India is on the threshold of a solar revolution. Solar-powered irrigation pumps can either be a challenge or solution to the groundwater crisis in the country, depending on how it is promoted among farmers. This presentation explores the rise of solar energy and its potential to transform India’s irrigation economy.

Tacit knowledge resides in the minds of individuals but knowledge development thrives in a rich web of social contact among individuals, groups, and organizations. Insight Thursday provides such a context.

Insight Thursday is a weekly, 30-minute seminar open to all ADB staff. Stimulating discussions are par for the course. The events bring together different groups of people and promote understanding of, organization, and management of information worth paying attention to—from global or regional debates to institutional challenges and more.

This video documents how the challenges of getting water to serve highland areas of Tamayong in the Philippines' southern island of Mindanao have been largely overcome by a new irrigation system.

Majority of the youth have left Nepal to seek better employment opportunities in foreign countries. This video shows how the leftover population in the country are learning sustainable agriculture and conserving limited water resources and precious soil to produce tomorrow’s food.

Multiple challenges such as limited recognition impede women’s participation in the agriculture sector. More can be achieved in irrigation when women farmers are encouraged to participate and reach their full potential in light of changing economic and social patterns, increasing populations, and diminishing water resources.

The struggle for more efficient irrigation financing remains a challenge both in the public and private sectors. Stakeholders need to work together to find sustainable solutions for long-term gains toward improved financing that will deliver the desired results.

Asia faces the daunting prospect of continuously having to cope with population growth, urbanization, and water insecurity, among other serious issues. Innovation and new technology across multiple sectors are vital to scaling up different approaches in meeting various challenges from the region.

Modernization addresses the need to constantly manage change with the environment, the systems, and the needs of water users. This presentation itemizes the key components of change, the constraints that prevent institutions from embracing change, and the tools needed to empower them.

A scorecard of irrigation schemes completed in India's Madhya Pradesh Basin since 2010 is featured in this presentation. It also discusses how huge gains were achieved through better irrigation planning and governance, and strategic integration of technology.

This presentation shares the vision for water and food security in Asia and the Pacific by 2030. Making investments and providing an enabling environment for farmers, civil society, and the private sector in a number of key action areas will contribute to the attainment of this vision.