Theme GP addresses a spectrum of development challenges under two sub-thematic areas: Governance and political economy, dealing with complex institutional environments, policy processes and a number of embedded rights and power issues; and Gender and Poverty, dealing with the often difficult interface between social change including rural transformation, empowerment, livelihood security and inclusive growth.
The map below plots where we are working now and have been in the recent past. Our geographical spread incorporates work with a range of local and national partners, including academic institutions, government ministries and regional and non-governmental organizations.
Our vision is to achieve water security that supports gender equality and poverty reduction, and our goal is to achieve this through research that influences policy, supports the identification of solutions to development challenges and brings a range of social, economic and ecosystem benefits to communities living within shared landscapes.
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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