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Irrigation in Sub-Saharan Africa WTP- 123 L _7 _V Public Disclosure Authorized Irrigation in Sub-Saharan Africa The Development of Public and Private Systems Shawki Barghouti and Guy Le Moigne IIE CO PY END M UFACETR )MA Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized EVE AND TENURE N ANTN RECENT WORLD BANK TECHNICAL PAPERS No. 58 Levitsky and Prasad, CreditGuarantee Schemes for Small and Medium Enterprises No. 59 Sheldrick, WorldNitrogen Survey No. 60 Okun and Ernst, CommunityPiped Water Supply Systems in DevelopingCountries: A PlanningManual No. 61 Gorse and Steeds, Desertificationin the Sahelianand SudanianZones of WestAfrica No. 62 Goodland and Webb, The Managementof Cultural Propertyin WorldBank-Assisted Projects: Archaeological,Historical, Religious, and NaturalUnique Sites No. 63 Mould, FinancialInformation for Managementof a DevelopmentFinance Institution: Some Guidelines No. 64 Hillel, The EfficientUse of Waterin Irrigation:Principles and Practicesfor ImprovingIrrigation in Arid and SemiaridRegions No. 65 Hegstad and Newport, ManagementContracts: Main Features and DesignIssues No. 66F Godin, Preparationdes projetsurbains d'ame'nagement No. 67 Leach and Gowen, HouseholdEnergy Handbook: An Interim Guideand ReferenceManual (also in French, 67F) No. 68 Armstrong-Wright and Thiriez, Bus Services:Reducing Costs,Raising Standards No. 69 Prevost, CorrosionProtection of PipelinesConveying Water and Wastewater:Guidelines No. 70 Falloux and Mukendi, DesertificationControl and RenewableResource Management in the Sahelianand SudanianZones of WestAfrica (also in French, 70F) No. 71 Mahmood, ReservoirSedimentation: Impact, Extent, and Mitigation No. 72 Jeffcoateand Saravanapavan, The Reductionand Controlof Unaccounted-forWater: Working Guidelines (also in Spanish, 72S) No. 73 Palange and Zavala, WaterPollution Control: Guidelines for ProjectPlanning and Financing(also in Spanish, 73S) No. 74 Hoban, EvaluatingTraffic Capacity and Improvementsto RoadGeometry No. 75 Noetstaller, Small-ScaleMining: A Reviewof theIssues No. 76 Noetstaller, IndustrialMinerals: A TechnicalReview (also in French, 76F) No. 77 Gunnerson, WastewaterManagementforCoastal Cities: The OceanDisposal Option No. 78 Heyneman and Fagerlind, UniversityExaminations and StandardizedTesting: Principles, Experience, and PolicyOptions No. 79 Murphy and Marchant, Monitoringand Evaluationin ExtensionAgencies (also in French, 79F) No. 80 Cemea, InvoluntaryResettlement in DevelopmentProjects: Policy Guidelines in WorldBank-Financed Projects(also in Spanish, 80S,and French, 80F) No. 81 Barrett, UrbanTransport in West Africa No. 82 Vogel, CostRecovery in the HealthCare Sector: Selected Country Studies in West Africa No. 83 Ewing and Chalk, The ForestIndustries Sector: An OperationalStrategy for DevelopingCountries No. 84 Vergara and Brown, The New Faceof the WorldPetrochemical Sector: Implications for Developing Countries No. 85 Ernst & Whinney, Proposalsfor Monitoringthe Performanceof ElectricUtilities No. 86 Munasinghe, IntegratedNational Energy Planningand Management:Methodology and Applicationto Sri Lanka No. 87 Baxter, Slade, and Howell, Aid and AgriculturalExtension: Evidence from the World Bankand Other Donors No. 88 Vuylsteke, Techniquesof Privatizationof State-OwnedEnterprises, vol. l: Methodsand Implementation No. 89 Nankani, Techniquesof Privatizationof State-OwnedEnterprises, vol. 11:Selected Country CaseStudies (List continues on the inside back cover) WORLDBANK TECHNICAL PAPER NUMBER 123 Irrigation in Sub-Saharan Africa The Development of Public and Private Systems Shawki Barghouti and Guy Le Moigne The World Bank Washington, D.C. Copyright © 1990 The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/THE WORLD BANK 1818 H Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20433,U.S.A. All rights reserved Manufactured in the United States of America First printing May 1990 Technical Papers are published to communicate the results of the Bank's work to the development community with the least possible delay. The typescript of this paper therefore has not been prepared in accordance with the procedures appropriate to formal printed texts, and the World Bank accepts no responsibility for errors. