Source: PURDUE UNIVERSITY submitted to NRP
GLOBAL WATER SECURITY FOR AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION AND NATURAL RESOURCES CONFERENCE
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
AFRI COMPETITIVE GRANT
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1015255
Grant No.
2018-67021-27626
Cumulative Award Amt.
$49,917.00
Proposal No.
2017-06661
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Feb 1, 2018
Project End Date
Jan 31, 2019
Grant Year
2018
Program Code
[A1521]- Agricultural Engineering
Recipient Organization
PURDUE UNIVERSITY
(N/A)
WEST LAFAYETTE,IN 47907
Performing Department
Ag. & Biological Engr.
Non Technical Summary
This conference grant proposal brings together key stakeholders to the same platform to discuss innovative technologies, models, decision support tools and related products that will address water security problems for food production and natural resources .Today, agriculture accounts for 70% of all water use globally and up to 95% in several developing countries. Agricultural water demand will increase by 20% to meet 70% increase in food production by 2050. Increasing the efficiency of water use and enhancing agricultural water productivity are critical to achieving food security. To address challenges related to water security for agricultural production and natural resources, we propose a U.S. led international conference. The purpose of this conference is to bring farmers, researchers, practitioners, entrepreneurs, and policy makers together on a common platform to discuss current and future water security problems, share research, and discuss creative solutions that can be applicable at various scales in different regions. The conference will specifically focus on water security for producing food, fiber, and energy crops as well as maintaining water quality and quantity needed for ecosystem health and services.This conference will be held on October 3-6, 2018, in Hyderabad, India. We envision that the overall outcome of this stakeholder driven conference will result in information exchange, technology development, public-private partnership, and policy directives that will contribute toward long-term sustainable use of water for agricultural production and natural resources.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
40502102020100%
Knowledge Area
405 - Drainage and Irrigation Systems and Facilities;

Subject Of Investigation
0210 - Water resources;

Field Of Science
2020 - Engineering;
Goals / Objectives
To address challenges related to water security for agricultural production and natural resources, we propose a U.S. led international conference. The purpose of this conference is to bring farmers, researchers, practitioners, entrepreneurs, and policy makers together on a common platform to discuss current and future water security problems, share research, and discuss creative solutions that can be applicable at various scales in different regions. The conference will specifically focus on water security for producing food, fiber, and energy crops as well as maintaining water quality and quantity needed for ecosystem health and services. The specific objectives of this conference are to:Objective 1: Provide an open and effective platform for an international exchange of scientific ideas and technologies to address global water security issues.Objective 2: Bring researchers, managers, extension educators, industry, agricultural producers, and policy makers together to discuss strategies for responsible and sustainable use of water for achieving water security.Objective 3: Develop a position paper on strategies needed to secure adequate water supplies for meeting current and future water demand for food, fiber, energy production vis-à-vis other competing needs for the growing population.Objective 4: Disseminate information generated from the conference to the global audience.
Project Methods
We plan to bring farmers, extension experts, researchers, government- and non-government agencies, policy makers, and entrepreneurs to the same platform at this conference. Such a vertical integration of the stakeholders will ensure that the information exchanges and conference outcomes are stakeholder-driven, adoptable, policy relevant, and will likely result in increased industry involvement in agricultural water management. The conference agenda we propose to develop will provide ample opportunities for these interactions and for involvement of students. For example, we request budget to bring ten students from the U.S. to this conference. Opportunities to attend international conferences with such a broad range of stakeholders is rare for most students. Three students will be identified through a student presentation competition that at the ASABE Annual International Meeting in July 2018. Three award winners from the 2018 ASABE conference student presentation in the Environmental and Natural Resources area will be provided support to attend the conference. We request funds to partially support seven additional students from the U.S. We will announce that U.S. students can submit a travel grant application to ASABE along with their abstracts, which will be reviewed by a sub-committee formed by ASABE. Each of the seven students will be provided a travel grant of $1,250 with the remainder of the funds (approx. $1,250) expected to come from their home institution. We are confident that students from other countries will participate in the conference. Funds from NIFA will enable ten outstanding students to participate in the conference, present their work, learn from top experts in the field, and develop network that will help them with their professional development. We will invite a number of industry leaders working in the field of water management. For example, we have initiated discussions with Jain Irrigation (one of the largest irrigation technology and management companies in the world) and similar other regional and international industry leaders to participate, present their perspective, and interact with other stakeholders at this conference. Similarly, we will have broad representation from governmental agencies including USDA-ARS, US EPA, USDA-NIFA, and Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). We will be intentional in recruiting extension educators from both the U.S. and international partners to this conference.

