Water has been in the news in Tamil Nadu, from devastating floods in 2015 to a severe drought because of weak northeast monsoons in 2016. In view of the severity of the event, the Tamil Nadu government has declared all of its 32 districts as drought-affected and reported increasing agrarian stress.
As the cycle of floods and droughts continues with adverse impacts on the economy of the affected region, much can be done to soften the blow if it is detected in advance. Innovative tools such as the South Asia Drought Monitoring System (SADMS), which takes advantage of recent advances in remote sensing, could help provide an early warning. Developed by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), the SADMS is a comprehensive drought monitoring system to provide information in easy-to-understand maps, which pinpoint locations under stress and provide regional to district scale information about drought’s effect on agriculture.
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