Water-Wise: Smart Irrigation Strategies for Africa, Dakar
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WATER-WISE Smart Irrigation Strategies for Africa A Malabo Montpellier Panel Report 2018 WATER-WISE Smart Irrigation Strategies for Africa Acknowledgements The Malabo Montpellier Panel is generously supported by the African Development Bank (AfDB), the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and UK aid from the UK Government. This report was authored by the Malabo Montpellier Panel. The writing of the report was led by Katrin Glatzel (IFPRI), Mahamadou Tankari (IFPRI), and Kathrin Demmler (Imperial College London) under the guidance of Ousmane Badiane and Joachim von Braun, co-chairs of the Panel. The inputs and advice of Panel members Ishmael Sunga, Sheryl Hendriks, Patrick Caron, Gordon Conway and Agnes Kalibata are especially acknowledged. We would also like to thank Claudia Ringler (IFPRI), Bernhard Tischbein (University of Bonn), Alisher Mirzabaev (University of Bonn), Rahel Deribe (University of Bonn), Meera Shah (Imperial College London), Bill Garthwaite (The World Bank), Fatima Ezzahra Mengoub (OCP Policy Center) and Fred Kizito (CIAT) for their feedback and advice. The report was designed by WRENmedia with support from Hawa Diop (IFPRI). Foreword Africa is seeing a surge of interest in irrigation among small- The objective of this report is to identify interventions that scale farmers as climate change brings more erratic weather. work and recommend options for policy and program inno- At the same time, a growing population across the conti- vation that allow countries to upgrade or expand current irri- nent demands more reliable and continuous supply of food. gation systems. This strategy should be as diverse as are Elevating irrigation to a top policy priority and bringing irriga- African countries and agro-ecologies. It may be small-scale tion to scale could help ensure the continent’s food security in and farmer-led or large-scale irrigation systems supported the face of more extreme weather conditions and be an engine by governments and the private sector. Crucially, any irriga- of agricultural transformation. Expanding and upgrading irri- tion systems and technologies ought to be designed to fit gation systems — of all types — requires successful partner- local environments, and meet the needs of smallholder farm- ships between farmers, governments and the private sector. It ers, while being environmentally sustainable and preserving will require tax cuts on imported technologies and machines; the natural resource base upon which agriculture depends. support for the build-up of an African irrigation technology industry; training of farmers on how to operate irrigation sys- The Malabo Montpellier Panel convenes 17 leading experts tems; and regulation governing the use of water in agriculture in agriculture, ecology, nutrition and food security to guide guided by long term cost and benefit considerations, that also policy choices by African governments to accelerate progress take ecological aspects into account. A most important aspect toward food security and improved nutrition in Africa. The for innovation in irrigation is institutional arrangements includ- Panel identifies areas of progress and positive change across ing cooperation approaches, not just technical innovations. the continent and assesses what successful countries have Significant lessons can be drawn from interventions in sev- done differently. It then identifies the most important institu- eral African countries. The current report — Water-Wise: tional innovations and policy and program interventions that Smart Irrigation Strategies for Africa — summarizes the key can be replicated and scaled up by other countries. The related findings of a systematic analysis of what six African coun- Malabo Montpellier Forum provides a platform to promote tries at the forefront of progress on irrigation have done policy innovation by using the evidence produced by the Panel right. It analyzes which institutional and policy innovations to facilitate dialogue and exchange among high-level deci- were implemented to increase irrigation uptake. Several sion-makers on African agriculture, nutrition and food security. of these can be brought to scale across the continent to help governments meet the targets and goals under the African Union Agenda 2063 and the Malabo Declaration. Ousmane Badiane Joachim von Braun Co-Chairs, Malabo Montpellier Panel iv THE MALABO MONTPELLIER PANEL The core mission of the Malabo Montpellier Panel, a group of leading African and international experts from the fields of agri- culture, ecology, food security, nutrition, public policy and global development, is to support evidence-based dialogue among policy makers at the highest level. The Panel’s reports seek