The IWMI has released the results of the AgWater Solutions project in a new study, titled "Water for Wealth and Food Security," which advocates investment in smallholder agricultural water management as a means of lifting poor farmers in Africa and South Asia out of poverty.
24 August 2012: The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) has published a study demonstrating that smallholder water management techniques can increase crop yields by up to 300% in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Among the findings, the Study reports that small-scale private irrigation projects in Ghana employ 45 times the number of employees of major public irrigation projects.
The Study, titled “Water for Wealth and Food Security: Supporting Farmer-Driven Investments in Agricultural Water Management (AWM),” is based on the results of the AgWater Solutions Research Initiative. It examines the context of the AgWater Solutions project, the future of smallholder AWM, opportunities for investing in smallholder AWM and ways forward. The report highlights the potential of AWM to provide poor farmers with the ability to generate income during the dry season, and notes that AWM technologies are cheap and affordable, with a strong potential for up-scaling and reducing poverty.
The Study advocates that investments be farmer-driven, and calls for development of institutional structures to support smallholder AWM. The Study highlights the challenges posed by unregulated small-scale irrigation, noting that: the poorest farmers are least able to invest in AWM technologies; irrigation is often accompanied by increased use of pesticides and herbicides, impacting water quality; and increased use may result in conflict over finite resources. [IWMI Press Release] [Publication: Water for Wealth and Food Security: Supporting Farmer-Driven Investments in Agricultural Water Management]