Water is life, water is food: A nexus approach to water productivity that leaves no one behind

You can now read a summary of this seminar and watch the recording here.

Food and nutrition security can only be achieved with sufficient water of adequate quality, quantity, and reliability. Lack of adequate water affects not only food production, but all components of food systems. Moreover, uncoordinated food and water security strategies limit progress on SDG2 on zero hunger and SDG6 on water and sanitation. Identifying and assessing solutions that jointly support water and food security, and monitoring progress on water–food systems linkages are critical as climate extremes and other stressors increasingly threaten access to water for all.

Aligned with 2023’s World Food Day theme of “Water is life, water is food. Leave no one behind,” this NEXUS Gains Talk will discuss the role of water productivity in ensuring that water is used in ways that support food security and nutrition, and leave no one behind.

Presentations

Bruce Lankford, University of East Anglia, UK: Governing irrigation efficiency to solve the four-body problem of lowering water consumption whilst not cutting food production, increasing CO₂ emissions and reducing water equity

Sanju Koirala, International Water Management Institute (IWMI) Nepal: Gender dynamics of irrigation: making way for women leaders in Western Terai, Nepal

Upali Amarasinghe, IWMI India, presenting NEXUS Gains’ work on the water productivity atlas for the Ganges.

Panelists

Professor Ragab Ragab, President, International Commission on Irrigation & Drainage (ICID)

Professor Sue Walker, Principal Researcher: Agromet, Agricultural Research Council, South Africa

Header image: A farmer harvests tomatoes – irrigated by solar-lifted water – in Dailekh district, Nepal. Before a solar lift was installed, it used to take the farming family 1.5 hours to fetch water for drinking and irrigation. Photo by Nabin Baral/IWMI.