This idea isn’t completely new. Balancing inflow with outflow — or mass balance — is a routine part of planning large-scale water projects like building a dam or delivering drinking water to a city. Applying that concept to local groundwater is also not without precedent. Tushaar Shah, a senior fellow at the International Water Management Institute, a non-profit devoted to researching sustainable use of water in developing countries, traces the idea to American experiments in the 1980s and 1990s, especially in Kansas where local institutions brought groundwater users together to manage demand through water permits. Mexico has also tried community management of local aquifers. And in India, more than a decade ago, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations funded a project in the state of Andhra Pradesh to introduce water monitoring and budgeting.
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