At World Water Week 2026 in Stockholm, DWFI actively led and participated in discussions, dialogues and sessions aimed at solving critical global water and food security challenges. Convening global leaders, researchers, industry partners and agricultural practitioners, the annual conference provided an effective forum to connect international governance with real-world farming practices.
Throughout the week, DWFI staff engaged in meetings with partners and project teams to foster collaboration and advance ongoing initiatives, as well as create new opportunities. DWFI's participation in conference sessions highlighted that achieving lasting water security requires uniting global strategy, advanced private-sector innovation and on-farm implementation. Through its participation, the institute continued to push for agricultural water use to be a vital part of the water conversation.
Bringing the irrigation industry to the table
Photo caption: DWFI Associate Director Nicole Lefore and Valley Irrigation’s Darren Siekman share their insights during a talk show session at World Water Week 2026.
In the interactive talk show session, "Water, Food, People, and Progress – Quo vadis, irrigation industry?", DWFI addressed a persistent disconnect in international water policy: why agricultural technology providers and private industry are frequently left out of global water management discussions.
DWFI Associate Director Nicole Lefore joined Darren Siekman, vice president of global marketing and policy at Valley Irrigation, a Valmont Company, to discuss why sustainable water stewardship cannot be achieved without private-sector involvement. Emphasizing the necessity of active industry participation, Siekman noted during the panel discussion:"We have to have that seat at the table. Because, no pun intended, without it, there won't be anything on the table."
The discussion highlighted three major imperatives for integrating industry into global water discussions:
- Industry as a solution partner: Private technology providers stand at the front lines of water stewardship, continually leveraging research and development (R&D) and data analytics to advance precision agriculture.
- Breaking down silos: Sustainable water management requires breaking down traditional sectoral boundaries, connecting irrigation directly with local water governance, health and nutrition, and regional economics.
- Supporting farmers via local business ecosystems: Expanding irrigation access successfully—especially in developing regions—depends on constructing a complete local ecosystem. This involves establishing dependable equipment and parts supply chains, suitable technical skills, local repair services and flexible financing models, rather than simply delivering equipment without ongoing support.
The evolution of water multilateralism
Photo caption: DWFI Emeritus Executive Director Roberto Lenton (second from left) and DWFI Program Coordinator Rebecca Carrillo (third from left) joined professionals from the International Water Management Institute to share their insights on water multilateralism during a talk show session at World Water Week 2026.
Co-convened by DWFI and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), the session "The evolution of water multilateralism: Tackling today's challenges" offered an inspiring intergenerational dialogue on global water governance.
The conversation drew upon the four decades of international water experience of DWFI Emeritus Executive Director Roberto Lenton, highlighting insights from his book, “Confronting Water Insecurity.” Lenton and a panel including DWFI Program Coordinator Rebecca Carrillo examined how historical institutions can evolve into flexible, modern policy structures capable of meeting today's complex climate threats.
Key insights from the intergenerational panel included:
- Building future-ready scaffolding: Unlike sectors such as energy or climate, global water management lacks a single unifying international body. Establishing a flexible, science-informed framework backed by strong political leadership is vital for effective global cooperation.
- Treating water as an investment: To close substantial global funding gaps, institutions must transition from treating water purely as a budget cost to valuing it as a critical investment, accompanied by transparent disclosure of water risks.
- Recognizing local contexts: Because water challenges and resource demands vary by geography, global policies must accommodate local realities and integrate the perspectives of farmers and land stewards.
- Empowering next-generation leaders: Emerging water professionals, including Carrillo, brought fresh momentum to the dialogue, demonstrating that future policy must build upon foundational knowledge while adopting innovative approaches and capitalizing on renewed energy from emerging leaders in the space.
Putting farmers at the center of our response to water scarcity
Photo caption: DWFI Director of Research Christopher Neale (left) and DWFI Associate Director Nicole Lefore (second from left) collaborated with FAO in an official session at World Water Week 2026.
DWFI played a prominent role in the dedicated session, "WASAG - farmers centered response to water scarcity in agriculture." During this event, member countries of the Steering Committee for the Global Framework on Water Scarcity in Agriculture (WASAG) reaffirmed their commitment to putting agricultural producers at the center of water scarcity interventions. This commitment is anchored across the four core pillars of the WASAG strategy: policy development; research and innovation; capacity building; and project financing.
