What is the irrigation potential for Africa? A combined biophysical and socioeconomic approach |
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| Authors: | Liangzhi You Claudia Ringler Ulrike Wood-Sichra Richard Robertson Stanley Wood Tingju Zhu Gerald Nelson Zhe Guo Yan Sun |
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| Institution: | 1. International Food Policy Research Institute, 2033 K Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20006-1002, USA;1. Institute of Wastewater Management and Water Protection, Hamburg University of Technology, Hamburg, Germany;2. Research and Transfer Centre “Sustainable Development and Climate Change Management”, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Hamburg, Germany;1. Department of Economics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden;2. Department of Agricultural Economics, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein 9300, South Africa;3. Department of Agricultural Economics, Agribusiness and Extension, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana;4. Agrifood Chain Management Group, Albrecht Daniel Thaer-Institute, Humboldt University of Berlin, InvalidenStr 42, 10099, Berlin, Germany;1. Arba Minch University, Arba Minch, Ethiopia;2. University of Milano-Bicocca, Milano, Lombardy, Italy;3. International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Abuja, Nigeria;4. Texas A&M University, College Station, Department of Agricultural Economics, TX, USA |
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| Abstract: | Although irrigation in Africa has the potential to boost agricultural productivities by at least 50%, food production on the continent is almost entirely rainfed. The area equipped for irrigation, currently slightly more than 13 million hectares, makes up just 6% of the total cultivated area. More than 70% of Africa’s poor live in rural areas and mostly depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. As a result, agricultural development is key to ending poverty on the continent. Many development organizations have recently proposed to significantly increase investments in irrigation in the region. However, the potential for irrigation investments in Africa is highly dependent upon geographic, hydrologic, agronomic, and economic factors that need to be taken into account when assessing the long-term viability and sustainability of planned projects. This paper analyzes the large, dam-based and small-scale irrigation investment potential in Africa based on agronomic, hydrologic, and economic factors. We find significant profitable irrigation potential for both small-scale and large-scale systems. This type of regional analysis can guide distribution of investment funds across countries and should be a first step prior to in-depth country- and local-level assessment of irrigation potential, which will be important to agricultural and economic development in Africa. |
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