Identifying solutions for a water-stressed

world

Alain VidalICID2015, Montpellier, October 2015

Challenges for today and tomorrow

Source: OECD

Global water scarcity

Climate variability will impact on food production

Source: Socioeconomic Data and

Applications Center (SEDAC)

• Crop yields drop by 2050 underBAU Maize 16%

Rice 21%

Wheat 42%

The water crisis : a global risk to business

Source: Global Risks Perception

Survey 2014.

World Economic Forum, Global

Risks 2015 - Insight Report

Identifying solutions for a water-stressed world

1. ‘Smart’ irrigation2. Waste water reuse3. Groundwater governance 4. Help agriculture become

part of climate solutions

Photo: Hamish John Appleby/IWMI

Incentives to rapid expansion of drip irrigation…Yet suitability depends on context

Photo: Hamish John Appelby / IWMI

Bring smart and affordable ICT to everyday farm management for smallholders

• Mobile-phone and web-based agro-advisory system developed and tested in Sudan, Ethiopia and Egypt

• Spatial data translated into simple SMSs - both qualitative and quantitative, and both on-demand and weekly “push”

Precision surface irrigation A viable alternative to drip irrigation

Pakistan: Land and Water productivity increases, reduced diesel costs

Photos: Arif Anwar / IWMI

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Diluted

wastewater

or polluted

water

Untreated

wastewater

Groundwater Treated

wastewater

River Other

surface

water bodies

Rainfed Irrigation

canal

Open

drainage

Nu

mb

er

of

cit

ies

In and around three of four cities in the developing world, farmers use polluted irrigation water for the production of high-value crops

Global survey - irrigation source in urban & peri-urban areas

Photo: Pay Drechsel/IWMI

Wastewater: a valuable asset

Growth of irrigation in India driven by groundwater

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

35000

40000

45000

Irri

gate

d a

rea

in 1

00

0 h

a

Canal irrigated area Tank irrigated area Groundwater irrigated area

Canal

Tanks

Source: Mukherji et al. 2013.

India: Twin cases of ‘over-abstraction’ and ‘under-utilization’

Source: IWMI

Solar pumps – renewable, but sustainable? Getting the incentives right

Infographic: Rachel Cramer / IWMI

Help agriculture become part of the climate solutions

“Business as usual” (BAU) agriculture emissions would comprise ~50% of allowable emissions to achieve a 2°C world

Gt CO2e per year

9 11

40

74

2010 2050(Business as usual)

2050(2°C target)

Non-agricultural

emissions

Agricultural and

agriculture-driven

land-use change

emissions

~50%

49

85

22

Alternate-Wetting-and-Drying (AWD)

30% water

20-50% GHG

Without compromising yield

• Keep flooded

for 1st 15 days

and at flowering

• Irrigate when

water drops to

15 cm below the

surface

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16 15.0

8.7

-42%

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

t C

O2

-eq

/ h

a*s

easo

n

4.93.9

-20%

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

-22%-28%

6.04.7

6.44.6

Hilly mid-slopes Delta low-lying

Summer-

Autumn

Winter-

Spring

Sander et al. in press IRRI

AWD Conventional

EAST AFRICA Irrigation – unexplored opportunity

Increase, stabilize,

diversify production

Climate resilience

60%

increase in soil carbon*

*temperate systemEntry et al. 2002

Major policy initiative in

African Nations

Led

by:

Smart water solutions

Because of increasedvariability, a continuum of water management technical and institutionalinnovations are needed

decentralized, adaptable, inexpensive

applicable under scenarios of increasing or decreasingrainfall