In early 2018, people around the world prayed for rain in South Africa. Outside Cape Town, the city’s reservoirs were down to 26 percent capacity. Inside the city, officials begged people to use just 13 gallons of water a day – just 20 percent of what the average American uses daily. Cape Town’s government said it would have to shut off drinking water to homes across the city. The police worried about riots.
By April, it became clear the city would just avoid reaching “Day Zero,” the date when Cape Town was forecast to run out of water. The world breathed a cautious sigh of relief. Cape Town’s predicament received a lot of attention as people across the globe grappled with the idea that a major city could run out of water — and wondered whether they could be next. Experts say Africa’s four largest cities — Cairo, Kinshasa, Lagos and Johannesburg — could all see their water supplies similarly strained soon, as could Karachi, Lahore, Mumbai and Kathmandu in Asia. Delhi is already struggling, and wealthier cities like Beijing and even Los Angeles will also face long-term supply problems if global warming continues to reduce rainfall in their traditional water supply areas.
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