Small-scale irrigation for food security in sub-Saharan Africa

This paper reports on a seminar on the potential of private irrigation in sub-Saharan Africa. Important points raised in the paper include:

• small-scale irrigation schemes are particularly affective owing to their low investment cost, relatively simple maintenance, and low relative environmental impacts
• small-scale irrigation systems should be founded on the wide participation of farmers, using bottom-up approach to planning
• gender mainstreaming is important at all levels of the irrigation development process
• women should be able to own land, participate at the leadership level and share in the economic benefits of small holder irrigation
• irrigation projects with the general objective of enhancing food security need to be planned, developed and managed within the context of a clearer programme of local capacity building
• government-supported projects consistently rank last in their effectiveness to support small-scale irrigation
• farmers need to be supported with more adaptive and applied research on water use efficiency and improved marketing.

The paper makes the following recommendations:

• farmers should organise themselves into local co-operatives
• local co-operatives should provide credit facilities at reasonable interest rates, draft by-laws, search for group market places, maintain accounting systems and open bank accounts
• government and NGOs should assist farmers in providing extension services in water-saving technologies, better agronomic practices, environmental conservation and marketing
• donors should channel money to local farmer cooperatives rather than through government agencies, were the government maintaining its planning and regulatory roles.

[adapted from author]