3. The challenge
• At present, almost a billion people in the world are
food-insecure
• World population is estimated to reach 10 billion by
2050
• Climate change, variability, competition for resources
• Increasing demand for high value, water intensive
products
• Demand for water from agriculture projected to
increase by up to 60% by 2050
• Major yield gaps and areas of low water productivity
• Balancing food and water security, and providing
livelihoods (i.e. jobs)
Global hunger index (GHI) 2015 (Xie et al, 2016)
Refugee Camp, Jordan (Spiehs/DWFI 2016)
4. Daugherty Institute’s vision and mission
• Robert Daugherty understood these enormous global challenges.
• The institute was created from his vision for a food and water secure world.
• Mission: to have a lasting, significant impact on achieving more food security
through research and education.
• DWFI is a distributed institute, across the University of Nebraska, drawing on
strong partnerships to amplify our global reach.
• Researching in: Nebraska & Midwest, National, MENA, South Asia (India),
Brazil, Argentina, sub Saharan Africa
(Ethiopia, Tanzania, Rwanda & Ghana)
5. What we do
Together with the University of Nebraska, we:
• Conduct scientific and policy research
• Use the results of research to inform and advise policy
makers
• Convene stakeholders through partnerships and
conferences
• Educate the necessary human talent
By engaging in local and global water and food issues with
faculty fellow (100) expertise in:
• Water sciences
• Agricultural sciences
• Social sciences, business and law
• Information sciences
• Public health
6. Priority areas
• Groundwater management for
agricultural production
• Closing water and agricultural
productivity gaps
• Enhancing high-productivity
irrigated agriculture
• Agro-ecosystems and public health
• Management of agricultural drought,
extreme climatic events
7. Groundwater management
• Agricultural is the largest user of
groundwater globally
• 44% of global food production is
produced by groundwater, of which 33%
is from non-renewable sources
• Significant energy implications
• Governance and management are
challenging
“We must not kill the goose (groundwater) that lays the golden eggs.” Mihir Shah WLE Steering Committee.
Source: WRI, Aqueduct: Measuring and Mapping Water Risk
8. Groundwater management outcomes
• Use Nebraska’s expertise and leadership in water management
to improve aquifer conditions to sustain rural livelihoods
• Educate and inform water managers about how to put new
ideas into practice
• Water issues are local – determine what management
strategies work and how they can be shared
• High Plains Aquifer project
• Documenting case studies of water practices with Environmental
Defense Fund (EDF)
• Groundwater governance (Core partner in: Global Solutions Initiative
for Policy & Practice (GRIPP)
9. Closing water and agricultural productivity
gaps
• Improve efficiency of agricultural
water use in key areas
• Work with partners to help farmers
understand how they can use water
more effectively
• Determine water productivity, both
currently and potentially
• Remote moisture sensors
• Drones
• Computer modeling
10. Enhancing high productivity irrigated
agriculture
• Research, develop and share the most advanced technologies
and practices to improve agricultural productivity locally and
globally
• Build capacity through pilot programs
with public-private sector partners
• CIRCLES, in Tanzania, Rwanda, etc.
• Raikes Design Studio on agricultural
database
• Smart Energy/Water Meters
11. Agro-ecosystems and public health
• Improve environmental and public
health while maintaining
agricultural practices and rural
livelihoods
• Work with partners to improve:
• water quality
• water use in food processing
• development of water markets
Nitrate-N [mg/2004 - 2013
12. Management of agricultural drought
• Improve agricultural
resilience to drought
in key areas
• Work with partners to
develop information,
tools and policies
for drought management
• ET evaluation and drought monitoring system development for MENA
• Remote water accounting and water productivity assessment tools
14. Educating and engaging the next generation
• Internships and fellowships for
undergraduate and graduate
students and post-docs
• Water Advanced Research and
Innovation (WARI) Fellowship
Program between Nebraska
and India in water quality
• Partnership with IHE-Delft for
dual degree program
16. 2025 and beyond
• The University of Nebraska is recognized as a global
leader for all aspects of achieving water for food
security. DWFI is a first pick for partnerships and grants
to develop innovative solutions.
