Away from Nepal, in other water-impoverished megacities, authorities have proved that seemingly intractable shortages can be addressed, or at least somewhat allayed, while reining in private tankers. From Delhi, which is rehabilitating up to 500 lakes and wetlands in order to boost groundwater recharge, to large parts of urban sub-Saharan Africa, where public standpipe access has expanded, a number of cities are at least trying to cut back on informal water provision. “I think optimism at this point would just make us complacent, but not everything is lost,” said Aditi Mukherji, a senior researcher at the International Water Management Institute in New Delhi. “We have solutions, even if none of them are easy.”
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