Welcome to the CPWF Water Productivity Wiki

This wiki is our forum to share ideas and observations of water productivity in river basins.

Water productivity measures the performance of agricultural systems with respect to the water they consume. Agriculture is the world's most voracious user of water and food systems must dramatically improve water productivity if they are to meet the food demand of future populations without increasing water consumption. Figures from UNEP suggest that by the year 2025, an improvement equivalent to finding an additional 500 km³ water will be required.

A first step is to define what is the current status of water productivity, its significance and options to improve. These are described in more detail on the following pages:

• Crop water productivity: What observations do we have of WP in irrigated and rainfed cropping systems?
• Water productivity measurement How is WP estimated? How should such measures be interpreted?
• What does water productivity mean in fish and aquatic ecosystems (Fisheries and aquatic systems)?
• How is the concept useful to describe productivity in livestock systems? (Livestock WP)

What can lift water productivity in basins?

We expect the population of the Volta basin to increase from 17 million currently to 37 in 2025. Total demand for food will increase by 2.1 times in 2025. Water availability will not increase, so how can water productivity more than double to avoid a food crisis?

• irrigation efficiency increase.
• expansion of irrigation
• improved productivity of rainfed agriculture
• increased aquaculture and maintenance of capture fisheries

Given the small area dedicated to irrigation, a massive increase in irrigation would be needed to significantly contribute. Most likely scenario is for a major lift of rainfed production, couple with preservation of fish stocks and increase of aquaculture.