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| − | Agricultural water use in developing countries is faced
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| − | with a whole array of new challenges, all within the
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| − | global context of climate change, population growth
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| − | and mounting water scarcity. A wealth of findings and
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| − | practical experience from land and water development
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| − | was gathered up to the late 1990s, but this experience
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| − | is no longer so easy to access nowadays as the subject
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| − | matter has become a niche topic over the past 15
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| − | years. Besides, the experience and findings from earlier
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| − | periods cannot simply be mapped one-to-one to to-
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| − | day's situation or future requirements. Agricultural
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| − | water use needs to be adapted to many changes and
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| − | current developments, and must prepare for special
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| − | future dynamics.
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| − | = Background =
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| − | Over the coming years and decades, disparities in eco-
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| − | nomic and social development in the partner countries
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| − | of international cooperation will widen further. Con-
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| − | urbations will grow, and urbanisation will advance
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| − | rapidly to mid-century. This will be accompanied by
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| − | structural change in rural regions. More and more,
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| − | subsistence agriculture will be replaced by market-
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| − | oriented farming which will be increasingly feminised.
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| − | This is because a high percentage of the male popula-
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| − | tion of working age are migrating to the conurbations.
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| − | Competition for scarce water resources will intensify.
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| − | Both urban and rural demand for drinking water is on
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| − | the rise, as is the demand for water from industry.
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| − | More water will also be needed for energy generation
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| − | in future than has been the case in the past. The water
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| − | requirements for the maintenance of ecosystem, al-
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| − | most entirely ignored in the past, need to be given
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| − | greater significance in agriculture and water manage-
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| − | ment.
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| − | The purchasing or leasing of large areas of land by
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| − | foreign investors also has an impact on the use of
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| − | water in agriculture, because only areas that are irriga-
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| − | ble or are capable of storing sufficient rain are sought
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| − | after. As a rule, the more intensively they are farmed,
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| − | the higher the demand is for water.
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| − | Market developments and price changes – both re-
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| − | gional and global – also have an impact on water con-
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| − | sumption. Higher food, feed, fibre or fuel prices make
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| − | agriculture profitable once more in many areas, pro-
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| − | vided that access to water for crop production is en-
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| − | sured.
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| − | These trends spell out a need for forms of agricultural
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| − | water use that utilise past experience while adjusting to
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| − | the challenges set out above. It is particularly im-
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| − | portant that agricultural water use is adapted to the
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| − | specific regional and local circumstances, both in rain-
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| − | fed farming and in irrigated agriculture.
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| − | = GIZ's position =
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| − | In this context, GIZ takes the following positions:
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| − | == 1. Agricultural water use must meet new demands ==
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| − | Existing knowledge and experience, especially
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| − | from the irrigation sector, needs to be reactivated,
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| − | but also adapted to meet current and future chal-
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| − | lenges. Within this process it is particularly im-
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| − | portant to strengthen coordination with water use
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| − | in other sectors and improve the linkage between
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| − | agricultural water use, land use and soil manage-
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| − | ment. Similarly, the impacts of climate change
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| − | have to be incorporated in planning for agricultur-
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| − | al water use.
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| − |
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| − | The international private sector is playing an ever-
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| − | increasing role in agriculture. This also has to be
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| − | taken into account when considering water use.
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| − | Policymakers must keep the use of water re-
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| − | sources in mind when large areas of land are de-
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| − | veloped by private investors. It is essential to as-
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| − | sess whether or not the level of water use will be
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| − | sustainable. That will require more detailed anal-
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| − | yses and evaluations of agricultural water use in
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| − | many areas than have been performed to date.
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| − | These assessments must be based on economic,
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| − | environmental and social criteria.
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| − | == 2. Different regions need different strategies ==
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| − | Demand for water varies widely, and what is an
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| − | effective form of agricultural water use in one re-
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| − | gion need not be so in another. Across the world
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| − | there are huge differences between individual
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| − | agro-ecological regions, and even within them as
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| − | far as the needs for water management are con-
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| − | cerned. This means that the different levels of de-
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| − | velopment in various partner countries and the
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| − | different focuses of their agricultural strategies call
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| − | for distinct approaches to agricultural water use.
