A ‘blue revolution’ for African agriculture

Water plays a critical role in increasing agricultural production. Agricultural performance drives poverty trends in Africa and goes a long way in achieving food security. Making the most effective use of water is a major policy challenge for the whole continent.

With variable rainfall, and recurring droughts and floods, vast areas of Africa suffer from acute water stress. Fourteen countries are defined as ‘water scarce’ and eleven more countries are expected to face water stress by 2025. Regional inequalities and political issues concerning access to and control over water further complicate water management, particularly for agricultural needs.

Research from the Institute of Development Studies, UK, examines the links between water, food security and poverty in Africa, focusing on technological innovation and the policy environment in water management. The 2005 Report for the Commission for Africa focuses on increased spending on irrigation infrastructure and doubling the area under irrigation. However, the report does not provide a complete picture of water management problems in Africa. The emphasis on expanding infrastructure overlooks the social and institutional challenges of water management and ignores the potential of dryland agriculture. 

The research shows that:

• Large-scale infrastructure projects to increase water supply, such as dams, may go some way towards increasing agricultural production and food security, but tend to have significant social and environmental consequences.
• Integrated water management, which emphasises decentralisation and the ‘user pays’ principle, can be problematic, particularly if it does not properly address different perceptions of resource ownership that in turn reflect wider political struggles.
• Water pricing to encourage efficiency disadvantages poor people and does not resolve current water scarcities.
• The legal and administrative frameworks for ownership, access, control and use of water tend to favour elite groups, who often have racially defined interests.

Appropriate water management can enhance food security and agricultural productivity. However, the Commission for Africa’s emphasis on investments for irrigation infrastructure tends to overlook other issues of equal importance. The transformation of water management in Africa - the ‘blue revolution’ - cannot be restricted to simply expanding irrigation or promoting integrated water management. Africa is socially and politically diverse, and policy responses should be specific to each region to reflect this, using technology that is locally appropriate and affordable.

To address water shortages in Africa, the research suggests that policymakers should:

• Focus on enhancing the reliability and efficiency of water supplies, relying more on rain-fed agriculture supplemented by irrigation and improved cropping techniques
• Recognise and realise the productivity potential of Africa’s floodplains for fish and livestock grazing. 
• Make use of local knowledge and experience of water management.
• Improve plant growth under water stress conditions through improved agricultural practices, such as mulching, and new plant breeding techniques, such as using conventional or molecular techniques to increase drought resistance.
• Ensure that all people have access to water, through policies such as South Africa’s Free Basic Water Policy.
• Support farmers in using new technologies, in achieving access to credit and markets and interpreting new policies.

Source(s):
‘A Blue Revolution for African Agriculture’ in ‘New Directions for African Agriculture’, edited by Ian Scoones, Aaron de Grassi, Stephen Devereux and Lawrence Haddad, IDS Bulletin 36:2, by Synne Movik, Lyla Mehta, Sobona Mtisi and Alan Nicol, 2005

id21 Research Highlight: 29 November 2005

Further Information:
Synne Movik
Institute of Development Studies
University of Sussex
Brighton
BN1 9RE
UK

Contact the contributor: s.movik@ids.ac.uk

Institute of Development Studies, UK

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'The value of rainfed agriculture in a world short of water'

'Efficient water use tackles food insecurity'

'Tackling water scarcity in India: farmer participation in irrigation management '

'Is trade in virtual water a solution for water-scarce countries?'

'Measuring and meeting demand for water – experience from Sri Lanka'