A National Academies committee will organize a 2-day workshop of experts from arid and semi-arid regions of North Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and the United States to explore how science and technology innovations can support the sustainable use of water resources for crop production. Topics to be addressed may include:

• Transformative science and engineering approaches to improve water management for precision agriculture (e.g., in situ sensors, remote sensing, automation, AI/ML and data science)
• Natural resources management strategies for improving water retention, enhancing drought resilience, and improving the health of agricultural soils
• Engineering solutions to enhance water availability in agricultural regions (e.g., water reuse, desalination, managed aquifer recharge)
• Opportunities for growing high value crops as a result of enhanced water availability (e.g., containerized or greenhouse farming, tree crops); and
• Strategic partnerships that will enable scientific and engineering innovations.