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| − | Differences in institutional capacity also need to
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| − | be taken into account. If water is used properly in
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| − | agriculture, it can make a major contribution to al-
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| − | leviating poverty. Too little use is made of this
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| − | substantial potential in fragile states and post-
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| − | conflict regions.
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| − | == 3. Local adaptation is essential for sustainable water use ==
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| − | The chosen method of agricultural water use with-
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| − | in irrigated or rain fed agriculture must be tailored
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| − | to suit existing farming and livelihood systems,
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| − | and build on those. This means that it is also vital
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| − | to take account of the circumstances, in which lo-
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| − | cal people live, as well as their adaptive capacities
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| − | and adaptation strategies. The influence of local
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| − | power structures and constellations of interest
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| − | needs to be considered.
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| − | == 4. Greater attention must be paid to aspects of risk ==
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| − | More attention must be paid to potential risks in
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| − | the use of water for agricultural purposes – risks at
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| − | global level but also at regional and national level
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| − | and down to local, farm and household level.
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| − | On the one hand, for example, the option to irri-
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| − | gate or drain fields can mitigate the risk of yields
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| − | being reduced or crops failing as a consequence of
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| − | unpredictable dry periods, droughts or floods. On
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| − | the other hand, the introduction of irrigated agri-
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| − | culture can also be seen as a risk factor for small-
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| − | scale farmers. This is the case when water sudden-
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| − | ly becomes available thereby significantly boosting
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| − | the value of the farmland. This may bring about
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| − | risks for smallholders to suffer silent expropria-
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| − | tions by financially and politically more powerful
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| − | farmers. Corruption in supply and marketing
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| − | chains may also constitute a risk.
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| − | Degradation of the quality of both water resources
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| − | and soil resources and of entire ecosystems as a
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| − | result of inappropriate agricultural water use can
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| − | become a problem. At the same time, the over-
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| − | exploitation and quality deterioration of ground-
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| − | water and surface water resources by agriculture
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| − | threatens sustainability of water use in many re-
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| − | gions of the world. Additionally, the discharge of
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| − | urban wastewater can become a risk factor for ir-
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| − | rigated agriculture if this wastewater remains un-
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| − | treated. In contrast, treated wastewater, however
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| − | can be a valuable complementary source of irriga-
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| − | tion water in situations of water scarcity.
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| − | = Recommended actions =
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| − | Agricultural water use must be set up to be sustainable
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| − | in the long term. Optimal adaptation of agricultural
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| − | irrigation systems to their specific settings is an im-
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| − | portant step in this direction. Closer regional coopera-
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| − | tion helps to achieve this, as do better institutional
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| − | arrangements. Careful risk analysis reduces the risks
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| − | related to agricultural water use, especially for small-
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| − | scale farmers.
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| − | == Place agricultural water use on a sustainable footing ==
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| − | Experience gained in the past should be reap-
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| − | praised in order to take account of new dynamics
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| − | and trends. This means that knowledge and expe-
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| − | riences gained in the past, during the many years
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| − | of intensive support for agricultural water use and
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| − | above all irrigation between 1970 and 1990,
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| − | should be made easily accessible. New develop-
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| − | ments in agricultural water use in international re-
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| − | search and development should be monitored and
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| − | interaction between research and development
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| − | cooperation should be intensified in order to facil-
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| − | itate the uptake of successful innovations.
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| − |
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| − | One key objective is sustainability. Supplementing
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| − | economic analyses and evaluations with environ-
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| − | mental, socio-economic and politico-economic as-
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| − | sessments helps in this regard. International coop-
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| − | eration can promote and support this by taking a
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| − | multi-level approach in its projects and pro-
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| − | grammes.
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| − | Another important factor for sustainability is inte-
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| − | gration of interventions into higher-level territorial
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| − | land and water use planning. This can be achieved
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| − | through approaches of integrated land and water
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| − | resource management (ILWRM) embedded in the
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| − | management of water catchments and river basins.
