3 DAY INTERNATIONAL TRAINING WORKSHOP ON USE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT FOR SMALL SCALE FARMING COMMUNITIES IN RURAL AREAS AGADIR - KINGDOM OF MOROCCO December 26 - 28, 2011 Introduction and Background The agriculture in the 21st century is faced with the challenges and opportunities as never before. The recent financial crises, highly volatile food prices, water scarcity, climate variability affecting temperatures and crop growing seasons, increasing risks of droughts and flood, altering the distribution of pests and diseases, and triggering rises in sea level as well as changes in the ability of the oceans to support life suggest a grim future for food and nutrition security in world in general and developing world in particular. Agriculture and Information Technology Access to information of the required quality holds the key for successful devel- opment and always has the potential of improving efficiency in all spheres of economy. Agriculture is one of the prospective areas in which IT can effec- tively be applied particularly for the socio- economic development of the agrarian communities in the developing world. An understanding of the factors associated with IT adoption and use in agriculture enables the development of strategies to promote IT adoption and increase the effectiveness and efficiency of information used in agriculture. In the context of agriculture, the potential of IT can be assessed broadly under the following two heads: • As a tool for direct contribution to agricultural productivity; and • As an indirect tool for empowering farmers to take informed and quality decisions which will have positive impact on the way agriculture and allied activities are conducted. Information Technology and Water Management Water is the lifeblood of agriculture and its management is of immense and funda- mental importance. Efficient irrigation systems and water management practices can help maintain farm profitability in an era of limited, higher-cost water supplies. Efficient water management may also reduce the impact of irrigated production on offsite water quantity and quality. The adoption of most suitable practices of irrigation management to increase water- use efficiency becomes the most impor- tant element for small scale farming communities in general and for rural communities in particular. Modern agriculture is a large-scale water consumer, which must adjust as well as possible its consumption in adequacy with its needs, while preserving the natural resources and the quality of the produc- tions. Integration of IT offers solutions to make possible a finer approach of the irrigation of the crop by facilitating the work of the farmers and ensure the trace- ability of products and practices thereby also improving farmers’ working condi- tions. These IT integrated solutions increase the effectiveness of equipments and allow a better natural resources management. Potential of Agriculture in the Islamic World From an approximate figure of 1.6 billion (~ 22% of the world), the population of the Islamic world is expected to reach 1.7 billion by 2015. Unfortunately, 39 % of population lives below the poverty level and 22 of the 50 least developed countries in the world are OIC Member States. Of the 57 Muslim countries located in five geographic regions including the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Europe and Eurasia, South Asia, East Asia and the Pacific as well as Sub-Saharan Africa, 24 are agrarian with at least 50% of the labor force employed in agriculture sector contributing an average share of 11.4% in the GDP of member countries. The share of arable land of member countries in total land area is 9.3% whereas the permanent cropland of the total land area is 1.6% (2008). There is a consensus in the member countries that the Islamic world must take advantage of knowledge and technologies developed out of Islamic world as well as OIC Member States should develop their own capacity to acquire knowledge and make new discoveries that will fuel endog- enous innovation. The OIC Member States can enhance productivity and efficiency by learning from each other’s experiences in production practices models, up-to-date irrigation system, high yielding varieties, certified planting seed, least use of pesticides, biological control, agronomic management and transfer of technology. Greater efforts are also needed to enhance the technical aware- ness of small and uneducated farmers in increasing the quantity and quality of agricultural products. Despite of the important role of industrial revolution and its outcomes in the indus- trial and developed world, the agriculture still holds the key to reducing poverty and increasing the security of livelihoods on a larger part of the world. The diverse challenges for the rural poor continue to grow which include potential conflicts over increasing food and water insecurity, and the largely unpredictable long-term effects ISESCO INIT COMSTECH IAV H-II