Ongoing collaborations
AWSAMe Initiative (Better Environment - Addressing Water scarcity for Agriculture and the Environment)
In support of its Strategic Framework (2022–2031) with the four betters, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has developed several Value Adding Impact Areas (VAIA).
The VAIA, Addressing Water Scarcity in Agriculture and the Environment (AWSAMe) is an initiative that supports a better environment, one of the four betters. The initiative works towards building resilient food systems through interventions which enhance water productivity, such as irrigation efficiency (or soil moisture conservation), and agriculture yields in marginal environments. In Malawi, AWSAMe is specifically promoting indigenous, drought–resilient and nutritious crops with field experiments, following regional and national consultations on saline agriculture, using the Global Framework on Water Scarcity in Agriculture (WASAG)’s Thematic 1: Farmers' guidelines on soil and water management in salt-affected areas, which have been used to provide training in Cabo Verde and Uzbekistan.
inter-Regional Technical Platform on Water Scarcity (iRTP-WS)
According to the Food and Agriculture of the United Nations (FAO)’s State of Food and Agriculture 2020, Overcoming challenges in agriculture report, water scarcity currently affects 3.2 billion people, of whom 1.4 billion live in rural areas, and 60 percent of irrigated lands are highly water stressed. In the absence of urgent action, the situation will deteriorate, under the combined effects of a growing population, economic development and climate change.
The main water challenges reported to date are still associated with inadequate governance, weak representation of various actors, and the incorporation of sectoral based approaches in addressing complex and multifaceted issues. Such challenges can only be tackled through the advancement of partnerships and innovation, multisectoral collaboration, and data and information sharing.
In response to those challenges and following the success of the Regional Initiative on Water Scarcity (WSI), FAO Near East and North Africa was mandated to begin developing an inter Regional Technical Platform on Water Scarcity (iRTP WS) to support countries in coping with one of their most complex challenges: the pursuit of food and water securities, to enable sustainable socioeconomic development under a severe and unprecedented escalation of water scarcity.
Small Island Developing States (SIDS)
- Cabo Verde
The WASAG partnership is focusing part of its work on the needs of Small Island Developing States (SIDS). For example, WASAG held its first International Forum on Water Scarcity in Agriculture in Praia, Cabo Verde, from 19 to 22 March 2019, to coincide with the celebrations of the World Water Day 2019 with the theme, Leaving no one behind. With a focus on Cabo Verde, Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and West African countries, the forum illustrated how water scarcity in agriculture can be addressed and turned into an opportunity for sustainable development, food and nutrition security.
The Second WASAG International Forum was again held in Cabo Verde from 7 to 10 February 2023, resulting in the Praia Call for Action which triggered the current operational mechanisms of WASAG. In Cabo Verde, WASAG has facilitated the promotion of saline agriculture, including halophytes, and the training in Cabo Verde on the guidelines for pressurized irrigation systems by the Italian chapter of WASAG.
- The Dominican Republic
Following the decision to hold the WASAG International Forum on a rotating basis among regions, the Dominican Republic offered to host the third International WASAG forum, which is planned to take place in Punta Cana in May 2026.
Preparations for the forum are under way in partnership with the Commission for the Promotion of the Modernization of the National Irrigation System (TNR), the FAO Country Office in the Dominican Republic (FAODO) and the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD).
The forum will also target other SIDS in the Latin America and Caribbean region.
Related links
- Consultative workshop on AWSAMe
- AWSAMe kick off
- Cabo Verde and Uzbekistan training
- FAO Land and Water