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Field guide to improve crop water productivity in small-scale agriculture

Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.

Published: 2020-04-01

Total Pages: 93

ISBN-13: 9251323623

By 2050, the world’s population will reach 9.1 billion, which requires an increase of food production by 70 percent compared to 2005 (FAO,2018). Nearly all the increase will occur in developing countries, where agriculture plays a major role to provide employment, income and to improve food security. One of the major challenges of increasing food supply is the limited water resources. Agriculture, as the driver of freshwater exploitation has, therefore, to be transformed into more resource efficient production (FAO, 2003). The world’s limited freshwater resources are potentially threatened by the expansion of agriculture. Increasing the potential output per amount of water used is an appropriate practice to improve production efficiency while protecting water resources. Therefore, increasing the productivity of agricultural water use in a sustainable manner is essential to ultimately sustain the social and economic conditions of livelihoods. Crop water productivity has grown into one of the major approaches to cope with water scarcity and advance crop-water relation. The number of conceptual frameworks and implications is ample, but there is always a growing need to review the step-by-step approach beyond. In this Field guide, practical pathways are presented to provide a comprehensive approach for assessing and improving crop water productivity in small-scale agriculture. The Field guide draws lessons learned in three countries (Burkina Faso, Morocco and Uganda) within the framework of FAO project “Strengthening Agricultural Water Efficiency and Productivity at the African and Global Level” funded by Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).

Policy guide to improve water productivity in small-scale agriculture

Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.

Published: 2020-05-01

Total Pages: 73

ISBN-13: 9251321434

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In developing countries, further progress of irrigation is essential for increasing food security and farmers’ income. However, developing small-scale schemes remains a challenge due to multiple factors that must be taken into consideration, such as diversity of small-scale schemes, a large number of water users, social disharmony over the water use, varying water demands of multi-cropping systems, heterogeneity of equipment over the scheme. Furthermore, on-farm irrigation development has a major role in enhancing Agricultural Water Management (AWM). The previous development methods considered the improvement of single-factor productivity, but agriculture is undergoing a global shift from the single objective of outputs (such as yield or net income) to multiple objectives of increasing outputs while conserving natural resources. Many pathways towards enhancement of Water Productivity (WP) are directly related to improving overall farm agronomic management (irrigation, fertilization, plant density, plant protection, etc.), while external measures must be applied to ensure sustainability of introduced good practices (lack of input markets, scarce knowledge, poor infrastructures, water regulations, etc.). Thus introducing irrigation practices to farmers must undergo a step-wise process to ensure that costs do not outweigh achievable benefits, and both institutional and technical environment are capable to sustain results. This is the case in smallholders’ schemes, where farmers are poorly resourced. In order to address these issues, the current policy guide presents a combined methodology, which involves practical experiences drawn from FAO work in the three countries as well as researchers’ results to line up a set of feasible measures to improving WP.

Field guide to improve water use efficiency in small-scale agriculture

Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.

Published: 2019-09-24

Total Pages: 81

ISBN-13: 9251317607

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The role of irrigation in gearing agriculture development towards a broader economic growth is undeniable. Accordingly, irrigation is growing into key operational strategy for governments and their agencies to increase agricultural productivity, thus combatting food insecurity and boosting overall growth. While agriculture absorbs rural workforce, generates income and increases food security, it has become the most important driver in freshwater exploitation. The rapid expansion of water demand leads to the generalized phenomena of imbalance between water supply and water demand. This increasing pressure on water resources urges enhancing Water Use Efficiency. Enhancing Water Use Efficiency requires actions at all levels, from agricultural practitioners to scheme managers, and up to the policy-makers. The objective of this Field Guide is to show practical measures to improve Water Use Efficiency in small-scale agriculture based on case studies from Burkina Faso, Morocco and Uganda. The Book not only presents applicable Water Use Efficiency measures, but also guide the readers through their real-term implementation. While the Guide provides complete set of instructions to improve Water Use Efficiency in order to reach optimal irrigation practices, the successful outcome still depends on the farmers’ willingness to embrace and adopt the recommended measures. The Guide holds in evidence that farmers are often constrained by available resources to improve their practices in terms of budget, inputs or labour. In order to take these issues into account, the recommendations are limited on practical measures, which can be followed by farmers without requiring additional resources.

Guidance on realizing real water savings with crop water productivity interventions

Author: Van Opstal, J., Droogers, P., Kaune, A., Steduto, P., Perry, C.

Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.

Published: 2021-03-18

Total Pages: 63

ISBN-13: 9251341362

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This technical document contains clear and practical guidelines on how to implement real water savings in agriculture through interventions for enhancing crop water productivity. A distinction is made between real water savings and “apparent” water savings. Apparent water savings record reductions in water withdrawals but do not account for changes in water consumption. Real water savings record reductions in water consumption and non-recoverable return flows (runoff or percolation). This guidance document emphasizes the paradox of water savings at field and basin scales, which usually do not translate into increased water availability for other users, as is commonly believed.

