feeding more people with less water and cope with climate change impacts. Most of West Africa’s farmers are smallholders, and their production depends primarily on rainfall.


Solar-powered irrigation

R4D Capabilities - Solar-powered irrigation
R4D Capabilities – Solar-powered irrigation

Solar power is poised to revolutionize water use in agriculture, providing an attractive means for farmers to irrigate their crops. The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) has demonstrated the potential to add value through a variety of applications, drawing on its multidisciplinary expertise and wealth of experience in research for development.

Given the highly variable cost of fossil fuels, solar panels today offer farmers a cheap and renewable source of power for pumping water, whether from ground or surface water bodies. While larger pumps make it possible for service providers to deliver irrigation to others, smaller units create the potential for
smallholders in rainfed agriculture to provide supplementary irrigation, thus boosting productivity and enhancing resilience.

What we do

  • provide an insight into water and land management from field to basin scales;
  • analyze biophysical and socioeconomic processes;
  • assess trade-offs of alternative development scenarios, taking a nexus perspective;
  • incorporate ecosystem approaches into agricultural systems;
  • assess performance and identify solutions for agricultural water management – large- and small-scale;
  • improve resilience to climate shocks – provide flood and drought analysis for planning and response, and analysis of big data in real time;
  • identify groundwater solutions – reducing overuse and recharging for resilience; and
  • promote recovery and the safe reuse of organic waste and wastewater in agriculture.

 

Past performance

  • Winner of the 2012 Stockholm Water Prize.
  • Winner of the 2011 Crystal Drop Award.
  • Published the widely cited book, Water for Food, Water for Life: A Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture, in 2007, which remains one of the standard texts in the field.

 

Differentiators

  • Cross-disciplinary approach.
  • Knowledge sharing: Commitment to open access of publications and data. All outputs are treated as international public goods.
  • Undertake research for development with a commitment to fostering impact at multiple scales.
  • Wide-ranging country and regional expertise across Asia and Africa.
  • Extensive partnerships and networks from research to development practitioners.
  • Incorporating gender as a core research theme.

 

Institutional data

  • Founded in 1985.
  • Over 150 researchers in 13 country offices.
  • Projects in over 30 countries.
  • Annual turnover: USD 47 million.

 

Affiliations

IWMI is:

  • a member of CGIAR, a global research partnership for a food-secure future;
  • a partner with the United Nations and other international organizations on policy formulation, guidelines, other knowledge products, and specific programs and projects;
  • an institutional partner of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands;
  • an institutional partner of the World Water Council;
  • host partner of three regional offices of the Global Water Partnership (GWP); and
  • lead center of the CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE).

 

Contact details

Head office: 127 Sunil Mawatha, Pelawatte, Battaramulla, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Tel: +94 (0) 11 288 0000
Fax: +94 (0) 11 278 6854
E-mail: iwmi@cgiar.org
Website: www.iwmi.org