Session 5: Rainfed agriculture – Financing smart agriculture projects, Land and Water Days in Near East & North Africa, 15-18 December 2013, Amman, Jordan

1. Session 5: Rainfed agriculture – Financing smart agriculture projects
Tuesday 17 December 2013,11:00-13:00
Rationale of the session
This session aims at discussing how to manage increasing uncertainty and risks in predominantly rainfed systems,
including agro-pastoral ones. It will explore options for innovating risk management approaches and financing for
increasing the resilience of such systems in the context of increased uncertainty with climate change. In particular will
be addressed the mechanisms to support sustainable implementation and operation of land and water components of
climate smart programs. Challenges related to risk management and sharing, trust building and managing uncertainty
in costs and other parameters will be debated. The session will be organized with a framing presentation, x project
examples and interactive discussions on existing financial options for the region.
Rationale
Climate smart agriculture aims to increase rainfed productivity in an environmentally and socially sustainable way.
Increasing climate resilience of rainfed farmer and pastoral communities in regions of high rainfall variability is
essential to attract investments opportunities. This will be achieved through strengthening institutional and technical
capacity for climate observation, forecasting and early warning, and addressing climate risk to rural livelihoods in
areas greatest rainfall variability. At the same time reduce agriculture’s greenhouse gas emissions and where feasible
increase carbon storage as a mitigation measure. This can be done by deploying proven best agriculture practices and
management at farm – and basin-level to include improved production system technologies, better weather
forecasting, early warning systems, and institutional preparedness and risk insurance. This session will focus of
supplemental irrigation Supplemental irrigation as an effective technology for smart rainfed agriculture that allows
farmers to plant and manage crops at the optimal time to overcome the unpredictable rainfall.
ICARDA and its partners have developed and optimized water harvesting and supplemental irrigation packages for
different crops and cropping systems in Ethiopia, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Pakistan, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey.
Several countries in sub-Saharan Africa, including Burkina Faso and Niger, have launched their own programs based
on this model Supplemental irrigation provides multiple benefits: higher and more stable yields, lower risk of crop
failure, and significantly higher water productivity.
Objectives
Identify challenges and opportunities for climate-smart rainfed agriculture expansion utilizing water harvesting
techniques and supplemental irrigation within NENA region.
Key questions to be discussed
Which policies and institutional components are needed to encourage climate-smart rainfed agriculture?
How can public-private partnerships advance successful supplemental irrigation modality for rainfed agriculture?
How to motivate countries in the Region to endorse/adopt climate-smart rainfed agriculture?
What are the conditions/factors that would govern strategies for financing climate smart agriculture within the
region?
How similar, or different, are the conditions/factors that would govern strategies for financing climate smart
agriculture within the region?
Case studies/examples to be presented:
Supplemental irrigation as a model for climate-smart rainfed agriculture projects: Teddla Morocco case, M. Karrou
Desert land and water management in North West Coast of Egypt, Ahmed Youssef, Desert Research Center, Egypt
Water Productivity Enhancement, Dieter Prinz, Germany
Iran case study: Improving rainwater productivity with Supplemental irrigation at farmers’ field in Iran, Abbas
Keshavarz
1

2. Time
11:00- 11:10
11:10-12:00
Session 5: Rainfed agriculture – financing smart agriculture projects
Tuesday 17 December 2013,11:00-13:00
Item/presentation
Speaker (s)
Comments on process
Introduction / framing discussion
Moh’d Karrou,ICARDA Short ppt 10 Minutes
Panel discussion
Panel discussion
Panellists:
Timekeeping: Carine Rouah
Mohammed Karrou,
Water & Drought
Management
Specialist, ICARDA
Morocco Case study: Supplemental irrigation
Middle East & North Africa case study: Water
productivity enhancement
Dieter Prinz, Germany
Egypt case study: Sustainable Development of
Wadi Halq El-Dabaa, Northern Western Coastal
Zone of Egypt
Ahmed Youssef,
Desert Research
Center, Egypt
Iran case study: Improving rainwater productivity
with Supplemental irrigation at farmers field in
Iran
11:50-12:50
12:50-13:00
Brief overview of 5 to 10
minutes maximum by each of
the participants before
questions/answers &
interactive discussion with the
participants
Questions, answers & Interactive discussion to
feed into the elaboration of a collaboration
strategy on land and water management in the
Region
Discussion in plenary or in working groups around
5 questions:
Which policies and institutional
components are needed to encourage
climate-smart rainfed agriculture?
How can public-private partnerships
advance successful supplemental
irrigation modality for rainfed
agriculture?
How to motivate countries in the Region
to endorse/adopt climate-smart rainfed
agriculture?
What are the conditions/factors that
would govern strategies for financing
climate smart agriculture within the
region?
How similar, or different, are the
conditions/factors that would govern
strategies for financing climate smart
agriculture within the region?
Participants’ feedback/Evaluation & Wrap-up
2
Dr Abbas Keshavarz,
The Farmers’ House
and Iranian Chamber
of Industry, Mine and
Agriculture, Iran
Facilitators:
Theib Oweis, ICARDA
Carine Rouah, FAO
40 minutes
Carine Rouah,
Facilitator, FAO
60 minutes
Theib Oweis, ICARDA
Carine Rouah, FAO
10 minutes