Drainage services to over 40m farmers by 2020: ADB

To assist Asian countries drainage services to over 40 million farmers by 2020, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has financed more than 200 irrigation projects, with investments totaling US$6.6 billion, and has some US$1.1 billion of irrigation projects pipelined.
In line with its Water Operational Plan, ADB is organizing a four-day Asian Irrigation Forum staring from April 11 to review the region’s performance in irrigation and irrigated agriculture, explore the future of irrigation and drainage in rural development, and identify needs and opportunities for strengthened partnerships to deliver more productive irrigation services throughout the region. With a global population of 7 billion, Asian irrigation is now at a crossroads. Increasing populations, changing diets, growing cities, and expanding energy and industrial production each demands a greater share of available water resources.
With increasing concerns about water scarcity and food security, agriculture as the largest user of water must find ways to increase the productivity of irrigation to produce the food, fiber and fuel needed by the growing population. Improving the productivity of irrigated agriculture is expected to be the foundation for securing affordable food for the population of Asia-Pacific. Irrigated agriculture has been the backbone of rural development in Asia. About 70 per cent of the world’s irrigated area is in Asia. The Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture, released by the International Water Management Institute in 2007, noted that “the challenge for irrigated agriculture in this century is to improve equity, reduce environmental damage, increase ecosystem services, and enhance water and land productivity in existing and new irrigated systems.”