Africa Irrigation and Water Project

Adapted from the project website

Most government-run irrigation schemes in Africa have failed or are significantly under-performing, for a complex array of reasons. However, the research project (ACIAR FSC/2013/006), Increasing irrigation water productivity in Mozambique, Tanzania and Zimbabwe through on-farm monitoring, adaptive management and agricultural innovation platforms (AIPs), found that AIPs combined with soil moisture and nutrient measuring can substantially increase crop yields and incomes of farmers, and make irrigation schemes more self-sustaining. These improved yields, profits and problem-solving were achieved before infrastructure investments were made in Tanzania and Zimbabwe, thereby strengthening the likely benefit and sustainability of future infrastructure investments. The project enabled smallholder farmers and related stakeholders to achieve success in a traditionally difficult sector, which is also currently a top priority for African governments and international donors

The proposed follow-on research project Transforming irrigation in southern Africa (ACIAR LWR/2016/137) is testing how best to spread those findings beyond individual irrigation schemes to many other schemes and countries. The research started in June 2017 and will conclude in 2021.

We expect that the research will result in outcomes at different scales:

• Irrigation communities becoming more profitable and self-sustaining as a result of individual and social learning, and institutional and technological change. This will result from: farmers mindsets changing from subsistence to market-oriented practices and choosing more profitable crops with more reliable markets; better access to cheaper and higher quality farming inputs; more efficient use of water and fertilisers resulting in greater crop yields; reduced social conflicts; savings in irrigation labour directed to other livelihood activities; more effective farmer organisations; farmers being willing to pay sufficient water fees and provide labour to maintain infrastructure; and greater demand on governments to support the irrigation sector’s needs. Some expansion of irrigated cropping is expected as water is used more efficiently.
• Extension and support staff facilitating AIPs and supporting the development of district-scale agricultural service providers and markets.
• Governments applying project findings to provide answers on how best to meet their key irrigation policy targets.
• Partnerships with the private sector leading to more vibrant local economies, as all value chain stakeholders benefit from increases in agro-economic activities.