Interview with IWMI Director General, Colin Chartres on AlertNet.
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A farmer waters vegetable seedlings in his garden in Pateros, Metro Manila, on April 30, 2012. REUTERS/Erik De Castro[/box2]
A farmer waters vegetable seedlings in his garden in Pateros, Metro Manila, on April 30, 2012. REUTERS/Erik De Castro[/box2]
Reuters AlertNet’s special report on water issues includes video, commentary, useful infographics and dozens of feature articles.
Readers can post comments to join in the debate.
- IWMI former director general Colin Chartres is interviewed on how technology can respond to increased water demand from the growing global urban population.
- Top ten water trailblazers includes Ma Tshepo Khumbane, a partner of IWMI in South Africa
- Mapping Africa’s groundwater: translating information into action
[box2 title=”” bgcolor=”#ffffff” textcolor=”#006bb3″]Features covered by AlertNet
More stories on IWMI at AlertNet
More stories on IWMI at AlertNet
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Source: http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org
Population pressure and increasing water competition in a changing climate require us to take stock of the availability and use of water across scales. Water availability not only influences farmers’ commercial prospects but also irrigation-related enterprises and agri-businesses. Greater water scarcity could jeopardize irrigation and agricultural markets while excessive water use can lead to declining ecosystems, water quality and soil health. IWMI advises development partners and the public and private sectors on all aspects of water resource availability and use through a variety of advanced modeling and remote-sensing products and tools, including 
The ability of farmers to engage in or expand irrigation depends on the prevailing socioeconomic, ecological and political contexts, which are often complex, non-linear and changeable. Overcoming systemic barriers to farmer-led irrigation development while taking advantage of existing opportunities 
A lack of affordable credit, particularly for women and resource-poor farmers, is one of the main barriers to expanding farmer-led irrigation in low- and middle-income countries. But 
Scaling farmer-led irrigation requires strengthening human capacity and knowledge exchange among all actors and stakeholders involved. IWMI takes an action research approach, working with national and international research institutions, governments, extension agents and public and private organizations to co-develop the scaling ecosystem and strengthen capacity to drive scaling networks and collective action. We support the