• NU/DWFI students are placed in agricultural and water
leadership positions in industry, government, and
academia in Nebraska, other states, Washington D.C.
and worldwide. Our students and program alums are
proud to serve as Water for Food ambassadors.
• We are respected conveners, hosting conferences,
roundtables, seminars, workshops and meetings that
result in expanded knowledge and new approaches to
achieving water and food security around the world.
Producing enough food for a growing, urbanizing and wealthier human population requires increasing the use of water and land, and placing more pressure on already degraded ecosystems.
The number of people living in water scarce conditions (<500 m3 per capita per year) is projected to increase by 40%, and variability in water availability expected to be exacerbated by climate change.
Many of the countries where water scarcity is already an emerging challenge are in the developing world, where this a need for economies to grow most rapidly and where there are ambitious plans to increase agricultural production to meet the present and future needs of the population.
Consider the different contexts of the water for food challenge, and explore some of the potential solutions and opportunities to systematically address the challenges.
Solutions for agricultural water management, in terms of technologies, practices and policies; and to the opportunities to address the sustainability of critical groundwater resources.
Nearly 300 million of the poor in SSA are in rural areas where livelihoods depend on crops, livestock and fisheries.
India, China, Bangladesh and Pakistan = 1 billion households dependent on GW for agriculture
Critical in mitigating impacts of extreme events exacerbated by climate change
Nebraska has the most acres of irrigated agriculture in the country and is 13th in the world.Nebraska is a leader in water governance, research and water use in agriculture
Nebraska and key countries: USAID funded collaboration with NDMC to develop and produce a satellite-based ET product as part of drought monitoring system for the MENA region
Developing new technologies, such as using drones and remote sensing to gather data that can be used to support more effective water management
Energy is a key component to irrigation decisions
Examples of partnerships: CIRCLES, Raikes School, Science Literacy
Collaborative research with faculty of UNMC’s College of Public Health, UNO, UNK, the Nebraska Water Center and the Water Sciences Laboratory.
Agricultural water markets – provides incentives for conserving water and invest in new technology
National workshop held at NIC, session at World Water Week in Stockholm, 4-part series at the Global Water for Food Conference
Partnerships with the World Bank, Mammoth Trading, EDF to develop more workshops and possible international projects
Building capacity, sharing knowledge to influence water market design and adoption to include key environmental and economic considerations and good governance practices
Christopher Neale, Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute at the University of Nebraska
Christopher Hain, Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center, University of Maryland, NOAA-NESDIS
Martha C. Anderson, USDA-Agricultural Research Service, Hydrology and Remote Sensing Laboratory
In collaboration with ICBA, the National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC) and in partnership with USAID, FAO, USDA, Univ. Maryland, and regional entities.
Developing drought monitoring systems, initially for Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Jordan & Lebanon.
Evapotranspiration product to be used for drought early warning estimates, water accounting and water productivity assessment.
The Daugherty Institute’s work has attracted valuable global research partners. These partnerships have led to projects and possible partnerships and funding with other organizations.
Daugherty gift is building the next generation of water in agriculture experts. Young people who are sharing their knowledge in their home countries around the world. IHE-DWFI Dual Degree Program: students study agricultural water management in Nebraska and the Netherlands
Student exchanges, e.g. field methods course
Mumba Mwape graduated with the dual degree this may and is returning to Zambia to join the Ministry of Agriculture in a research position
The Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute provides a wealth of information across a variety of platforms to reach stakeholders:
Online: website, YouTube channel, social media, email newsletter
Print: conference proceedings, policy reports, annual reports, fliers, posters, Op-Ed articles, press releases, articles
Broadcast: radio interviews, TV interviews, YouTube videos
Personal: meetings, lectures, participating in allied conferences, projects, stories
Through our global conference, presentations, workshops and active media engagement, the Daugherty Institute at Nebraska is well recognized as a leader in this important field.
We are focused on achieving Bob Daugherty’s vision for the institute with impactful research that results in more food, with less stress on water, for everyone. Our actions will build our reputation, attracting important stakeholders who are proud to support our work.