WASAG at the World Water Week 2024
The 2024 edition of the World Water Week will focus on water cooperation, for peace and security in its broadest sense. The theme “Bridging Borders: Water for a Peaceful and Sustainable Future” challenges us to recognize the regional and global interconnectivity of communities and nations, and highlights the collaborative efforts needed to achieve a peaceful and sustainable future.
WASAG is convening two technical sessions focusing on promoting indigenous crops and strengthening collaboration with countries and partners for resilient agrifood systems.
Register HERE to attend the sessions onsite or online.
Session 1: Enhancing resilience through indigenous crops for food security and nutrition
Time: Sunday, 25 August 2024, 16:00 - 17:30 (CEST)
Location: Stockholm Waterfront Congress Center, A2, Level 6 & online
Session Description:
Indigenous or forgotten crops are emerging as opportunity crops to cope with water scarcity in agriculture; improving food production and nutrition, soil fertility, carbon sequestration, agrobiodiversity, yields and incomes and contributing to more resilient livelihoods. With the facilitation of the FAO’s initiative ‘Addressing Water in Agriculture and the Environment’ (AWSAMe), four countries: Cabo Verde, Malawi, Morocco and South Sudan have agreed to collaborate in building resilience to persistent droughts that affect them, at least in part. With drought resilience as the first criteria for selection of these indigenous crops, AWSAMe developed a compendium, synergies with other initiatives, including the US-led Vision for Adapted Crops and Soils (VACS) provided a second layer of screening focusing on nutrition. The four countries will collaborate in a pilot phase which have been agreed upon by their representatives in Ben Guerir, Morocco from 20 to 21 February 2024. To enhance the expected benefits, various cropping systems and agronomic practices such as intercropping, crop rotation, crop diversification, combining with non-indigenous crops or saline crops will be adopted. The session will solicit inputs and commitments for the upscaling of the initiative to other countries and regions.
Agenda:
Moderator: Jean Boroto, Land and Water Officer, FAO
16:00 -16:10 Opening remarks
16:10 -16:25 Overview of the AWSAMe initiative with focus on the compendium of drought resilient and nutritious crops
16:25 -16:45 Status and implementation of AWSAMe: Pilot Countries
16:45- 17:20 Consultation with partners and other countries’ involvement in the next phase
17:20- 17:30 Closing remarks
Session 2: Countries and Partners step up collaboration towards resilient agrifood systems
Time: Thursday, 29 August 14:00 - 15:30 (CEST)
Location: Stockholm Waterfront Congress Center, C2, Level 2 & online
Session Description:
Water scarcity is one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century, severely impacting agriculture, which accounts for 72 percent of global freshwater withdrawals. Droughts are already a major cause of crop failures in many parts of the world and of acute food insecurity crisis in vulnerable countries. With the world population expected to reach around 10 billion in 2050, we will need to produce 50 percent more food than in 2012, which will require at least 25 percent more water. Changing rainfall patterns and a warming climate further threaten the food security and livelihoods of farmers and people worldwide.
The session will share the outcomes of the Towards a High-level Dialogue on the Global Framework on Water Scarcity in Agriculture (WASAG)- Technical Preparatory Meeting which took place in Rome from 29 to 30 April 2024 and announce the upcoming "High-Level Rome Water Dialogue on WASAG" on October 17, 2024, as part of the World Food Forum 2024. Both events will consolidate and scale-up the WASAG partnership onto greater level of visibility, commitment, and impact.
Agenda:
Moderator: Mariet Verhoef-Cohen, current vice-Chair of WASAG, Women for Water Partnership
14:00 -14:15 Opening remarks
WASAG Video on water scarcity in agriculture
14:15 -14:30 WASAG operating mechanisms
14:30 -14:40 Outcomes of the Towards a High-level Dialogue on the Global Framework on Water Scarcity in Agriculture (WASAG)- Technical Preparatory Meeting
14:40- 15:20 Discussion on the engagement of Member Nations and partners for an impactful WASAG
15:20- 15:30 Closing remarks