Keynote presentation at the International Forum on Water and Food (IFWF), South Africa, 14-17 November 2011.

1. LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
YOUNG PROFESSIONALS AND THE FUTURE
OF WATER AND AGRICULTURE
KEYNOTE PRESENTATION
3rd IFWF
Tshwane, South Africa
Nov. 14-17

2. YPs Contribution to the CPWF
 Farmers - open to
interacting with YPs
 YPs open minded to new
approaches & technologies
 Not technophobic
 YPs have potential to be
role models for younger
generations
 YPs for instrumentation
 data collection for
modelling(reliability of
results)

3. Challenges in R4D
 Farming and Land
 Water and Food
 Gender
 Climate
 Organisation
 Resource
Constraints

4. Challenges in R4D … Farming
 The face of a farmer
 Age
 Gender
 Culture
 Religion
 Access to resources
 Impairment
 Education

5. Challenges in R4D … Water &
Food
 Transboundary WM issues in certain CPWF
Basins need to be addressed with regards to
water scarcity and conflict over water,
 Utilisation of virtual water to ensure better
food and feed production
Photo: Courtesy Manuel Magombeyi

6. Challenges in R4D … Gender
 Gender is not widely understood as an issue
 Gender stereotypes – roles & expectations
 Tools & AWM – gender issues
Conventional ploughing
Vegetables in planting basins

7. Challenges in R4D … Climate
 Long term adaptation measures “difficult” for farmers to
buy into
 Resilience (adapt, mitigate)
© newstimeafrica

8. Challenges in R4D …
Institutional
 Are we working
with the right role
players to make an
impact?
 Conceptualising
research and
packaging
information for
impact

9. Challenges in R4D … Resource
Constraints
 Resource
constraints real
Fieldwork
Efficiency
Multiplying
effects in use
 Packaging &
dissemination

10. Innovative Solutions??
 Awareness on gender and climate change
 Incorporate climate change as an integral part of
all RIs
 Internal policies and strategies to address
gender issues
 Tools that identify stakeholders & water
resources - online
 CPWF - advocacy on policy and practice on WM
local (basin) and international scales
 Set up inter-basin communication strategy
 Marshall resources for sustainability

11. Things to keep in mind (paradigm
shift)
 Gender & Technologies
 For a viable future, young people need
support to get access/ownership of land
 Protocols to keep in place checks and
balances
 Research outputs - familiar language
(farmers and policy-makers)
 Non-farm based livelihood actions must be
encouraged