Water is the world’s most precious resource. All living things on our planet rely on water to survive. Yet it is a resource at risk.
Right now, 1.1 billion people lack access to water. By 2025, two in three people may face water shortages.
Growing populations and unsustainable resource management increase water stress on rural communities, while climate change worsens flooding, landslides, and saltwater intrusion into freshwater systems.
How can rural people’s water security be improved?
Investing in policies and local institutions can result in better management and allocation of land and water resources, giving groups equal access and usage rights.
Infrastructure and technology can increase water availability and the efficient use of water. Many countries rely on large irrigation schemes, which are often unsustainable and have infrastructure that is difficult to develop and maintain. Instead, small irrigation schemes are effective when carefully planned.
Conserving catchment areas and aquifers also improves sustainable access to water for the rural poor.
What is IFAD doing?
By working closely with rural communities, traders, retailers, and local governments, IFAD is helping to improve the allocation and management of water resources.
IFAD invests in water infrastructure and technology for small-scale irrigation schemes, post-harvesting handling and processing, and domestic water supply.
By advocating for an integrated and participatory approach to water resource management, IFAD empowers poor rural people to participate in managing the resources on which they depend.
Three years after our project in the Mekong Delta came to an end, we returned to Viet Nam to see if rural communities have continued to thrive with aquaculture.
In this episode, we dive into the innovations farmers are using to transform East and Southern Africa's food systems for the better.
Three years after our project in the Mekong Delta came to an end, we returned to Viet Nam to see if rural communities have continued to thrive with aquaculture.
In this episode, we take a close look at what could one day be the largest living structure on our planet: the Great Green Wall.
Our Associate Vice-President Donal Brown reflects on how IFAD has accompanied this dynamic country on its development journey – and how we will continue to collaborate into the future.
Among ecosystems services, freshwater is one of the most fundamental for life. For smallholders, water means the difference between a decent life and poverty, hunger and malnutrition.
Handbook for Scaling Irrigation Systems is a joint publication between IFAD and IFC on how to develop and scale innovative solutions to improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers and increase crop productivity.
We investigate how perceptions of physical water availability in the past are related to farmers’ current irrigation behaviour.
