In spite of the 30% increase in the food supply since 1961, significant changes are anticipated over the coming decades that will increase the challenges facing smallholders. Climate change, rapidly growing population and increasing pollution all add to the risks of water and food security. This is happening at a time when water resources management is shifting away from government planning and control to a more adaptive and flexible model involving more stakeholders, whereby farmers and smallholders are increasingly involved in decision-making and governance of water resources. Many governments, however, continue to look to their smallholders to increase food production and to find ways to produce more with less. Farmers, thus, will need to find new ways of learning and rely more on their own resources, on the private sector and on support from civil society organizations and non-governmental organizations. This paper examines the changing nature of farmer support services, focusing on the role played by emerging non-institutional actors. As water becomes the limiting resource for food production, it is crucial to understand how food markets are growing and can incentivize smallholders to produce more, and critically, how farmers are finding new ways of acquiring the knowledge and expertise they need.

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