By mid-century, around 9 billion people will require food security. Much of this will be derived from rural production systems, placing these systems at the heart of the sustainable development agenda.
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Many of the adaptation and resilience challenges facing farmers in a changing climate are either directly or indirectly waterrelated. These include making the most of uncertain rainfall, managing aquifers under increasing pressure and supporting better soil moisture retention and crop water use efficiency.
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A core focus of Water-Smart Agriculture is the key impact that women farmers can have as innovators and early adopters within learningbased approaches. This gendered dimension is central to the success of Water-Smart Agriculture.
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Water-Smart Agriculture involves assisting farmers to identify and apply a cost-effective management regime that improves the capture, storage, and efficient use of water derived from rainfall, surface flow, and/or groundwater.
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Water conservation and efficient use is central to Water-Smart Agriculture, but so is bringing more water into farming systems where this does not unduly affect the surrounding resource base and ecosystem. More water use can mean farmer capacity to enhance income, particularly through production of high value crops in dry seasons.
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Water-Smart Agriculture is about enabling rural transitions through seizing opportunities that support farmers in shifting from low inputoutput farming to more profitable and food-secure production. This shift should generate increased net returns per household as well as promote greater income equality across farming communities.
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By a large margin, most farming in East Africa and in many other parts of the world relies primarily on rainfall. Better management of soils and water delivery to crop root systems is a key line of defence against increasing climate extremes and rainfall uncertainty
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Central to the Water-Smart Agriculture concept is the continuous learning loop. Farmer experience is captured through action research, the results of which form a contiguous part of planning and decision making from local to national levels. This takes learning into the real environment and away from sometimes remote national academic and scientific establishments.
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Champion Farmers selected amongst farming communities by their peers and in association with local authorities can provide the basis for experience sharing and demonstration of innovation and improved practice. Water-Smart Agriculture encourages an evolutionary approach to change with cycles of demonstration under the umbrella of local Learning and Practice Alliances.
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