Book Description

Given the scarcity of land and water resources, global strategies to increase food production should focus efforts on increasing production per unit resources, i.e. the combined increase of production per unit land surface (yield expressed in kg/ha) and the increase of production per unit water used (water productivity expressed in kg/m³). The FAO portal to monitor WAter Productivity through Open access of Remotely sensed derived data (WaPOR) uses satellite information to compute and map key variables related to water and agriculture, such as evapotranspiration, biomass production and water productivity. The provision of near real time information through such open access data portal enables a range of service-providers to assist farmers attain more reliable yields and to improve their livelihoods; irrigation operators have access to new information to assess the performance of systems and to identify where to focus investments to modernize the irrigation schemes; and government agencies will be able to use the information to monitor and promote the efficient use of natural resources. This report presents the work undertaken to identify key stakeholders in the agriculture and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) sector and the capacity needs of farmers to improve water productivity in a sustainable manner, through two components; the first surveys the role and capacities of various stakeholders in the ICT and agriculture sector in Lebanon, and the second presents and analyzes the results of a survey into the capacity needs of farmers in relation to the use of ICT in agriculture in the Bekaa valley.