From Scarcity to Solutions 2025

Keys to success The scalability of food-water technologies hinges on three interdependent principles: 1. Phased innovation, which employs iterative, context-specific adoption to build stakeholder trust and mitigate risks. 2. Ecosystem alignment, where public-private partnerships consolidate resources and policy support to reduce fragmentation, ensuring solutions meet both farmer needs and corporate sustainability targets.3. Corporate risk absorption, requiring industry leaders to underwrite upfront costs and validate ROI, thereby aligning profitability with environmental impact. By prioritizing these principles, the private sector can convert systemic barriers into scalable opportunities, advancing solutions that harmonize agricultural productivity with water resilience. Emerging markets such as the Middle East are test-beds for powerful innovations across the food-water nexus. Their progress in technologies like climate-resilient agriculture offers valuable lessons for the world. In the MENA region, CGIAR is creating holistic, locally-tailored models that promote water- efficient technologies, improved land use practices and regional cooperation, restoring degraded lands and improving agricultural productivity, as well as introducing circular bioeconomy solutions for the urban environments. To accelerate impact, we need collaborative platforms like the Food Innovation Hubs that can help connect stakeholders, share knowledge and scale context- appropriate innovation solutions. Ismahane Elouafi, Executive Managing Director, CGIAR From Scarcity to Solutions: Food-Water Innovation in Asia and the Middle East 40