The Working Group Water and Agriculture (WGWA) – in a nutshell Update on the WGWA for SAI Platform Executive Committee Meeting nb 37, Rome, June 26 2009

Water management work axes Topics chosen by the WGWA for 2009-2010 (in red) as a part of the water management issues identified by the FAO: Raising water productivity in agriculture Improving water use efficiency Boosting rainfed agriculture Exploring the potential of biotechnology Studying Virtual water and food trade Improving irrigation Reforming irrigation management Modernizing large irrigation systems Financing irrigation Moving towards more precision agriculture

Global Outlook WGWA Activities Research & Development Services Education & Training Practices Library Establishing an on-line repository of water-related sustainable agricultural practices DONE Linking these best practices to case studies and practical tools ON-GOING Collection of case studies on rainwater harvesting Collecting existing case studies on water harvesting systems ON-GOING Pilot projects Exploring key water-related issues in various countries and crop production systems – see next slide ON-GOING Research on Water Footprint Participation in the WFP Network Writing of a Position Paper on WFP ON-GOING Presentations at WGWA meetings On member companies’ activities to sustainable water management, findings of recent desk studies on WFP etc Seminar on Water and Agriculture Involving IWMI and the International WF Network. Organisation ON-GOING. Seminar to be held in October 2009 at Unilever headquarters in Rotterdam. 11/10/2018

WGWA activities on Water Footprint What is the Water Footprint (WF)? The WF of consumers (individual, family, province) or businesses is the volume of freshwater used to produce a specific good or group of goods. The WF is a indicator which : - shows the volume and type of water use. - quantifies the volume of polluted water. - gives the location. The WF is becoming a componant of water management to increase water use efficiency and sustainability. WGWA’s activities on WF: Participation in the International Water Footprint Network (WFN) Common agreement on a Position Paper on the WF Web-based collection of documents related to WF Decision to be made by the WGWA on further involvement in the WFN and other actions (awareness raising etc) 11/10/2018

WGWA-related Pilot Projects Potato production in the State of Gujarat, India Developing eco friendly irrigation practices, minimizing ground water contamination, managing fertilizer programs & irrigation scheduling based on crop water requirement Production of lettuce, potatoes, wheat & livestock in Europe Development of performance indicators against which other farms can be measured, including water management Tomato production in Italy (next meeting field visit) Crop Sense Soil Moisture Monitoring 6 other Nestle water-related pilots associated with coffee and dairy 3 projects for tomato production in India, Brazil and the USA