Field guide to improve crop water productivity in small-scale agriculture: the case of Burkina Faso, Morocco and Uganda
Salman, M. | Pek, E. | Fereres, E. | García-Vila, M.
By 2050, the world’s population will reach 9.1 billion, which requires an increase of food production by 70 percent compared to 2005 (FAO,2018). Nearly all the increase will occur in developing countries, where agriculture plays a major role to provide employment, income and to improve food security. One of the major challenges of increasing food supply is the limited water resources. Agriculture, as the driver of freshwater exploitation has, therefore, to be transformed into more resource efficient production (FAO, 2003). The world’s limited freshwater resources are potentially threatened by the expansion of agriculture. Increasing the potential output per amount of water used is an appropriate practice to improve production efficiency while protecting water resources. Therefore, increasing the productivity of agricultural water use in a sustainable manner is essential to ultimately sustain the social and economic conditions of livelihoods. Crop water productivity has grown into one of the major approaches to cope with water scarcity and advance crop-water relation. The number of conceptual frameworks and implications is ample, but there is always a growing need to review the step-by-step approach beyond. In this Field guide, practical pathways are presented to provide a comprehensive approach for assessing and improving crop water productivity in small-scale agriculture. The Field guide draws lessons learned in three countries (Burkina Faso, Morocco and Uganda) within the framework of FAO project “Strengthening Agricultural Water Efficiency and Productivity at the African and Global Level” funded by Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).
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