to inform and guide policy choices to accelerate progress toward the ambitious goals of the African Union Commission’s Agenda 2063, the Malabo Declaration and the global development agenda. The Panel works with African governments and civil society organizations to provide support and evidence-based research that facilitate the identification and implementation of policies that enhance agriculture, food security and nutrition. Ousmane Badiane Joachim von Braun Senegal | co-chair germany | co-chair Africa Director, International Food Director, Center for Development Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) Research (ZEF), University of Bonn Debisi Araba nigeria Sheryl Hendriks SoUth Africa Africa Director, International Center Director, Institute for Food Nutrition and for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) Well-being, University of Pretoria Tom Arnold ireland Muhammadou M.O. Kah the gambia Vice President of Academic Affairs/Provost Chairman, European Commission and Professor of Information Technology & Task Force on Rural Africa (TFRA) Computing, American University of Nigeria Noble Banadda Uganda Agnes M. Kalibata rwanda Chair, Department of Agricultural and Bio President, Alliance for a Green Systems Engineering, Makerere University Revolution in Africa (AGRA) Patrick Caron France Nachilala Nkombo Zambia Chair of the High Level Panel of Experts/ Country Director for the World HLPE on Food Security and Nutrition Wildlife Fund (WWF) Gordon Conway UK Wanjiru Kamau-Rutenberg Kenya Professor for International Development, Director, African Women in Agricultural Imperial College London Research and Development (AWARD) Gebisa Ejeta ethiopia Ishmael Sunga Zimbabwe Distinguished Professor of Plant CEO, Southern African Confederation Breeding & Genetics and International of Agricultural Unions (SACAU) Agriculture, Purdue University Rhoda Peace Tumusiime Uganda Karim El Aynaoui MOROCCO Former Commissioner for Rural Economy and Managing Director, OCP Policy Center Agriculture, African Union Commission (AUC) Ashok Gulati INDIA Infosys Chair Professor for Agriculture at Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) v Introduction Considerable progress has been made across Africa to Fortunately, key lessons can be drawn from successful inter- increase agricultural productivity, reduce poverty, create new ventions in several African countries that can be adopted and employment opportunities, and improve livelihoods. Yet pop- brought to scale across the continent. This report identifies ulation growth, demographic change, urbanization, and cli- what these countries have done right, why and how to ‘move mate change mean that pressure on agricultural systems to the needle’ in the area of irrigation. In particular, it identifies the make more food available and accessible is growing rapidly. most important institutional innovations as well as policy and program interventions that can be replicated and scaled up In many countries across the continent, rainfall is highly vari- by other countries to develop and expand irrigation systems. able or insufficient. Yet food production continues to be almost exclusively rain-fed. Where there is only one growing season, The report begins with an overview of the challenges on agri- farmers are thus more vulnerable to erratic rainfall patterns and cultural systems to make more food available and accessible droughts, resulting in low yields and incomes. Currently, only and lays out the potential of irrigation to make agriculture more 6 percent of arable land in Africa is irrigated1 and on average the productive, efficient and profitable for smallholder farmers. A area equipped for irrigation grew by just 1.5 percent between discussion on the potential to expand irrigation across Africa and barriers to uptake including an analysis of the inherent 1990 and 2015.2 Nevertheless, the potential to increase irriga- risks and desired outcomes of irrigation forms the next section. tion is high, in particular in countries south of the Sahara (SSA).3 The report reviews the traditional and new, innovative small- Expanding countries’ irrigation potential can improve agri- scale and large-scale irrigation approaches and technologies cultural productivity on existing land and extend growing that have been implemented in Africa, followed by an analy- seasons throughout the year, which would reduce poverty, sis of the experiences of six African countries that have been food insecurity, and import dependency across the conti- particularly innovative and successful in terms of their insti- nent. However, expanding and upgrading irrigation systems tutional and policy design for irrigation. The report closes by will require individual and collective action by governments, drawing some key lessons and offering nine recommendations the