Water scarcity and poverty

In addressing the poverty problem, we must consider the impact of reduced availability of irrigation water not only on crop production, but also on the wide range of other uses that are a part of the livelihood of rural agricultural communities. Meanwhile, poverty persists in many of the rain-fed and upland areas, the so-called marginal or traditionally water-scarce areas. In these areas, the inability to effectively mobilize water resources has prevented farmers from using modern yield-increasing inputs and raising incomes. This paper discusses the implications of growing water scarcity for poverty alleviation, with particular reference to South Asia and sub- Saharan Africa -- two regions of the world that stand out in terms of the scope and magnitude of rural poverty but that also contrast sharply in terms of water resources and irrigation development. With close to 40% of the crop grain area in South Asia irrigated, and with irrigated yields typically more than twice those of rain-fed, at least two-thirds of cereal grain production and most of the marketed surplus comes from irrigated agriculture. This contrasts with approximately 5% for sub-Saharan Africa. First, the report briefly summarizes the impact of irrigation development on poverty alleviation in South Asia for the recent past. It then examines the challenges that lie ahead, in an environment of growing water scarcity, for the development of water resources leading to sustained poverty alleviation. Emphasis is placed on the role that advances in irrigation technologies have played in the past in achieving food security and must play in the future in providing water security for the poor. Includes references. (Author abstract, modified)