The Hyderabad Declaration on Wastewater Use in Agriculture was adopted by the 47 participants of an IWMI/IDRC sponsored workshop on “Wastewater Use in Irrigated Agriculture: Confronting the Livelihood and Environmental Realities”, in November 2002, Hyderabad, India. Its key message urges the international community to:
Safeguard and strengthen livelihoods and food security, mitigate health and environmental risks and conserve water resources by confronting the realities of wastewater use in agriculture through the adoption of appropriate policies and the commitment of financial resources for policy implementation.
The Declaration has subsequently been translated into Spanish, French and Arabic and widely disseminated through electronic and print media. Its underlying principles, and IWMI’s related research, are beginning to influence several key public health guidelines. The newly issued USEPA/USAID 2004 Guidelines for Water Reuse references the Declaration and includes, as a case study, IWMI’s research on wastewater irrigation in India and Pakistan. Other important collaborative outcomes include the joint organization of a session at the 3rd World Water Forum on Wastewater Reuse by USAID, USEPA, WHO and IWMI; and a joint IWMI/IDRC book“Wastewater Use in Irrigated Agriculture” published in 2004, with contributions from WHO, USAID, IWMI and others. We believe these changes at policy level represent significant steps towards improving the lives and livelihoods of farming communities in the developing world by promoting progressively safer use of a water and nutrient resource.
Source: USEPA/USAID 2004 Guidelines for Water Reuse (2004 Guidelines for Water Reuse, EPA 625/R-04/108)
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