Agricultural water has been seen as aprime mechanism for fostering rural economic growth andreducing rural poverty. But agricultural water hasencountered problems of performance, profitability andsustainability. This resulted in a reduction in investmentsfrom governments and lending from development organizationslike the World Bank up to early 2000s. A sourcebook onimproving poverty reduction performance of agriculturalwater investments should be prepared to help task teamsassess the poverty reduction role of agricultural water, todesign and implement agricultural water operationsmaximizing poverty reduction impacts, and to measure resultsmore effectively.