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| − | In this context, the strengthening of cooperation
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| − | mechanisms on cross-border water management is
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| − | essential.
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| − | == Adapt water use to the setting ==
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| − | Agricultural water use should be harmonised as
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| − | closely as possible with the local and regional set-
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| − | ting in which it takes place. This includes the insti-
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| − | tutional context just as much as the natural and
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| − | socio-economic conditions.
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| − |
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| − | Paying closer attention to the local situation and
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| − | reflecting it in planning is a key determinant of
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| − | success. Examples include the state and dynamics
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| − | of local farming schemes and livelihood systems,
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| − | or the local organisational and institutional capaci-
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| − | ties and the dimensions of power structures and
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| − | interests. These factors should at the very least be
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| − | roughly analysed and recorded, and be taken into
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| − | account in the shaping of agricultural water use
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| − | systems. Recommended technologies and ap-
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| − | proaches will also vary depending on the most
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| − | limiting production factors for agriculture. At the
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| − | regional level, international cooperation can en-
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| − | courage adaptation to context-specific conditions,
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| − | for example, by supporting regional bodies in their
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| − | efforts to reply to regional demands with respect
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| − | to their agricultural water use promotion strate-
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| − | gies.
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| − |
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| − | At the regional level, it is particularly important to
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| − | reappraise experience from fragile and post-
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| − | conflict states and utilise it when shaping strate-
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| − | gies to promote agricultural water use. This will
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| − | help to make a correct assessment of the potential
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| − | for agricultural water use in those countries.
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| − | == Make better use of available opportunities ==
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| − | There is often a huge range of locally developed
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| − | technical options for agricultural water use in crop
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| − | cultivation. International cooperation can help to
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| − | ensure that these are put to even better use.
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| − | Above all, however, agricultural water use must be
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| − | adapted to existing farming and livelihood sys-
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| − | tems. This means, for example, that support for ir-
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| − | rigation by small-scale farmers must be tailored to
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| − | suit existing village-level self-government, or that
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| − | support be given for multi-purpose systems of wa-
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| − | ter use must consider simultaneously promoting
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| − | irrigation, rain-fed farming and livestock rearing as
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| − | the provision of drinking water. It is also im-
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| − | portant to take account of ecosystem services in
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| − | the design of agricultural water use schemes.
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| − | == Strengthen and improve institutional arrangements ==
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| − | When farmers have to join together to manage an
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| − | irrigation facility as a group, agricultural water use
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| − | will not work sustainably unless appropriate insti-
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| − | tutional arrangements are in place. It is essential
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| − | that specific norms, rules and regulations are in
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| − | place and that institutions are established that can
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| − | enforce compliance with these directives. In small
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| − | village irrigation settings such arrangements can
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| − | often be brought about by means of self-
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| − | organisation of the farmers in water user groups.
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| − | Often however the overarching legal and adminis-
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| − | trative system is of crucial complementary im-
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| − | portance here. This is why efforts to improve in-
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| − | stitutional arrangements at different levels simul-
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| − | taneously must be strengthened.
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| − | == Help to identify risks better ==
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| − | Small-scale farmers are particularly susceptible to
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| − | risks associated with water use through irrigation.
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| − | Climate change further exacerbates these risks, but
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| − | access to markets for operating inputs and for sell-
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| − | ing the products of irrigation also plays a part. The
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| − | more the farmers are aware of this, and know how
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| − | they can cope with such risks, the less their liveli-
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| − | hood is under threat. International cooperation
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| − | can help to make these threats more visible to
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| − | farmers, and it can assist in establishing risk miti-
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| − | gation strategies such as risk analyses, early-
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| − | warning systems or systems providing social pro-
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| − | tection.
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| − | It is not only weather events that pose risks, how-
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| − | ever. Corruption in the management of water re-
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| − | sources is often at least as much of a danger to
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| − | small-scale farmers. In this regard international
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| − | cooperation can make a contribution to calling for
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| − | greater transparency and accountability, thus clos-
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| − | ing doors to corrupt practices.
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