DWFI leadership featured prominently throughout the session. DWFI Associate Director Nicole Lefore served as a panelist examining how governments, technical partners and agricultural communities can collaborate to accelerate farmer-led solutions. DWFI Director of Research Christopher Neale served as the moderator for the session and delivered closing remarks, emphasizing the necessity of embedding farmer-centered approaches across local, national, regional and global levels to build resilience.
Advancing inclusive drought resilience
Photo caption: DWFI Director of Water, Climate and Health Jesse Bell presents during a workshop on drought resilience at World Water Week 2026.
To address the challenge of translating national drought policy frameworks into action on the ground, DWFI co-convened the workshop "From Policy to People: Advancing Inclusive Drought Resilience" alongside the UN Environment Programme; the UNEP-DHI Centre on Water and Environment; the Global Water Partnership; The Nature Conservancy; and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification.
Because drought increasingly threatens water security, food systems, ecosystems, and human health—with vulnerable communities suffering the most severe impacts—the discussion focused on bridging the gap between high-level policy and local practice. Panelists, including DWFI Director of Water, Climate and Health Jesse Bell, emphasized that successful implementation depends on cross-sector collaboration, strengthened institutional capacity and inclusive knowledge networks.
During the session, participants broke into groups to discuss and reported back to the group. Discussions highlighted practical solutions, including peer learning activities, practitioner exchanges and formal training like the newly developed online courses on drought risk assessment and preparedness under the UNCCD Communities of Learning and Practice. By combining traditional training with social learning networks, the convening partners demonstrated how to accelerate knowledge adoption, enhance drought governance and scale up economic investments in resilience.
Innovative finance approaches for small-scale irrigation
Photo caption: DWFI Associate Director Nicole Lefore (right) moderated a panel of small-scale irrigation experts in an official session at World Water Week 2026.
Focusing on market-based, scalable solutions, DWFI and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) co-convened "Innovative approaches and financing mechanisms for small-scale irrigation." The session highlighted several companies who currently provide irrigation services in various parts of the world. The session explored sustainable, market-based business models designed to expand access to agricultural water for smallholder producers and resource-constrained growers.
Key financial and operational strategies presented during the session included:
- Transition to irrigation as a service (IaaS): Shifting from capital-intensive equipment ownership to pay-per-session or subscription models provides smallholders with reliable water access at the right time. IaaS removes burdensome upfront equipment investment from farmers, while transferring risks of breakdown and costs for maintenance to service providers.
- Targeting those who use irrigation services the most: Women farmers account for 20% to 70% of irrigation service customers. Companies and social enterprises must be intentional about delivering to smallholder customers in remote locations, such as hiring designated pump operators, designing tailored payment modalities, and offering flexible options for services.
- Localizing logistics and support: To reduce transportation inefficiencies and truly reach rural areas, service providers are partnering with local agricultural input shops to serve as neighborhood equipment pickup points, keeping tools near fields.
- Deploying smart, targeted subsidies: Public subsidies can be advantageous to farmers if carefully structured. Kenya’s National Irrigation Sector Investment Plan (NISIP) serves as an example of using targeted grants to attract private capital, including for solar-based irrigation.
- Linking financing with market access: Financial tools must be coupled with market integration, assisting smallholders in transitioning to high-value crops and leveraging off-taker agreements to ensure long-term profitability.
Bringing the agricultural and irrigation perspective
DWFI’s participation at World Water Week 2026 underscored that managing global water needs demands action across every scale of water management. By bringing a distinct agricultural and irrigation perspective to the global stage, the institute helped ensure that food production remains central to water security discussions. Achieving lasting water security requires seamless alignment—from global intergovernmental frameworks and corporate technological innovation down to smallholder farmers working directly in their fields. By fostering multi-sector collaboration, driving financial innovation and prioritizing farmer-centered solutions, DWFI continues to lead efforts to secure water and food resources worldwide.
World Water Week will share recordings of all sessions later this month on their YouTube page »
