Secure access by rural poor people to water is central to the achievement ofthe Millennium Development Goals, inparticular the target of reducing by halfthe proportion of people living inextreme poverty and hunger by 2015.Most of these people depend onagriculture for their livelihoods. In mostdeveloping countries, agriculture usesmore than 80 per cent of mobilizedwater resources. But more thanhalf the water diverted for agriculturedoes not contribute directly tofood production as intended.

With an increasing number ofcountries facing severe watershortages, efficient use of water byagriculture to reduce poverty andhunger is a significant issue. Join thisinteresting debate and attend the manysessions on this theme to learn about:

• different agricultural solutions towater scarcity challenges
• how technology is helpingsmallholder farmers to bettermanage water resources
• diverse rain harvesting methods

The prominence of water is not yet matched by commensurate delivery instruments. This presentation will show how IFAD scaling-up its water related to reach between 50,000 and 500,000. This session seeks feedback  and testimonies on whether proven innovations are best scaled-up as individual solutions, or within a package of business-lines based on different farming economies and how can innovations best penetrate the dialogue processes that lead to investment decisions?

Andy Bullock