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About the CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food

Water scarcity is one of the most pressing issues facing humanity today. Provision of sufficient water is necessary for human health and poverty reduction. However, water quality and availability are highly variable around the world. Typically, the most extreme shortages are experienced by those least able to cope with them; the most impoverished inhabitants of developing countries.

In developing countries, water for agriculture consumes 70 – 90% of water use. To meet the needs of a growing population, more food must be produced using less water. 

The CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food (CPWF) has taken on this challenge from a research perspective. CPWF is an international, multi-institutional research initiative with a strong emphasis on north-south and south-south partnerships. The initiative brings together research scientists, development specialists, and river basin communities in Africa, Asia and Latin America to create and disseminate international public goods (IPGs) that improve the productivity of water in river basins in ways that are pro-poor, gender equitable and environmentally sustainable.

CPWF practices research for development. Ongoing research work exemplifies this emphasis, and illustrates the Challenge Program's mix of site-specificity, scaling up to the basin level, and the production of international public goods. Thus, CPWF funds and conducts research that is a mixture of basic, applied and adaptive research linked to dissemination of results.

The Challenge Program is working towards achieving: