20
Sep
Irrigation Agriculture In Africa. Irrigation has been surprisingly underplayed in sub-Saharan Africa despite renewed interest in agricultural development since the Maputo Declaration of 2003. A combined biophysical and socioeconomic approach provides an overviewand offers solutions toAfricas irrigation landscape. Agriculture in Africa also experiences basic infrastructural problems such as access to markets and financing. This is surprising as few changes to farming hold as much promise as irrigation.
Water management including irrigation in general and drip irrigation in particular helps increase agricultural productivity as it yields better and richer crops. The special features of Africa for developing and managing irrigation projects the present status and future potential of both rainfed and irrigated agriculture in 50 African countries and the main problems facing Africa in the area of irrigation are analysed. Of the 264 million ha of modern irrigation developed in sub-Saharan Africa Sudan alone accounts for nearly two-thirds of the total at 17 million ha. The area equipped for irrigation currently slightly more than 13 million hectares makes up just 6 percent of the total cultivated area. Investment is badly needed but careful planning is essential. Irrigation in Africa has not developed to the same extent as in Asia.
Urban Water and Sanitation were prioritized under the MDGs but not irrigation for agriculture.
251 11 551 77 00 Fax. These include undertaking soil surveys and agricultural potential assessments feasibility studies for small- and large-scale irrigation projects including water resources assessments abstraction design runoff and soil conservation protection design and environmental. Other main crops are sugarcane and cotton. In Central and South America and in Asia for example areas equipped for irrigation respectively amount to 23 million hectares and 16. The area equipped for irrigation currently slightly more than 13 million hectares makes up just 6 percent of the total cultivated area. With projects that facilitate agricultural industrialization and help address climate changes Africa can shift from a food importer to a food exporter thus transforming the lives of many farmers while saving water fertilizers and energy.