This document summarizes key messages from the report "Revitalizing Asia's Irrigation" published by IWMI and FAO. It discusses: 1) Irrigation is important for Asia's agriculture, but systems built in the past need to be adapted for future needs. 2) Asia still needs to invest in irrigation to feed its growing population and improve livelihoods, but must do so sustainably within natural resource limits. 3) Future scenarios point to the need for more irrigation investment, but also improving water and land productivity through reforms outside of water management alone.

1. Aditi Mukherji (IWMI) Key messages from Revitalizing Asia’s Irrigation Presented at 60 th IEC Meeting and 5 th Asian Regional Conference of the ICID 9 th December, 2009 New Delhi

4. Water use, poverty and irrigation in Asia Source: Mukherji, A et al. Revitalizing Asia’s irrigation: to sustainably meet tomorrow’s food needs. 2009

6. Rising irrigation, falling food prices & poverty But is irrigation expansion like1960s & 1970s possible, or even desirable? Population will increase, Climate change is imminent Do we have enough water?

8. Source: Mukherji, A et al. Revitalizing Asia’s irrigation: to sustainably meet tomorrow’s food needs. 2009

11. Scenarios in South Asia Source: de Fraiture, C. Scenarios on Water and Food in Asia. 2009. Forthcoming Crop evapotranspiration and irrigation withdrawals Cubic kilometers Harvested area Millions of hectares

12. Scenarios in East Asia Harvested area Millions of hectares Source: de Fraiture, C. Scenarios on Water and Food in Asia. 2009. Forthcoming Crop evapotranspiration and irrigation withdrawals Cubic kilometers

15. Rise of the atomistic irrigation in South Asia.. This calls for entirely different paradigm of water management Contours of irrigation is fast changing Source: Shah, Tushaar. Taming the anarchy: groundwater governance in South Asia. 2009 Net irrigated area under surface irrigation (000’ha) Net irrigated area served by groundwater (000’ ha) 1993-4 2000-1 % change 1993-4 2000-1 % change Andhra Pradesh 2523 2269 -10.1 1678 1829 +9 Bihar & Jharkhand 1762 986.8 -44.0 2029 2111.5 +40.7 MP & Chattisgarh 2140 1279.1 -40.2 1535 2300.9 +49.9 Punjab 1283.4 1168.7 -8.9 2622 2438 -7.1 Rajasthan 1815 1439 -20.7 2702 3450 +27.7 UP & Uttaranchal 3837 2106.6 -45.1 5630 8493 + 50.8 Pakistan Punjab 4240 3740 -11.8 8760 10340 +18 Sind 2300 1960 -14.8 140 200 +42.9 Bangladesh 537 480 -10.7 2124 3462 +63 All areas 22709 17215 -24.2 28437 35762 +25.8

16. PIM/IMT will be difficult to sustain because surface irrigation as a technology of water mobilization and application is being crowded out by atomistic irrigation. Strategy? Reinvent surface systems to support atomistic irrigation Source: Shah, Tushaar. Taming the anarchy: groundwater governance in South Asia . 2009 Socio-technical Preconditions that support Surface Irrigation 1. Nature of the state 1.1 Local authority structures : 1.2 State interest in irrigation: 1.3 Ease of Forced Labor: 2. Nature of Agrarian society 2.1 Irrigated cropping pattern 2.2 Ease of exit from farming 2.3 Agrarian institutions 3. Demographics 3.1 Population pressure on farm land 4.State of irrigation technology 4.1 Availability and Affordability of water lifting and transport Future of surface irrigation? FAVORABLE CONTINGENCIES STRONG REVENUE/LEVY HIGH HOMOGENEOUS LOW FEUDAL/STATIST LOW LOW BRIGHT South Asia Weak Welfare Impossible Diverse; High Egalitarian Very high; intensification and diversification. High BLEAK

17. Some of the arguments in this section are developed in this book.. Source: Shah, Tushaar. 2009. Taming the anarchy: groundwater governance in South Asia. Washington, DC, USA: Resources for the Future; Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI) 310p.

19. Thank you Publication available at: http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/Publications/Other/PDF/Revitalizing%20Asia%27s%20Irrigation.pdf Related Publication : Mukherji, Aditi; Facon, T.; Burke, J.; de Fraiture, Charlotte; Faures, J. M.; Fuleki, Blanka; Giordano, Mark; Molden, David; Shah, Tushaar . 2009. Revitalizing Asia's irrigation : to sustainably meet tomorrow's food needs. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI); Rome, Italy: FAO. 39p.