Message from the Project Leader                                                    Asian countries have made massive investments in the development of agricultural water resources over the past four decades. The water induced agricultural growth has made tremendous contribution to increasing aggregate food grain production. For example, cereal production in the region has more than doubled to nearly 800 million tonnes between 1970 and 2000. Most countries in the region achieved to a large extent their initial objective of attaining self-sufficiency in food grains. While growth in aggregate production and national level self-sufficiency in food grains have impressively contributed to reducing hunger and abject food poverty, overall outcomes in terms of distribution of benefits of growth and income-poverty reduction have been mixed. There is still mass scale poverty prevailing in most irrigation systems, particularly those in South Asia. For example, the incidence of income poverty in irrigation systems in the upper Indus basin in Pakistan is as high as 40 to 65 percent. In general, South Asian countries have only partially benefited from past investments in water sector compared to, for example, Southeast Asian countries and China. If we are to achieve the UN Millennium Development Goal of halving the number of poor people who exist on less than US$1 per day, we must have a pro-poor focus in our management of land and water resources. The objective of poverty reduction must also drive the process of policy formulation, institutional development and irrigation reform, and not be a byproduct of them. This study carried out in six Asian countries documents the successes and failures of past land and irrigation development strategies. The study showed that land and irrigation interventions will not deliver the desired poverty reducing outcomes unless fundamental inequities relating to their distribution are addressed. As a whole, South Asia has much to learn from experiences in China and Vietnam, where resource distribution is relatively more equitable and productivity of irrigated agriculture is higher. It is our hope that the outcomes of this study will serve to draw out lessons for policy makers, donor agencies and researchers, giving them a better understanding of how irrigation  investments can work for the poor in the future. This is only the beginning. Much more action research on the proposed strategies and interventions is needed if we are to delve deeper into solving the problem of poverty. Monitoring and evaluation of pro-poor interventions are needed if the recommendations of this study are implemented. More effort should be put into learning from experiences of land and irrigation reform in other countries. South Asia, where reforms have not yet taken root, needs to learn not only from experiences of countries like China but also through more effective action research. Further, unless investments in infrastructure, institutions and technology are given a a sharper pro-poor focus, the poor are likely to be bypassed again. Dr. Intizar Hussain

and recommendations of a study on poverty in irrigated agricultural systems in Asia. The research was carried out by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and partners in six countries. The study covered selected irrigation systems in Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan and Vietnam. These countries account for over 51 percent of the global net irrigated area and except for China, significant portions of their population suffer from poverty. The root causes of poverty, the different types of poverty and specific country contexts were examined by researchers working with primary data collected from 5,408 farm households. The study, unique in its magnitude and scope, revealed that lessons learned from Southeast Asia and China, in particular, have much to offer for pro-poor interventions in regions like South Asia where poverty levels are higher. This project was funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Participants at the workshop also discussed another study on the impact of irrigation on poverty in Sri Lanka and Pakistan, funded by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).The Honorable Finance Minister of Sri Lasnka, Dr. Sarath Amunugama, was the Chief Guest at this event.