Irrigation: Making it work for the poor, London

Overview

Irrigation can contribute significantly to poverty alleviation, food security, and improving the quality of life for rural populations. However, irrigation often does not live up to expectations and can also be highly inefficient and have negative environmental and socio-economic effects, such as water logging and salinization, water and vector borne diseases, and inequitable access to water. In turn, these negative social and economic impacts can be compensated through improved planning, implementation and management of irrigation systems.

This meeting explores the linkage between irrigation and drainage, and hunger and poverty alleviation, in which the poor benefit through higher yields, lower risk of crop failure, adoption of diversified cropping patterns, increased high‐value and market‐oriented crop production, and fixed employment. Experts will share lessons from various countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.