Agricultural Water Use

 

Dialogue seminars and regional training courses on methods of wastewater re-use and concepts of water user associations

 

The issues
The causalities are obvious: population growth causes the expansion of agricultural areas to secure alimentation. What sounds simple, is most sensitive if it happens under scare water resources conditions as it goes together with the expansion of irrigated area and the increased demand of water. In consequence, the competition between different water users increases.

In order to ensure necessary agricultural production, water saving technologies need to be developed and have to be implemented. In addition, efficient management of irrigation infrastructure has to be established to meet the increasing demand.

Enhancing a decentralized and local responsibility for agricultural water use in strengthening local water user associations can be considered as one pillar of a more balanced water use. Furthermore, appropriate concepts of scheme management as well as innovative approaches of wastewater re-use have to be developed and applied to efficiently use water resources in irrigation. In consequence, production systems have to be reconsidered and supportive legal and institutional conditions have to be created.

InWEnt’s approach
Needs of a sub-sector can not be considered in a one-dimensional manner: the complex nature of water resources has to be reflected in an integrated manner, the tight linkage of individual-organization-system has to be considered, too. Thus, InWEnt’s activities follow a systemic approach, linking professional and methodical skills. In doing so, we aim to up-grade professional skills and to support individual and organizational performance improvement as well as to strengthen decision-making competencies. Thus, we contribute to the development and implementation of modern management concepts and of adequate technological solutions to guarantee an efficient water use. Emphasizing regional cooperation and networking, we provide platforms of experience exchange to promote the development of joint and internal-driven strategies, of adequate problem-solving and implementing concepts and thus, the emerging of synergies. To contribute to the close cooperation between different actors is of particular interest. In strengthening their dialogue, we are ready to listen to our partners to contribute to food security and to support them in avoiding existing and future users’ conflicts

InWEnt’s services
We apply a widespread set of instruments according to encountered capacity building needs that comprises dialogue workshops and seminars, short-term and long-term trainings as well as Training for Trainer seminars.

Our capacity building measures are tailored for policy- and decision makers on highest level as well as for managers and junior professionals on operational level.

In the context of agricultural water use, we offer capacity building measures in the following areas:

• Irrigation and Water Treatment
  Sustainable and water saving production technologies and operating systems;
  Efficient, environmentally equitable and locally adapted irrigation technologies;
  Management, operation and maintenance of irrigation facilities.
• Water User Associations
  Establishment, promotion and referral of responsibilities for sustainable acting water user associations;
  Participative processes of management and decision making between members and governmental bodies including timely and equitable water distribution.
• Re-using Waste Water for Irrigation
  Technological options, environmental aspects (impacts on plants, soil, groundwater, health);
  legal and institutional conditions, monitoring and controlling.

InWEnt’s experiences
The main contracting authority is the Federal Ministry of development cooperation (BMZ).

In intense cooperation with Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), Gesellschaft für technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), and the World Bank Institute (WBI), we try to join our forces and meet the needs of our partners.

The partners of our programs are ministries, national authorities, research institutions, NGOs and enterprises, acting within the water sector.

Combining professional, methodical, regional competence with policy advisory services, InWEnt’s unique feature, we cover complex water sector issues applying a systemic approach and tailor it to specific needs in different regional contexts.

InWEnt obtains significant competence realizing programs on agricultural water use in MENA, the Mekong countries Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam and in the Andes (Columbia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru), our current focal regions.

Examples standing for our experiences:

• Water Sector Reform in the MENA region, 2005 – 2008
• Integrated Water Resources Development, Andes, 2005 - 2007