This document by International Water Management Institute (IWMI) highlights the urgent need for improving irrigation systems to enhance food production to meet the needs of the growing population in Asia, in the context of increasing urbanisation and the challenges posed by climate change.
Experience has shown that improvement in irrigation systems have led to improvement in agricultural growth in Asia in the past where irrigated agriculture still continues to be the heart of rural growth.
However, experts estimate that demand for food and animal feed will double during the next fifty years in Asia. This will require better management of the existing irrigated lands as opening up of new alternatives is constrained by lack of land and water resources.
Modernisation of irrigation schemes that are sustainable, environmentally friendly, efficient, flexible, that prevent degradation of the environment are thus needed that involve farmers and encourage them to take up new and innovative approaches.
The document argues that modernisation can go hand in hand with encouraging the private sector to get involved in irrigation schemes and that training and capacity building among all the the stakeholders and adopting a multisectoral approach can go a long way in improving the situation in Asia by improvement in agricultural production.