Agriculture Water Productivity

A Tool for Modernizing Irrigation and Water Management

World Bank presentation to NENA FAO Land and Water DaysAmman, Jordan December 18, 2013

Why agricultural water productivity?

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Irrigation is modernizing …

Traditional Paradigm New Paradigm

• Fixed allocations

• Irrigated hectares

• Kgs/hectare

• “Use it or lose it”

• “Free” water

• Centralized management

• “Quantity service”

• Flexible allocations

• Level of efficiency

• GDP/m3,employment/m3

• System benefits

• Metered water

• User management

• “Quality service”

However policies, institutions and investments have lagged this shift and are holding us back!

…and we face some big challenges: Food Security

The Middle East and North Africa is the region most dependent on grain imports: 56% of total consumption (compared to 13% for SS-Africa and 6% for Asia)

…and we face some big challenges: Increased Competition for Scarce and Uncertain Water

If nothing changes, by 2050 one-third of water demand in Egypt, two-thirds in Morocco and Yemen, and almost 90 percent in Jordan is expected to be unavailable or diverted to higher value uses such as municipal water demand (MENA Water Outlook).

…and we face some big challenges: Transboundary Rivers and Aquifers

Some 60% of the MENA region’s water flows across international borders.

…and we face some big challenges: The Water-Energy Nexus

Both production and non production solutions for food security (e.g.: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Morocco)

Water management systems which recognize inter-sectoral tradeoffs and complementarities (e.g.: Jordan, Morocco, Palestine)

Identify ways to motivate co-riparians to work together (e.g.: Egypt, Libya, Sudan, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Morocco, Mauritania)

Explicitly factor energy as part of decision process (e.g.: Tunisia, Saudi Arabia)

Big challenges require big solutions including, but beyond technology

Inclusive: Means to assess how agricultural water contributes to social, economic and environmental needs and priorities – not just agricultural production.

Integrate: Brings together engineering and economics, supply augmentation and demand management, quantity and quality measures.

Flexible: Can be applied to capture technical, policy and institutional issues at farm, irrigation scheme, basin, national and international levels.

Transparency: Common information for all stakeholders as basis for cooperation and knowledge sharing.

Objective: Basis for prioritizing policy and institutional reforms and physical investments with greatest impact

How can agricultural water productivity assessments help?

What would the assessments produce?

IWMI: The Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture

FAO Water Report 38: Coping with water scarcity

Combined poverty and growth objectives

Lessons from programs in MENA and globally

Inter-sectoral perspective

Public and private sector agendas

Link technical to policy and investment decisions

Assist countries to mobilize financing for modernization

AWP Initiative: What does WB hope to contribute?