Bruce Lankford

Systems- & people-centred water and irrigation

AI may not deliver irrigation performance gains

On the 5th June 2025 meeting of the Tony Allan Society, I argued that AI employed by irrigation scientists will not help us deliver significant analytical breakthroughs and improvements in … Continue reading

May 29, 2025

Can indicators and metrics guide resilience adaptation?

The diagram above shows two adaptation pathways for irrigated agriculture in a semi-arid drought-prone catchment over a period of 8-12 years. One pathway in green is becoming more resilient to … Continue reading

November 28, 2024

On the water literacy and distributive risks of GCEW’s ‘new’ drop of water

The 2024 Global Commission on the Economics of Water (GCEW) says we can create a new water drop by improving the recycling of water in two of its five missions, … Continue reading

November 5, 2024

Irrigation is colonising water and is being colonised; on research and teaching gaps in irrigation

I reflect on the current lack of meaningful irrigation research and teaching, and three consequences of this inaction. These are personal reflections spurred by being part of Lankford and Mabhaudhi … Continue reading

October 22, 2024