Progress 02/01/18 to 01/31/19

Outputs
Target Audience:The purpose of this conference was to bring farmers, researchers, practitioners, entrepreneurs, and policy makers together on a common platform to discuss current and future water security problems, share research, and discuss creative solutions that can be applicable in different regions. The conference specifically focused on water security for producing food, fiber, and energy crops, as well as maintaining water quality and quantity needed for ecosystem health and services. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?A preconference symposium to discuss and share innovations in agricultural engineering curricula was organized on the first day and was attended by more than 50 academic leaders from the US and India. Several potential collaborations among academic institutions were also discussed at this symposium. Post-conference technical tours were organized for participants to visit Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project of the Government of Telangana, which is under construction to supply irrigation water for over 1.8 million acres, and to the Infosys Digital Agriculture Show Farm. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?A number of recommendations emerged from the conference to address global water security. These recommendations were published in the ASABE Resource Magazine (Chabuey and Mani, Resource 26(3):12-14) and the peer-reviewed article authored by Harmel et al. 2020. (Trans. ASABE 63(1): 69-80). A thematic issue covering research presented at the Global Water Security Conference was published by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (Trans. ASABE 63(1)). In addition, a number of presentations were made to summarize the conference outcomes and the recommendations for future work. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? ASABE, in partnership with the Indian Society of Agricultural Engineers (ISAE), held an international Global Initiative Conference on Global Water Security for Agriculture and Natural Resources at Taj Krishna hotel in Hyderabad, India. The purpose of this conference was to bring farmers, researchers, practitioners, entrepreneurs, and policy makers together on a common platform to discuss current and future water security problems, share research, and discuss creative solutions that can be applicable in different regions. The conference specifically focused on water security for producing food, fiber, and energy crops, as well as maintaining water quality and quantity needed for ecosystem health and services. The conference welcomed guests from around the globe to hear and glean knowledge and ideas, and participate in the discussions to develop strategies for addressing this complex problem. Those who participated as part of this conversation included 21 invited keynote speakers representing universities, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Bank, International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), industry, government agencies, and various other national and international organizations. Presentations were made by 245 speakers in different sessions organized under three themes: i) Agricultural Water Scarcity and Security: Weathering Water Resource Extremes, ii) Irrigation & Drainage, Conservation, and Water Management for Sustainable Agricultural Growth, and iii) Identifying, Managing, and Treating Conventional and Alternative Agricultural Water Supplies. A panel discussion included farmers from the US and India, irrigation industry experts and policy makers who discussed the water security challenges faced by farmers and innovative solutions and policy interventions to address the current and future challenges. In addition, 10 students from US and Canada funded by the United States Department of Agriculture - National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA) and equal number of students from India funded by ISAE actively participated and made presentations at the conference. The conference was attended by more than 320 registered participants representing 19 different countries.

Publications

  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2019 Citation: Chaubey, I., and I. Mani. 2019. Global Water Security for Agricultural and Natural Resources: An ASABE Global Initiative Conference. Resource 26(3): 12-14.
  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2020 Citation: Ale, S., D. Harmel, A.P. Nejadhashemi, K.D. DeJonge, S. Irmak, I. Chaubey, and K.R. Douglas-Mankin. 202. Global Water Security: Current research and priorities for action. Trans. ASABE 63(1): 49-55.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Harmel, D., I. Chaubey, S. Ale, A.P. Nejadhashemi, S. Irmak, K.C. DeJonge, S.R. Evett, E.M. Barnes, M. Catley-Carlson, S. Hunt, and I. Mani. 2020. Perspective on Global Water Security. Trans. ASABE 63(1): 69-80.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2018 Citation: Chaubey, I. 2018. Producing more food with less water: does technology, management, or policy provide the best bang for our buck? Panel Discussion on Water Security. Annual International Conference of ASABE, Detroit, MI. July 30, 2018.