This month marks World Environment Day and the Stockholm EAT Food Forum, as we search for solutions on how to better manage our food systems and natural resources. Some of the best solutions will involve science, government, and business working together through cutting edge business models.
The lowlands of Afar, Ethiopia are characterized by alternating floods and droughts, making agricultural production difficult and putting local communities at risk. A deceptively simple solution is turning arid plains into green croplands.
What can we do to ensure small-scale irrigation technologies benefit women farmers? A new toolkit provides guidance for policymakers and project managers involved in irrigation projects to include women. The toolkit draws on findings from IFPRI's gender and irrigation research under REACH and the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Small-Scale Irrigation.
Using water productively for agriculture is key, especially in the arid parts of our world. A new study shows that combining water and land interventions is the best way forward.
Small-scale irrigation has been lauded as key to building climate resilience by changing Zimbabwean governments, yet it has often failed in the past. Now, new and easy-to-use tools and recently introduced opportunities to experiment and solve problems in collaboration with others allow farmers to become more efficient and their farms more profitable.
Soil is a vital part of the natural environment. It supports the growth of plants, is a habitat for many different organisms and is at the heart of nearly all agricultural production. It also plays an integral role in countless other ecosystem services like water and climate regulation.
Land use planning is seen in many circles as a technical and neutral approach to dividing up land. The reality is quite different, with a great deal of competition and politics coming into play.
Private and public sector players met at FAO in Rome to discuss the many facets of solar technology use for irrigation and other uses on small and medium scale farms, including financing, application, and innovations.
As small-scale irrigation becomes a viable option for improving farmers' resilience to climate shocks in Africa and Asia, decisions about access and use are made at the household level. How can equal governance of these water resources be ensured?
Can innovative policies and regulations reverse the trend of groundwater depletion? A three-year USAID-funded project implemented by IWMI, WLE and national partners across the Middle East-North Africa region investigated just that. Highlighted here are five problems that prevent the MENA region from properly addressing groundwater issues, as well as some potential solutions.