#AskAg Twitter Chat: Water and Food Security Nexus
Event Information
Join our #AskAg Twitter Chat on World Water Day, March 22, 2013 at 12 pm EDT, to discuss the water-food security nexus. To celebrate this year’s theme of Cooperation – Building Partnerships, USAID will host a discussion around water and food with a focus on irrigation and water management for agriculture. We invite USAID, implementing partners, and the Twitter community to contribute. We look forward to your participation!
Twitter Accounts to follow
| Experts | Featured Contributors |
| • Moffatt Ngugi: @mkangiri | • Water For People: @waterforpeople |
| • Timothy Prewitt: @iDEorg | • WASH Advocates: @WASHadvocates |
| • John Pasch: @jpasch | • CARE: @peterlochery |
| • Julie Wroblewski: @WROBSKI | • CARE: @alan_nicol |
Guiding questions
- What are some of the water-related challenges in food production? (i.e., water availability; water quality; inconsistent supply – flood/drought)
- What are some of the potential technologies or implementation innovations to meet these challenges?
- What are the barriers to successful deployment of new ideas in the water/agriculture space?
- What are some ways to ensure the safe use of wastewater in irrigation?
- Do energy needs present challenges to the agriculture and water nexus?
- What are some successful case studies of innovative water and agriculture projects? Have your links ready!
How to participate
- If you are new to Twitter, visit Twitter.com to sign up for an account. (For more tips on getting started, check out our Twitter 101 Training.)
- Explore the guiding questions that will be discussed during the chat.
- Join us for discussion on March 22 at 12 pm EDT by using the hashtag #AskAg and following @Agrilinks.
- You can also follow on Twubs or through the livestream below.
Livestream
Speakers
Moffatt Ngugi
USAID
Moffatt Ngugi is a program analyst on climate change in Agriculture at USAID. A geospatial ecologist with training in range management, physical land resources and agroecology, Ngugi studied at the University of Nairobi (Bsc), Ghent University (Msc) and Colorado State University (PhD) and have worked in diverse settings globally. Research and work experience include: social and ecological characterization of herbivore key resource areas, postdoctoral research at University of California Davis using GIS/remote sensing to constrain biogeochemical modeling of greenhouse gases; working as a consultant for terrestrial carbon science; and inventory of forage resources of Dakota grasslands at USDA-ARS (Agricultural Research Service). Ngugi collaborates with stakeholders to address environment and climate change concerns in the sustainable intensification of agricultural production to improve food security.
Timothy Prewitt
IDE
Most recently, Mr. Prewitt acted as Managing Director for Chemonics International in Nigeria. Prior to that he was Chemonics' Director for Asia and Europe/Eurasia Divisions and head of the Private Sector Practice stationed in Washington, D.C. Mr. Prewitt has worked in more than 15 countries in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, for the Soros Foundation, UNESCO European Center for Higher Education, the New American School Development Corporation, as well as for private equity investors in China.
John Pasch
USAID
Julie Wroblewski
JW Strategic Consulting
Julie Wroblewski is the principal and founder of JW Strategic Consulting, a consulting firm providing services including strategy development, philanthropic advising, program measurement and evaluation and applied research for foundations, individual philanthropists, corporations and government agencies. Julie’s work focuses primarily on helping individuals and institutions develop and evaluate programs to achieve social impact objectives including programs that work at the nexus of water and food security. Her ongoing work includes supporting the management and evaluation of the Gates Foundation’s investments in smallholder agricultural water management in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Julie also serves as an advisor and consultant for the Howard G. Buffett Foundation’s Global Water Initiative and periodically provides expertise to USAID's Feed the Future Initiative on issues related to water, gender, agriculture and food security.
Mark Duey
Water for People
Mark Duey is Sr. Strategic Program Manager at Water For People. Mark began with Water For People in early 2008 in Honduras as Program Coordinator of Mi Escuela Saludable SWASH+, a school water, sanitation, and hygiene education program implemented throughout Central America by CARE, Catholic Relief Services (CRS), and Water For People. Mark is a licensed Professional Civil Engineer and has a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Nebraska. He also holds a Master of Science in Economics from the Barcelona Graduate School of Economics, where he was a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar. Mark is a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer, where he served in Honduras as a water and sanitation engineer, and has professional experience as a consulting engineer with HDR in Nebraska and Florida for five years and also as a Fellow with CRS in Nicaragua.
Elynn Walter
WASH Advocates
Elynn Walter previously worked as the Program Director of Global Water, Health and Schools at Water Advocates. At Water Advocates, Elynn focused on the linkages between WASH, health and education. Elynn has worked both in private industry as well as for the Department of State. She was a George Washington University Global Health Service Fellow at the Kazakhstan School of Public Health in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Her interest in water, sanitation, and hygiene stems from her experience as a Community Health Educator for the Peace Corps in Turkmenistan. Elynn has worked with several non-profits on water, sanitation and health on ways to incorporate hygiene education into water and sanitation infrastructure projects. Elynn received her Master of Public Health from George Washington University and her Bachelor of Arts from James Madison University.
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