Development objective: To increase the productivity of water for food and livelihoods, in a manner that is environmentally sustainable and socially acceptable.
The immediate objectives of the Challenge Program on Water and Food:
1. Food security for all at household level.
2. Poverty alleviation, through increased sustainable livelihoods in rural and peri-urban areas.
3. Improved health, through better nutrition, lower agriculture-related pollution and reduced water-related diseases.
4. Environmental security through improved water quality as well as the maintenance of water related ecosystem services, including biodiversity.
These form the four key dimensions in which progress towards the overall goal is measured.

Governments:
Government of Iran (Islamic Republic of) - Agricultural Research, Education and Extension (AREEO)

Major Groups:
International Water Management Institute (IWMI) (Sri Lanka)
Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) (Australia)
Brazilian Agricultural Research Corp (EMBRAPA) (Brazil)
Centro Internacional Agricultura Tropical (CIAT) (Colombia)
National Water Research Center (NWRC) (Egypt)
Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement (IRD) (France)
Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) (India)
Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS) (Japan)
The World Fish Center (ICLARM) (Malaysia)
International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) (Philippines)
International Water Management Institute (IWMI) (Sri Lanka)
Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) (Sweden)
Cooperative for Assistance & Relief Everywhere (CARE) (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland)
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) (United States of America)
World Resources Institute (WRI) (United States of America)

UN System: Other intergovernmental organizations:
Mekong River Commission (Cambodia)
Yellow River Conservancy Commission (YRCC) (China)
Future Harvest Centers of the CGIAR (United States of America)
Agricultural Research Council (ARC) (Zimbabwe)

Other:
University of California, Davis (UC Davis) (United States of America)