Tackling water scarcity in agriculture—Asian Development Bank's perspective

‘Tackling water scarcity in agriculture’, which is the theme of the 25th Congress of the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID), is at the crux of the global challenge of ensuring a climate-resilient and water- and food-secure world for future generations. The Asian region faces significant threats due to its high vulnerability to climate change impacts and growing food insecurity and water stress across many river basins. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is stepping up assistance in line with the international commitments by the multilateral financial institutions. There are significant opportunities that are tapped to address this theme, including (i) exploring and replicating highly successful experiences of enhancing irrigated agriculture productivity manifold as seen in the Indian states of Chhattisgarh, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh and in other South Asian countries; (ii) reinvigorating efforts to operationalize integrated water resources management in river basins; (iii) adopting new technologies, such as remote sensing and automation, and digital technologies, including artificial intelligence; and (iv) pursuing institutional and financing innovations. Resources of ADB and other multilateral institutions can be utilized to develop and demonstrate successful innovations before they are replicated by the own sources of the developing countries.