Irrigation Methods

This blog post will discuss irrigation as a solution to food vulnerabilities

Irrigation refers to the water control and watering of crops using a network of physical infrastructure (Woodhouse et al, 2016.) Irrigation provides agriculture with reliable water sources; critical for regions susceptible to droughts. Only 6% of arable Africa is irrigated – concentrated in just 5 countries: Egypt, Morocco, Sudan, Madagascar and South Africa (IFPRI, 2010.) Irrigation can increase Africa’s agricultural productivity by 50% (You et al, 2011), essential for ensuring access to sufficient and nutritious food yields and secure food crops to end hunger, critical for development (UN, 2015.) 

Traditional Irrigation Methods:

The table below offers highlights the main irrigation methods, each one needs to be assessed for compatibility;  physical and socio-economic constraints.

Irrigation	Benefits	Drawbacks	Suitability?
Groundwater Irrigation *Post on Groundwater		**Saline Intrusion – water with a high concentration of salt (Alfarrah, 2018.)	Areas of sufficient groundwater and arid conditions
Drip irrigation (Kalberg et al, 2007)	High water application efficiency (80-90%) Prevention of dehydrated soils Makes use of unusable salt water	Upfront cost is high	Sub-Saharan Africa
Flood based irrigation – cultivating on fertile silt on floodplains using flood water from rivers (Brugere, 2006)	Low-cost method   Floodplains are fertile and nutrient rich   Maximises land use- based on natural flood patterns	Hindered downstream by damn construction   Uncertain timings, quantity of floods makes this approach variable	Deltas of rivers such as The Inner Niger Delta in Mali

**Saline Intrusion contaminates the water making it undrinkable for humans, agriculture and livestock. Saline water use on crops and arable soil has resulted in stunted crop growth, soil quality deteriorating as soil loses ions and minerals (M'Koumfida et al, 2018.)

Watch this video on how to reverse saline intrusion

Desalination methods are costly and require infrastructure which not all countries in Africa have and the process is energy and water intensive (problematic given that these resources are scarce)

Although it is widely believed that irrigation will improve productivity, the financial cost of irrigation implementation in Africa can be greater than the economic returns, thus not sufficient to justify the cost of all types of irrigation in all regions. Costs can be mitigated, however, if local governments agree to subsidise the cost to make it more affordable. The introduction of irrigation, as a bid to promote development as agriculture productivity would strengthen food security, boost economic growth and alleviate poverty (Bjornlundet al, 2017.)