Harnessing Digital Technologies for Smarter Water Management in Agriculture 2025

Images: Getty Images Contents Foreword 3 Executive summary 4 Introduction 5 1 Closing the gap in agricultural water efficiency 9 1.1 Monitoring and assessing water resource availability 11 1.2 Optimizing irrigation efficiency with smart systems 13 1.3 Strategic crop selection for water resilience 16 1.4 Leveraging technology to maximize rainwater harvesting 18 2 Building the foundation for digital water solutions in agriculture 19 2.1 Establishing data infrastructure for smart agriculture 21 2.2 Expanding connectivity in rural areas 24 2.3 Upskilling farmers to leverage digital technologies 24 2.4 Making smart agriculture affordable and scalable 25 3 Conclusion 27 Contributors 29 Acknowledgements 29 Endnotes 31 Disclaimer This document is published by the World Economic Forum as a contribution to a project, insight area or interaction. The findings, interpretations and conclusions expressed herein are a result of a collaborative process facilitated and endorsed by the World Economic Forum but whose results do not necessarily represent the views of the World Economic Forum, nor the entirety of its Members, Partners or other stakeholders. © 2025 World Economic Forum. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system. Harnessing Digital Technologies for Smarter Water Management in Agriculture 2