Solutions to agricultural water insecurity and climate risks
Image: Testing fuel efficiency of irrigation pumps in the Nepal Terai
Summary
Extreme weather and water scarcity are a key underlying causes of agricultural yield gaps and rural poverty in many low- and middle-income countries. Our work leverages empirical insights about key drivers of production risks and constraints to water access from field surveys and crop-water modelling to design solutions to support sustainable intensification of smallholder farming systems. Currently, our applied research activities are structured around two main areas: (1) evaluation of technological and policy interventions to support expansion of small-scale irrigation, with a particular focus on pump irrigation systems in the eastern Indo Gangetic Plains of South Asia and farmer-led surface water irrigation in sub-Saharan Africa, and (2) development of data-driven agricultural index insurance and advisory services to protect farmers against financial risks posed by extreme weather and enable efficient use of scarce or costly inputs. The group also develops and maintains the AquaCrop-OS model in collaboration with the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation, providing a tool for policymakers to evaluate wider solutions to evaluate the role of irrigation and agricultural water management in sustainably enhancing food security.
Related outputs
Higginbottom, T.P., Adhikari, R., Redicker, S., Dimova, R., & Foster, T. (2020). Irrigation scheme developments in sub-Saharan Africa have failed to achieve proposed irrigated areas. Nature Sustainability. In Press.
Hufkens, K., Melaas, E. K., Mann, M. L., Foster, T., Ceballos, F., Robles, M., & Kramer, B. (2019). Monitoring crop phenology using a smartphone based near-surface remote sensing approach. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 265, 327-337.
Foster, T. & Brozovic, N. (2018). Simulating crop-water production functions using crop growth models to support water policy assessments. Ecological Economics, 152, 9-21.
Hufkens, K., Melaas, E. K., Mann, M. L., Foster, T., Ceballos, F., Robles, M., & Kramer, B. (2019). Monitoring crop phenology using a smartphone based near-surface remote sensing approach. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 265, 327-337.
Foster, T. & Brozovic, N. (2018). Simulating crop-water production functions using crop growth models to support water policy assessments. Ecological Economics, 152, 9-21.
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Foster, T., N. Brozovic, A. P. Butler, C. M. U. Neale, D. Raes, P. Steduto, E. Fereres, and T. C. Hsiao. (2017) AquaCrop-OS: An open source version of FAO's crop water productivity model. Agricultural Water Management 181, 18-22.
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