Policy guide to improve water use efficiency in small-scale agriculture

Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.

Published: 2019-11-27

Total Pages: 80

ISBN-13: 9251319987

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This policy guide is drawn from the results of the FAO Project “Strengthening Agricultural Water Efficiency and Productivity at the African and Global Level” funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and cooperation (SDC). The long term vision of the project was that the in-country findings and processes which are of common nature can be synthesized and scaled up to other countries in a regional cooperation process and globally. This will eventually lead to the increase of investment in Agricultural Water Management (AWM) in the targeted countries – and beyond – that is socially equitable, profitable at the farm level, economically viable, environmentally neutral or positive, and sustainable. The Guide focuses on the specific component of Enhancing Water Use Efficiency at small scale irrigation as one of the major outputs of the project. While creating and implementing Water Use Efficiency (WUE) measures at field level, existing policy frameworks were mapped and analyzed, and recommendations were defined as scalable policy instruments with the aim to demonstrate case-specific experiences to the collectively agreed goal of using water resources efficiently.

9789290908487

Author: Giordano, Meredith

Publisher: Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI) Washington, DC, USA: The World Bank

Published: 2017-06-01

Total Pages: 58

ISBN-13: 9290908483

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Author:

Publisher:

Published:

Total Pages:

ISBN-13: 1464812985

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Sustainable Water Management in Smallholder Farming

Author: Sara Finley

Publisher: CABI

Published: 2016-07-27

Total Pages: 206

ISBN-13: 1780646860

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Water is critical to all human activities, but access to this crucial resource is increasingly limited by competition and the effects of climate change. In agriculture, water management is key to ensuring good and sustained crop yields, maintaining soil health, and safeguarding the long-term viability of the land. Water management is especially challenging on smallholder farms in resource-poor areas, which tend to be primarily rainfed and thus highly dependent on unreliable rainfall patterns. Sustainable practices can help farmers promote the development of soils, plants and field surfaces to allow maximum retention of water between rains, and encourage the efficient use of each drop of water applied as irrigation. Especially useful for farmers' groups, agricultural extension workers, NGOs, students and researchers working with farmers in dryland areas, this comprehensive yet concise book is a practical and accessible resource for anyone interested in sustainable water management.

The AquaCrop model – Enhancing crop water productivity

Author: Salman, M., García-Vila, M., Fereres, E., Raes, D., Steduto, P.

Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.

Published: 2021-11-16

Total Pages: 106

ISBN-13: 9251352224

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Water resources are linked to the global challenges of food insecurity and poverty, as well as to climate change adaptation and mitigation. In line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SGD), FAO works towards several dimensions of sustainable development, including the promotion of coherent approaches to efficient, productive and sustainable water management, from farm to river basin scales. Accordingly, FAO is enhancing well-informed on-the-ground decision-making processes on water management through projects, knowledge advancement, information-sharing and tools development, such as AquaCrop, the FAO crop-water productivity model. This model assists in assessing the effects of environment (including atmospheric CO2 concentration) and management on crop production through the simulation of yield response to water of herbaceous crops. It is particularly suited to address conditions where water is a key limiting factor in crop production. In 2009, FAO officially launched AquaCrop, being the result of several years of collaborative work among scientists, water and crop specialists and practitioners worldwide, bringing together previously fragmented information on crop yields in response to water use and water deficit. AquaCrop has evolved over the different versions released since its first launch, but it always balances accuracy, simplicity and robustness. This has enabled it to remain faithful to its goal, i.e., to be a dynamic tool accessible to several types of users, mainly practitioner-type end users, in different disciplines and for a wide range of applications. In addition, AquaCrop may be considered a valuable tool by research scientists for analysis and conceptualization.

Water Productivity in Agriculture

Author: J. W. Kijne

Publisher: CABI

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 354

ISBN-13: 1845933397

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First title in a major new seriesAddresses improving water productivity to relieve problems of scarcity and competition to provide for food and environmental securityDraws from scientists having a multitude of disciplines to approach this important problemIn a large number of developing countries, policy makers and researchers are increasingly aware of the conflicting demands on water, and look at agriculture to be more effective in its use of water. Focusing on both irrigated and rain-fed agriculture, this book gives a state of the art review of the limits and opportunities for improving water productivity in crop production. It demonstrates how efficiency of water use can be enhanced to maximize yields. The book represents the first in a new series of volumes resulting from the Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture, a research program conducted by the CGIAR's Future Harvest Centres, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and partners worldwide. It will be of significant interest to those working in areas of soil and crop science, water management, irrigation, and development studies.