AgWater Solutions: Unlocking the potential for smallholder agriculture
1. www.iwmi.org
Water for a food-secure world
AgWater Solutions:
Unlocking the potential
for smallholder
agriculture
Timothy O. Williams
Director, Africa
International Water Management Institute (IWMI)
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Presentation Outline
• Smallholder farmers, land and water resources
in SSA
• AgWater Project & AWM solutions for
smallholder farmers
• Key messages and investment opportunities
• Proposed solutions for scaling-up AWM
solutions for smallholder farmers
• AWM solutions in the context of WLE program
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Why focus on smallholder farmers?
• They dominate the agricultural landscape in SSA.
• They contribute significantly to national food
security and export earnings in many countries.
• They produce a range of commodities on which
agricultural value chains depend.
• With increased agricultural productivity and
incomes they will constitute a huge consumer base
for goods and services, with positive implications
for investment and economic growth.
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Land and water resources in SSA
• Less than a fifth of the 39 million ha of land
deemed physically suitable for irrigation is
currently equipped for irrigation.
• Average agricultural water withdrawals are 1.3% of
renewable water resources.
• Groundwater use is less than 20% of renewable
supplies.
Source: FAO. 2011. The state of world’s land and
water resources for food and agriculture. Rome.
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Africa - Smallholder AWM reaches more farmers than public irrigation.
Smallholder AWM: A vibrant and growing sector
Agricultural Water Management in Ghana
Source: estimates based on farmer surveys under this project
0
50,000
100,000
150,000
200,000
250,000
300,000
350,000
400,000
No. of farmers Irrigated area (ha.)
Public irrigation schemes Small reservoirs
Motorized pumps Buckets, watering cans
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The goal of the AgWater Solutions Project was to improve the
livelihoods of millions of poor and marginalized farmers in sub-Saharan
Africa and South Asia through better agricultural water management.
Reaching Millions
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The AgWater Solutions Project
A three-year project,
commenced in 2009.
Implemented in
5 countries in sub-
Saharan Africa and
2 states in India.
AWM solutions
identified through
broad partnership of
organizations and
institutions and in
consultation with
stakeholders.
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Identifying AWM Solutions:
Water within a larger context of rural livelihoods
An AWM solution is any
measure, including
technologies, products and
practices, that increases or
improves AWM knowledge,
policies and financing and…
• Contributes to smallholder
livelihoods
• Benefits women and men
• Cost-effective
• Suitable for out-scaling
• Addresses resource
sustainability
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Project Approach: From Research to Impact on the Ground
4
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Continual Dialogue, Learning
and Adapting
Continual Dialogue, Learning
and Adapting
Core: Engagement
with primary
stakeholders (e.g.
farmers,
policymakers,
investors)
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Scope of Analysis
Burkina
Faso
Ghana Ethiopia Tanzania Zambia India
Field and community level studies
AWM Technologies and Water Access: manual
and motorized pumps, drip irrigation, well drilling,
groundwater/surface water use and potential
X X X X X X
Storage and Management: In-situ/ex-situ rainwater
harvesting, small reservoirs, inland valleys X X X X X X
Financing: Micro-credit, linkages with poverty
programs X X X X
Supply Chain: Equipment supply chain,
agriculture/energy nexus, produce markets,
outgrower schemes
X X X X X
Gender Dimensions: gendered organization of
farming X X X
Watershed Impact & Scenario Analysis X X X X
National Livelihood & Suitability Maps X X X X X X
Regional Upscaling Potential X
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Results, products and
tools
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Smallholder AWM solutions leverage an
existing farmer-driven trend
• Farmers increasingly initiate and finance.
• Technologies exist and adoption rates are
increasing.
• Investment costs typically low and profit
margins high.
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Potential yield improvements
Crop Low-input,
rainfed
yield (t/ha)
High input, irrigated
yield increase (%)
Maize 1.4 141-195
Paddy rice 1.1 270-283
Groundnuts 0.7 238-251
Sweet potato 4.3 200-212
Tomatoes 20 76-79
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Growth Potential of AWM Solutions in SSA
No of farmers that
could be potentially
reached (million)
Annual additional
household net revenue
generated
(Billion US Dollar)
Motor pumps 185 22
Rainwater
harvesting
147 9
Small reservoirs 369 20
Communally-
managed river
diversions
113 14
Inland valley
rice
53 7
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Potential of motor pumps in SSA & Tanzania
SSA: motor pumps
• 185 million potential rural
beneficiaries
• Net revenues up to US$22 billion/yr.
