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Farming systems are complex and have several dimensions that interact in a dynamic and continuous manner depending on farmers’ management strategies. This complexity peaks in Indian semi-arid regions, where small farms encounter a highly competitive environment for markets and resources, especially unreliable access to water from rainfall and irrigation. NAMASTE, a dynamic computer model for water management at the farm level, was developed to reproduce interactions between decisions (investment and technical) and processes (resource management and biophysical) under scenarios of climate-change, socio-economic and water-management policies. The most relevant and novel aspects are i) system-based representation of farming systems, ii) description of dynamic processes via management flexibility and adaptation, iii) representation of farmers’ decision-making processes at multiple temporal and spatial scales, iv) management of shared resources. NAMASTE’s ability to simulate farmers’ adaptive decision-making processes is illustrated by simulating a virtual Indian village composed of two virtual farms with access to groundwater. (c) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.