How should natural resource managers balance the requirements of farmers, domestic and industrial energy consumers, and water users?
This challenge is usually referred to as the Water-Energy-Food nexus.
In its simplest form, the nexus approach merely advocates a more holistic natural resource management. However, such an all-encompassing methodology is fraught with complexity. Hard trade-offs need to be made.
Traditionally, resources like water and energy have been managed in isolation. Utilities like water and power have almost always been run as separate entities, reinforcing the notion that they are unconnected. The interests of academics, government officials and management professionals rarely bridged the energy and agricultural sectors.
However, it has become increasingly clear that water, energy and food supply cannot be effectively and sustainably managed unless the complex relationship between them is fully recognized. They are intimately intertwined and the availability of one invariably affects the availability of the others. Farming and energy, for instance, are closely connected. Food requires solar energy to grow. Power is needed to pump irrigation water. Oil is used to produce fertilizer. New biofuel crops consume water, and require land, but can be used to generate energy.
The situation is both multifaceted and diverse. Each geographic region will exhibit differing relationships between the three entities depending on local resources, political priorities and infrastructure development.
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