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the author(s) and should not be attributed in any manner to the World Bank, to its affiliated organizations, or to members of its Board of Executive Directors or the countries they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this publication and accepts no responsibility whatsoever for any consequence of their use. Any maps that accompany the text have been prepared solely for the convenience of readers; the designations and presentation of material in them do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the World Bank, its affiliates, or its Board or member countries concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city, or area or of the authorities thereof or concerning the delimitation of its boundaries or its national affiliation. The material in this publication is copyrighted. Requests for permission to reproduce portions of it should be sent to Director, Publications Department, at the address shown in the copyright notice above. The World Bank encourages dissemination of its work and will normally give permission promptly and, when the reproduction is for noncommercial purposes, without asking a fee. Permission to photocopy portions for classroom use is not required, though notification of such use having been made will be appreciated. The complete backlist of publications from the World Bank is shown in the annual Index of Publications, which contains an alphabetical title list (with full ordering information) and indexes of subjects, authors, and countries and regions. The latest edition is available free of charge from the Publications Sales Unit, Department F, The World Bank, 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433,U.S.A., or from Publications, The World Bank, 66, avenue d'I6na, 75116Paris, France. ISSN: 0253-7494 Shawki Barghouti is division chief of the Agriculture Production and Services division of the Agriculture and Rural Development department of the World Bank. Guy Le Moigne is senior adviser, Agriculture and Water Resources, Agriculture and Rural Development department. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-PublicationData Barghouti, Shawki M. Irrigation in sub-Saharan Africa: the development of public and private systems / Shawki Barghouti and Guy Le Moigne. p. cm.-(World Bank technical paper, ISSN 0253-7494; no. 123) Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0-8213-15544 1. Irrigation-Africa, Sub-Saharan. 2. Irrigation farming- -Africa, Sub-Saharan. I. Le Moigne, Guy, J.-M., 1932- II. Title. III. Series. TC919.S73B37 1990 333.91'3'0967-dc2O 90-36097 CIP - III - FOREWORD One of the maJor economic concerns In the world today Is how to Increase agricultural production in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), both In the short term and on a long term, sustainable basis. Since the mid-1970s, the story In SSA agriculture has been one of long term decline In agricultural production, cycles of drought, Increasing population pressure on the land, a loss of export markets and an alarming rise In food Imports. The framework of a strategy for reversing these trends has been outlined In the recent World Bank study entitled "Sub-Saharan Africa: From Crisis to Sustainable Growth - A Long-Term Perspective Study". Many African governments believe that large-scale Irrigation would enable their countries to reach food self-sufficlency and even allow them to earn foreign exchange from the export of crops. The World Bank's experience wlth Irrigation In Africa has been mixed, however, with frequent project cost overruns, lower economic rates of return than expected, and Institutional problems which Inhibit operations and maintenance. This publication, prepared as a Joint effort between the staff of the Africa Region and the Agricultural and Rural Development Department of the World Bank, reviews the past experience with Irrigation projects and strategies, examines the reasons for past problems and Identifies past successes. It also explores the potential for future Irrigation development In Africa and suggests strategies and techniques for realizing that potential. This publication should be of Interest to anyone Involved In agricultural development In Africa. Its review of past failures should help to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past, and the stories of successful cases provide models which may be applicable to other situations. It analyzes options for the development of Irrigation, both at the technical and at the policy levels. The Bank has been stressing the Importance of a favorable macro-economic environment as a precondition for successful development In Africa since 1980, and a large number of African countries have been responding to this call for action by undertaking structural adjustment programs In an attempt to Improve their economic performance. It Is now Important that these efforts be supported by sector programs and Investment projects which exploit the opportunities offered by these more favorable conditions In order to stimulate African agriculture to more rapid expansion than has been the case during the 1970s and 80s. We hope that this document will provide useful insights and guidance for practical means to realize this goal and strongly recommend It as background Information for those working In this field.
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