27 August 2015
FAO, IFAD Highlight Water Infrastructure and Information Needs for Agricultural Productivity
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UN agencies highlighted their work in improving water productivity for agricultural development at World Water Week in Stockholm, Sweden, including the improvement of water infrastructure for smallholders, and the use of satellite data in planning and management.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) launched an open-access data portal to help countries better analyze water productivity and plan agricultural development, while the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) drew attention to irrigation improvements.

ifad_fao24 August 2015: UN agencies highlighted their work in improving water productivity for agricultural development at World Water Week in Stockholm, Sweden, including the improvement of water infrastructure for smallholders, and the use of satellite data in planning and management. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) launched an open-access data portal to help countries better analyze water productivity and plan agricultural development, while the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) drew attention to irrigation improvements.

The FAO portal provides access to satellite imagery that will enable comparison and analysis, encouraging countries to draw on information at the river basin, country and regional levels, covering all of Africa and the Near East. Jippe Hoogeveen, FAO, said the data can be used to help create sustainable agricultural systems, and will make existing practices more efficient and cost-effective. The four-year project is financed by the Government of the Netherlands and implemented by FAO in collaboration with the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization – Institute for Water Education (UNESCO-IHE) and other partners. In conjunction with setting up the data portal, FAO will provide technical support to countries to monitor land and water productivity. Jean-Marc Faurès, FAO, said that monitoring water productivity will ultimately enable countries to report progress under Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 on water.

At the ground level, the IFAD Participatory Smallholder Irrigation Development Programme (PASIDP) works with vulnerable farmers in water-scarce regions of Ethiopia, through supporting the construction of local infrastructure such as river diversions and wells, thus enabling crop diversification and promoting local livelihoods. Mawira Chitima, IFAD, said many farming communities need to manage local water catchments and use water more efficiently. He highlighted IFAD support for rehabilitating farming systems in northwest Haiti through a project that helped farmers organize watershed associations, and the supply of micro-irrigation kits for farmers in Guatemala, India and Madagascar, which resulted in improving water availability. [FAO Press Release] [IFAD Press Release] [IFAD Participatory Smallholder Irrigation Development Programme Web Page]


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