Key statements day 1

• Water resources planning is a political process• New agricultural policy will be based on water availability• Water sector did not benefit from foreign aid• The basic statistical data needed for planning is obsolete and is

based on data from the seventies• Real time and local data is needed for good decision making• Dam construction in highlands need to be seriously considered• We must discourage migration to urban areas for job employment • More attention should be given to convert information into

evidence based decision making• The impact of certain interventions need to be understood

Key statements day 2• Water crisis is not known among many people, even water

professionals• Water resources planning in Yemen needs more professional

approach • There is a need for systematic and consistent data on water and crops • Existing databases provide scattered and incomplete data sets;

coordination is needed; make accumulated datasets• The NWSSIP program is not implemented • There is not sufficient water for future agricultural development• The economic water productivity (YR/m3) should be a criterion for

water diversions• Farmers decide what to do; they go their own way

Key statements day 3

• Barefoot hydrology helps to unite the community spirit and achieve water savings

• Farmers switch to almonds, strawberries and other crops to increase their returns

• We badly need on-farm ICT information for fertilizers, crop diseases, rainfall forecast, soil moisture and irrigation

• Agricultural extension should be revived and focus on irrigation advise and crop diseases

• Drip systems have been successfully introduced in Sana’a basin with more yield and less water usage

• Communication between farmers, advisors and public agencies is complicated by own association of words

Feedback ?

Stakeholders, tools and dataWho ? Tools Objectives of data

Members of Parliament • None • Scenario definition• Impact assessment• Sustainability indicators

Ministerial decision makers • Remote sensing, GIS, hydrological model, climate model, water accounting

• Planning next year• Planning 2050• Monitoring• Standardization• Dialoguing

Farmer cooperatives • SMS messages• Smart phones

• Increase crop production

• Reduce water consumption

From information to planning

Data

database

Ministries & AgenciesTargets

DefineScenarios

Tools

Impact &Advice

Parlement decisions

(Technical component only)

Database

cWater

experts

CLOUD

MP

Ministries

Farmers

Workshop Conclusions - IncentivesTarget group Conclusions

Members of Parliament

• Ministerial decision makers are willing to introduce significant changes (less cropland, restricted pumping etc.) for controlling the water crisis

• They need technical assistance to achieve this• The economic and livelihood dimension of water use should be

included

Ministerial decision makers

• NWRA and other organizations want to upgrade their knowledge on information systems and scenario analysis to better inform decision makers

• National Water Sector Strategy Implementation Program is based on suggestions rather than hydrologically verified solutions

Farmer cooperatives

• Farmers have a drive to increase their returns and are open minded for changes, also for water savings

• Farmers want to collaborate on water harvesting and efficient water use programs

• Farmers are not well informed on the magnitude of the problem and need awareness raising “farmer water schools”

Workshop Conclusions - InformationTarget group Conclusions

Members of Parliament

• Data and information needs to be accurate and up to date • Data is needed for planning and monitoring

Ministerial decision makers

• Any planning process starts with a knowledge base• Existing hydro-meteorological field stations are not effective• The existing data bases in Yemen are scattered among the various

agencies, and many of them are not operational • Remote sensing data can complement field data, and can zoom in

for getting detailed and localized information• Water accounting is a good framework to get a common

understanding of the water situation• Data must be accessible for all stakeholders

Farmer cooperatives

• Farmers want access to ICT technology and receive information on soil moisture, diseases, pesticides, fertilizers, irrigation, market prices, crop acreage and rainfall prediction

• Involve the supply and commodity chain for covering operational costs related to ICT technology

Workshop Conclusions - Institutions

Target group Conclusions

Members of Parliament

• The awareness of the extent of the water crisis needs more attention

• Politicians need to understand farmers and vice versa

Ministerial decision makers

• Water User Associations and other local cooperatives need technical assistance

• Top down planning by Ministries should be integrated with the bottom-up solutions of farmer communities

• The link with the National Remote Sensing Agency is weak

Farmer cooperatives

• Local water resources information are fundamental for developing a joint action plan by farmer communities

• Agricultural extension services should focus more on irrigation advisory activities

Feedback ?

Recommendations (1)

• Explore remote sensing data for upgrading the information on crops and water, locally, at water basin level and at national scale. Define a proper basic data set based on satellite data that can be guaranteed

• Develop a publicly accessible and comprehensive database that supports planning and monitoring of water resources and crop production. This database will be based on remote sensing data, field data and output of hydrological models

• The database should be stored in the cloud for operational purposes and made accessible through the local FAO office

• The various user groups (MP, Ministers, farmers organizations) should all get their own interface to pull data from

Recommendations (2)

• Integrate remote sensing data with hydrological models for increasing the accuracy of future water conditions

• Specify a selected set of alternative scenarios together with the Members of Parliament and the (Deputy) Ministers and insert them in the National Water Sector Strategy and Impact Program

• Study the impact of the National Water Sector Strategy and Impact Program with the new analytical tools

• Express the impact of scenarios into a number of sustainability, societal and economic indicators that can be used by the Members of Parliament

Recommendations (3)

• Establish a link between the water and agricultural public agencies at the one hand, with the National Remote Sensing Agency at the other hand

• Launch an ICT program to support farmers and farmer advisors for on-farm irrigation management

• Expose Yemeni planning experts to the solutions achieved in other countries with similar groundwater problems