Agricultural Water Management

Gerlo Borghuis MSc serves as a Lecturer and Research Assistant in the Water Resources Management group at Wageningen University & Research since 2018. After completing his Master's degree at Wageningen University, where his thesis research focused on drip irrigation adoption by farmers in the Rio Dulce Irrigation System in Santiago del Estero, Argentina, he has developed expertise in agricultural water management and irrigation systems. He teaches in both bachelor's and master's programs within the International Land and Water Management curriculum, focusing on irrigation, agricultural management, and socio-technical approaches to water management. His work emphasizes the practical aspects of water resource management, particularly investigating water productivity and the implementation of various irrigation technologies. Through his involvement in the Water Productivity Improvement in Practice (Water-PIP) project and his teaching in MOOCs including "Agricultural Water Management" and "Drainage in Agriculture," he contributes to understanding how technological advancements can improve agricultural water management. His approach combines technical expertise with consideration of social factors, reflecting Wageningen University's unique socio-technical perspective on water management challenges.

Dr. Petra Hellegers serves as Professor and Chair of the Water Resources Management group at Wageningen University & Research, where she leads a dynamic team of approximately 20 staff members and more than 30 PhD candidates. Her expertise spans environmental economics, water allocation issues, and irrigation water management, with extensive international experience across multiple continents including Egypt, India, Morocco, Mozambique, Ukraine, and Yemen. She has established herself as a prominent figure in analyzing water allocation decisions and studying economic instruments in irrigation water management. Her leadership extends to various significant projects, including the Water Productivity Improvement in Practice (Water-PIP) initiative, which aims to increase crop water productivity in DGIS partner countries in Africa and the Near East and Northern Africa region. The project combines spatial land surface data with socio-economic analysis to strengthen decision-making processes in water management.

Harm Boesveld serves as a Lecturer and Research Assistant in Agricultural Water Management at Wageningen University & Research, bringing over 20 years of academic experience combined with extensive field expertise. After studying tropical agriculture with a specialization in land and water management, he developed a diverse international career spanning Asia, Africa, and Europe. His professional journey includes significant work in rural development in the Philippines and a decade of experience as a specialist in soil, water, and fertilization for Dutch agricultural advisory services.

Dr. Henk Ritzema served as Associate Professor at the Water Resources Management Chair Group of Wageningen University until his retirement in September 2020. His distinguished career spans nearly four decades of expertise in water management and hydrology for food and ecosystems. After obtaining his MSc in Civil Engineering from Delft University of Technology in 1980, he worked internationally in Fiji, Kenya, and Egypt before joining Alterra-ILRI at Wageningen University in 1989. He earned his PhD in 2009 with his thesis "Drain for gain: making water management worth its salts" from Wageningen University and UNESCO-IHE Delft.

Dr. Alex Bolding serves as Assistant Professor at the Water Resources Management group of Wageningen University & Research, where he combines expertise in irrigation engineering with social science perspectives on water governance. After his training as an irrigation engineer, he has built an extensive career studying irrigation systems and water management across multiple continents, starting in India and Bhutan before focusing primarily on Southern Africa (Zimbabwe, Mozambique, South Africa) and more recently expanding to Northeast and East Africa (Ethiopia, Tanzania). His work bridges technical irrigation design with social and political aspects of water management, particularly focusing on farmer-led irrigation development. His research has revealed significant insights into how small-scale farmers develop and manage irrigation systems, documenting previously unrecognized irrigated areas of over 100,000 hectares in Mozambique's mountainous regions