1. Theme 2
Interactions between Water
Management, Food Security and
Employment:
Summary of Important Points

2. A) Context
• 870 million people of which 200 million
children are food insecure
• Most of these live in dry areas
• 34 countries are below the water
poverty line
• Irrigation key driver for improving food
security in dry areas – as less than
20% of cropland is irrigated

3. …Context cont’d
• The main challenge: How to ensure reliable
and increasing quantity and variety of food
supplies to meet the demands of growing
populations in different agro-ecologies in
the face of continuous reduction of rain
water and depleting ground water in an
environment friendly manner at reasonable
and affordable prices for consumers while
making agricultural production an attractive
business which enhances employment and
food security.

4. B) Premises
• No food security without water security
• Information is power and hence creating
access to information is one way of
empowerment.
• Governments are interested and have clear
conviction for ensuring water and food
security
• Agricultural development creates demand for
outputs of the manufacturing sector and also
triggers various types of services which have
multiplier effects on GDP and employment.

5. C) Lessons learned/key messages
• A need for integrated approach for
policy, technology, institutions, research
and extension
• Investment in agricultural research alone
does not lead to the desired outcomes but
investment in agricultural research along
with investment in gender sensitive
education, irrigation infrastructure, drinking
water and sanitation, rural road and health
infrastructure, … is what leads to the
highest returns.

6. …Lessons learned/key messages
• Investment alone is not sufficient: policies,
Institutions and incentives at different levels (plot,
community, national and international) also matter
a lot for success
• At the plot level – on farm management (for
more efficient water use)
• At community level – small dam and water
shed management
• At national level – Management of canal
irrigation and reservoirs
• At international level – management of trans-
boundary rivers

7. …Lessons learned/key messages
• Defining property rights and
coordination between the institutions is
very important
• Building capacity along the whole
value chain is vital
• Traditional information and knowledge
is not sufficient. Site specific and
decentralized information is necessary.

8. …Lessons learned/key messages
• ICTs (mobile phones, internet, social media,
etc.) have the potential in filling the missing
links (or strengthening the weak links) and
enhancing:
• efficiency in information flow between farmers-
extension and the research
• involvement of the private sector in providing
services to small holder farmers (including
satellite coverage and mobile telephone
services, crop insurance, financial services,
input supply and output markets)

9. …Lessons learned/key messages
• Information symmetry which can also
translate in to equitable benefit sharing
• Better risk management, early warning
and advisory services for safety-nets to
prevent disaster
• The interest of the youth to get involved in
the agriculture value chain
• Inclusive benefits to all gender groups,
education levels

10. …Lessons learned/key messages
• For effective policy making, there is a need for creating
mechanisms for consistent collection, easy access and
useful and relevant analysis of data at various levels
• Site specific data and info necessary to up/out scale
localized success stories
• Irrigation has potential for creating agricultural employment
through increased labor demand by high value crops as well
as increased productivity
• Market participation is not an option but a necessity.
Therefore, there is a need for change in views from food
self-sufficiency to value maximization and active
participation in international trade if water and food security
is to be achieved.

11. …Lessons learned/key messages
• Given the tradeoffs, adequately addressing the issues of
water and food security requires integration (across
sectors and across different levels and scales of water
use) as well as south-to-south cooperation.
• Valuation of water and increasing the efficiency of the
value chain would create incentives for effective
agricultural water management for increased water use
efficiency and productivity increases.
• Increasing water use efficiency cannot be achieved unless
we adopt the demand driven approach with effective
extension that enhances the adoption of improved
technologies and market information system that promotes
commercialization.

12. …Lessons learned/key messages
• When talking about the importance of sustainable water
management and agricultural development, we need to
emphasize on the services that agricultural development
triggers and the multiplier effect on GDP and employment.
• Competing demands could also make it necessary for
governments to reduce the water allocation for irrigation.
This calls for higher investment in research to identify
mechanisms for increasing farm-level water use efficiency
(including farmer education, alternative
technologies, introduction of water tariffs based on marginal
products and strategic shift to high value crops and
changes in food habits) and for increasing the efficiency of
water distribution systems as well as utilization of treated
waste water.

13. D) Actionable Recommendations
• Adopt value chain approach to the issue of water and food
security
• Make/treat smallholder agriculture as a business that
attracts investments and services
• Promote diversification of livelihoods within and without the
agriculture sector.
• Invest in creating effective, dynamic and responsive
institutions (including extension) that ensure delivery of
quality services to all stakeholders.
• Governments and donors should invest on building an
innovative and effective extension system
• Governments and donors should identify successful models
and invest in scaling them up/out.

14. …Actionable Recommendations
• Adopt value chain approach to the issue of water and food
security
• Make/treat smallholder agriculture as a business that
attracts investments and services
• Promote diversification of livelihoods within and without the
agriculture sector.
• Invest in creating effective, dynamic and responsive
institutions (including extension) that ensure delivery of
quality services to all stakeholders.
• Governments and donors should invest on building an
innovative and effective extension system
• Governments and donors should identify successful models
and invest in scaling them up/out.

15. …Actionable Recommendations
• Introduce a policy and develop an effective strategy for
valuation of water.
• Establish local, regional and national networks for weather
monitoring
• Promote ICTs and invest in establishing dynamic and
comprehensive data bases
• Adopt community-based watershed management and
participatory water resource development approaches
which ensure benefit sharing across all levels
• Farmers are willing to pay for good service. Hence, invest
to improve the service delivery and promote demand driven
approaches.

16. …Actionable Recommendations
• Invest on research that helps bridge the knowledge
gap in innovations that increase the efficacy of the
extension system, employment as well as for
capacity building.
• Invest in rainfed agriculture as there is high
potential in these regions.
• Increase investment not only in irrigation but also
in drinking water supply, sanitation, energy, roads,
health and education.
• Investment alone is not sufficient, improved
institution and incentives are necessary
• Restructure subsidies that hurt water and food
security

17. …Actionable Recommendations
• Adopt a systems approach and a long term
strategy that provide the framework for an
integrated water resources development and
management
• Invest in the development of a new legal and
innovative institutional framework to promote
decentralized decision making and management
and increased stakeholder participation.
• Give special attention in water and food security
strategies to dry areas where the majority of food
insecure populations live.

18. THANK YOU