Stockholm Water Prize Laureate’s speech challenges water professionals to abandon “business as usual” approaches to water management
[/box2](Stockholm, 27 August) Addressing a packed opening plenary session at the World Water Week in Stockholm, Sweden, Dr Colin Chartres argued that the “paradox” of feeding up to two billion more people with limited resources in an era of rapid economic growth and climate change, was immense challenge.
Population growth, dietary change and poverty and malnutrition will be key drivers of change with respect to agriculture. Even without factoring in climate change, the outlook was “pessimistic”, he added.
Presenting new projections, Dr Chartres showed that, even under an optimistic scenario where global population growth stabilises and agricultural demand remains more or less constant thanks to better water management, growth in industrial and domestic demand will still mean that less water will be available for agriculture in the coming decades. Climate change can only exacerbate this situation.
But change is possible. Immense gains could be made by improving irrigation efficiency and water productivity and by building resilience through increased water storage. Recycling and reuse of wastewater and sewerage also has huge potential. But water reform, in policy, governance, institutions and regulation is urgently needed.
Other approaches such as reducing food waste and enhancing supply chains for the benefit of farmers, consumers and environment will be vital, he added. The importance of ecosystem services to agriculture also needs greater recognition.
Summing up, Dr Chartres said that food and water security issues are still daunting in the developing world and that “business as usual” paradigms would have to be rethought. Sustainable intensification of agriculture is the way forward, but will require significant investment in research and development, capacity building, and land and water policy reform. If we combine these approaches with reduction of food waste, he concluded, we can feed two billion more people without significantly increasing agriculture’s footprint.
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