More crop per drop: Making water-smart agriculture work for small farmers

Irrigated agriculture occupies 20% of the world's arable land and produces 40% of its food. Agriculture also already accounts for 70% of global freshwater withdrawals. But today’s agricultural water management practices can sustainably feed only 3.4 billion people, a number far short of the nearly 10 billion people expected by 2050. There are now many ways to produce more food with less water. Micro-irrigation, for instance, delivers water more precisely to crops. Direct-seeded rice (DSR) reduces the water needed to grow one of the world's most important staples. Other approaches conserve soil moisture or harvest and reuse water. But delivering results at the scale required will depend on much wider adoption. Small farmers sit at the center of this challenge. They represent 84% of the world's farmers and produce around a third of its food. Their livelihoods depend directly on rainfall and reliable water, but many have limited savings, credit, or insurance to absorb a poor season. Changing an irrigation technology or cultivation practice adds another risk: the costs are immediate, the returns uncertain, and failure can mean debt or lost income. Farmers need to know which solution is right for their land, what it should cost, and whether it will work under local conditions. Finance or subsidies must be available when the decision is made; equipment must arrive before the planting window closes; and practical advice, maintenance, and agronomic support must continue throughout the season. This is the adoption gap: the distance between solutions that work and their widespread use on farms. What have efforts to close it taught us? Three Principles to Close the Adoption Gap First, make adoption financially viable for farmers. Affordable finance and timely incentives can lower upfront costs, while risk-management tools, practical advice and credible local evidence can give farmers greater confidence that the investment will pay off. Second, make technology and support dependable. Transparent prices, quality standards, capable providers, efficient subsidy processes, and reliable after-sales service matter because technology creates value only if farmers can obtain it, use it, and keep it working. Third, build a pathway from evidence to wider adoption. Pilots can show what works locally, but reaching more farmers requires that evidence to inform government programs; shape incentives; and attract public, private, and development finance. Multi-stakeholder platforms can align these elements around implementation while keeping farmers' needs at the center. This systems approach is central to Water Forward, a coalition working to lay the foundations for water security for over 1 billion people by 2030. The World Bank Group’s contribution, through its Water Strategy Implementation Plan, aims to improve water security for 400 million people, including 50 million through enhanced food production and improved livelihoods. Achieving these goals requires not only technology and finance, but also the policies, institutions, delivery systems, and partnerships that turn investment into results. In Practice in Uttar Pradesh India’s most populous state shows how these principles can work in practice. Although micro-irrigation systems were available in Uttar Pradesh, adoption remained below its potential. The market was fragmented: farmers struggled to identify approved suppliers, compare products and prices, and obtain reliable installation and after-sales support, while companies lacked an efficient way to reach dispersed customers and respond to demand at scale. In July 2023, the Government of Uttar Pradesh created the digital Uttar Pradesh Micro-Irrigation Platform (UP-MIP) with support from the 2030 Water Resources Group (WRG) to connect farmers, suppliers, WRG and government agencies through one statewide system. The platform established clearer rules for participation, common product and service standards, transparent prices, and digital processes for contracting, verification, and payment. This gave farmers greater choice and confidence while enabling companies to compete through a more predictable statewide marketplace. By June 2026, the platform had supported nearly 313,000 farmers to adopt micro-irrigation across 377,000 hectares and engaged 138 companies. More than US$206 million in investment flowed through the platform, including US$41 million contributed directly by farmers. At the average investment per hectare achieved so far, reaching the platform’s goal of one million hectares would represent a total market of approximately US$550 million for equipment and related services. Adoption depends not only on farmers, but also on whether markets and institutions can support a new practice. Take DSR which in Uttar Pradesh was not formally supported by the state at scale despite its potential to save 18-35% of water compared with transplanted rice without compromising yields, while also reducing labor requirements and methane emissions. Adopting the practice requires farmers to manage sowing, weeds, and other production risks differently, while the government needs evidence that DSR works under local conditions before promoting it through agricultural programs. Through WRG’s UP-Accelerator private-sector partners demonstrated how DSR could work under local conditions. UPL's DSR program, for example, combined mechanized sowing, suitable seed varieties, crop management, and advisory support to help farmers manage production risks and generate evidence for scale. According to Government of Uttar Pradesh data, DSR coverage increased thirtyfold, from 2,800 hectares in 2023 to 84,000 hectares in 2025. Beyond individual programs, private-sector partners including UPL are supporting wider DSR adoption through the Samriddh Dhaan Network. Launched by the Government of Uttar Pradesh with WRG support, the Network brings together more than 110 government, business, farmer, research, and civil-society partners to coordinate DSR implementation, evidence generation, machinery access, and farmer support. In 2025, the state provided US$500,000 to support DSR adoption and demonstration across 5,400 hectares — the first time it had formally financed DSR at scale. DSR has since been anchored within the World Bank-supported UP-AGREES program, which plans to expand the practice to 200,000 hectares in the near term, and two million hectares over the longer term. From Adoption to Opportunity Uttar Pradesh demonstrates how affordable finance, responsive delivery systems, and local evidence can turn water-smart technologies into practices farmers use. The benefits extend beyond water savings: more reliable production can strengthen livelihoods and food security while creating jobs throughout agricultural value chains. Water already supports an estimated 1.7 billion jobs worldwide; sustainably expanding irrigation within local water limits could create at least 245 million more. Producing more crop per drop ultimately depends on making water-smart agriculture work for small farmers. The solutions exist. The task now is to reduce the cost, complexity, and risk farmers face and strengthen the systems needed to support adoption at scale.