Tanzania: motor pumps could benefit
2-4 million people (8-12% of rural
households) .
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• Business models on investment options
and implementation pathways
• National Livelihood Maps to target and
prioritize investments
• Regional suitability analysis and tools to
assess geographic, social and
environmental implications of investment
scenarios
• Multi-stakeholder engagement
approaches to promote and accelerate
positive AWM changes
• Participatory GIS to assess and manage
potential trade-offs in a watershed
• Interactive gender map to allow
planners/implementers to add gender-
related farming systems information
• Interactive AgWater Solutions scenario
tool that will allow implementers to
assess the potential of different AWM
solutions.
Products and Tools http://awm-solutions.iwmi.org
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Investment costs of irrigation technologies in sub-Saharan Africa
Investment
costs
(USD/ha)
O&M costs
(USD/year)
Financed by
Buckets <50 <10 Farmers
Motor pumps 400 330 Farmers
Treadle pumps 350 <10 NGOs & Farmers
Public canal irrigation 10,000 Often not charged, but frequent
rehabilitations needed
Gov’t & Donors
Sector largely overlooked by investors
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Lacks supportive institutional structures
Existing governing bodies are often not adapted to handle the challenges posed by this
alternative mode of irrigation development. Smallholder AWM lacks an institutional
‘home’.
Nariarlé Basin, Burkina Faso
Local informal actors fragmented,
preventing collective bargaining.
Water User Associations (WUAs)
could enhance coordination and
efficiency at the watershed scale.
Improving relations between
village and national institutions
will improve negotiation and
planning.
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Risks from unchecked spread of the sector
Challenges – equity, efficiency and sustainability
Access: women and
resource poor farmers
face challenges accessing
affordable AWM.
Market Inefficiencies:
negatively affect
farmer decision-
making and technology
access.
Sustainability:
uncontrolled spread of
small-scale AWM can
lead to environmental
damage.
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Investment opportunities
and approaches for
scaling-up AWM solutions
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Targeted investments can help address AWM
constraints and enhance agricultural sector's
potential
4 solution pathways proposed
Improved livelihoods of smallholder farmers
1 2 43
Increase
access
to water
Catalyze
smallholder
value chains
Promote
policy
coherence
Take a
watershed
perspective
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1. Increase access to water
Rainwater harvesting
• Create suitability maps
• Show farmers the benefits
• Garner local support
• Offer smart subsidies
• Provide technical support
Shallow groundwater
• Map groundwater resources
• Develop affordable drilling
• Raise awareness and create demand
• Monitor environmental risks
Small reservoirs
• Reduce investment costs
• Pilot new management approaches
• Acknowledge multiple uses
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2. Catalyze smallholder value
chains
Innovative financing mechanisms for
equipment acquisition
• Pilot innovative financial instruments
• Support rental markets
• Explore irrigation service providers’ model
• Encourage women to own equipment
Help farmers to profitably use AWM Solutions
• Provide better information
• Improve market access
• Provide crop storage facilities
• Improve roads & transportation systems
• Facilitate roles of other value chain actors
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3. Create policy coherence across
sectors and create incentives
• Align trade (import), energy, water and
agricultural sector policies
• Develop alternative energy sources
• Privatize procurement and marketing of
irrigation equipment
• Review tax policies and import duties
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4. Take a watershed perspective
Managing social, economic and
environmental impacts
• Consider multiple complementary AWM
solutions and investments
• Develop systems to promote cooperation
• Develop indicators to monitor and evaluate
multiple impacts of AWM solutions and
investments
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Social and
Institutional
impacts
• Equity in gender and income
• Institutions for resource
management
• Changes in knowledge
exchange
• Labour
Environmental
impacts
• Quantity and quality of water
resources
• Area under different land uses
• Trends in use of agro-
chemicals
• Biodiversity
• Carbon emissions
Economic
impacts
• Income and wealth
• Sources of income
• Access to capital/credit
Sample indicators for assessing AWM impacts
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AgWater Solutions-WLE Linkages
30. CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems
Cross-cutting
themes:
Gender,
poverty and
institutions
&
Ecosystem
services and
resilience
Irrigation
SRP
Rain-fed
SRP
Resource
recovery
and reuse
River
Basins
Information
Systems
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Enhancing success of irrigation in Africa