Farmer-led smallholder irrigation in Africa

In my previous blog post, I uncovered the topic of irrigation and showed the massive, unlocked potential it has in Africa. One type of irrigation that is gaining rapid recognition and being adopted in Africa, especially sub-Saharan Africa, is farmer-led irrigation. Nearly a decade of research in sub-Saharan Africa suggests that farmer-led irrigation has positive effects on income, poverty alleviation, employment and enhanced nutrition (Giordano and De Fraiture, 2014). This type of irrigation places small-scale farmers at the forefront of agricultural development.

 Farmer-led irrigation is known as "a process where farmers assume a driving role in improving their water use for agriculture by bringing about changes in knowledge production, technology use, investment patterns and market linkages, and the governance of land and water" (Woodhouse et al. 2017). Ongoing research in Mozambique, has revealed that farmer-led irrigation is very flexible and adjustable to different social and technological advances. This is because small-scale farmers have greater authority in decision-making processes as local knowledge of their land has been passed down generations. Moreover, there are a range of actors from NGOs to farmers that ensure action is taken effectively. The key difference between conventional top-down irrigation strategies and farmer-led irrigation is that it is more effective and extensive. A great example of farmer-led irrigation is visible in Mozambique. According to the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation), the work of around 3.2 million small-scale farmers contributes to 95% of all agriculture production while the rest is commercially farmed. 

However, farmer-led irrigation is often invisible or not recognised by the private sector, donors, and governments. This may be a key reason as to why the amount of irrigated land in Africa is often underestimated. Indeed, Scoones et al (2019) found that in Zimbabwe the proportion of informally irrigated land was severely underestimated as only 9.7% of the land was considered informally irrigated. In sub-Saharan Africa, studies suggest that farmer-led irrigation has the potential to double and even triple crop yields, which would generate greater revenue for millions of people (Giordano et al., 2012; Xie et al., 2014). Therefore, it is imperative for African governments to consider and adopt farmer-led irrigation. The small-scale and localised feature of farmer-led irrigation means that it can be applied to various countries and climates as the core principle of using farmer or indigenous knowledge to increase crop productivity remains unchanged. However, it is important to note that conventional top-down irrigation schemes can still be more effective in certain areas, especially if there is adequate communication, funding, and management of resources. Essentially, adopting the most efficient and appropriate strategies will lead to the most amount of irrigated land, resulting in improved livelihoods for inhabitants (Scoones et al 2019). 

Figure 1: A farmer puts in place pipes at an irrigation scheme in Zimbabwe

 Potential drawbacks

 The projected expansion of small-scale farmer-led irrigation to millions of farmers could provide other cumulative gains in terms of economic growth and health outcomes. Nevertheless, this recent development is at risk as resource-poor farmers have limited access to small-scale irrigation. Unequal social structures integrated in institutions and markets prevent equitable access to irrigation technologies. Moreover, the lack of regulation and institutional firmness to protect and manage scarce water sources from irrigation poses even greater risks to equity. In essence, achieving the complete potential and benefits of farmer-led irrigation is very difficult as there are noticeable inequalities in the access to irrigation practices and technologies. Development through small-scale farmer-led irrigation is highly intricate as there are many contextual barriers that cannot be resolved through a “one-size fits all” project design, often used by large top-down schemes. Although local governments and NGOs can diminish these inequalities, there is a risk of overregulation and farmers losing their voice or influence over irrigation schemes. Fundamentally, farmer-led irrigation has the potential to generate substantially greater profits and yields for small-scale farmers. However, reaching the full potential benefits and equality from farmer-led irrigation requires deeper structural changes that address linkages between domestic and global markets, accountability of political institutions, consultative decision-making opportunities, and reform of customary governance systems.

 I end this post by leaving you with a video which demonstrates the numerous benefits of farmer-led irrigation but also the challenges associated with making farmer-led irrigation widely adopted.