Water Resources Management of Banana Communities

Executive Summary

Agriculture uses about 70% of available water, which can generate conflicts with other users if availability is limited and seasonal. The consortium formed by UNAN-León Nicaragua, IDIAF of the Dominican Republic, banana and coffee producers, Bioversity International, the CGIAR Humidtropics Program and the French consultancy Lisode (Lien Social et Décision), convened farmers and other actors into a process based on ComMod (Companion Modeling) to reflect on the improvement of water management in banana producing areas. The process included information gathering, participatory diagnoses, the identification of interactions between water, climate, agriculture and other users, and the validation of a territorial dialogue platform that uses role play to coordinate the social system and identify water problems under different climatic scenarios. The 378 participants understood the problems of water use and the needs of others in the four work zones, based on conceptual models. Dialogue platforms identified 109 technological and institutional proposals of which 29 were included in action plans to improve knowledge about water resources, formalize the rules for access and use of water, innovate agricultural practices to reduce pressure on water resources and vulnerability of farms, and raise public awareness about water problems.

Results

Beneficiaries

A total of 378 farmers were the direct beneficiaries of 30 participatory workshops that consolidated the establishment of two territorial dialogue platforms in which 249 people related to water use participated, leading to the generation of individual and collective learning that served to collectively define 29 actions aimed at reducing the effects of water use problems. Additionally, 32 researchers were trained in the innovative analytical and participative method (ComMod). The continuity of the dialogue platforms and their replication in other territories will generate a larger number of beneficiaries as a consequence of the adoption of technological and organizational innovations. 

Sustainable Development Goals

Main donors

Dissemination products