This report investigates best practices in food sustainability across the world. It uses the three pillars—sustainable agriculture, nutritional challenges, and food loss and waste—of the Food Sustainability Index (FSI) as a framework. Now in its third iteration, the FSI has been extended to 67 countries in 2018.
Changes to farming systems do not always come without trade-offs. For example, solar power can transform livelihoods for smallholder farmers by providing free electricity, which enables them to tap into groundwater for irrigation. “There’s been a huge expansion in solar irrigation, especially in India,” says Sri Lanka-based Soumya Balasubramanya, senior researcher in environmental and development economics at the International Water Management Institute. “But there’s a trade-off. In the longer term, you’re going to have a problem of groundwater depletion.”
Read the full paper on http://foodsustainability.eiu.com/
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