Rainfed agriculture systems: finding the focus

Near East and North Africa Division pre-retreat learning session on rainfed agriculture Near East and North Africa Division pre-retreat learning session on rainfed agriculture Photo : N. Mahaini

Near East and North Africa Division pre-retreat learning session on rainfed agriculture ,[object Object],[object Object],II. Rainfed Farming Systems (RFS) in the NENA Region III. Constraints and Key Issues of Smallholders’ RFS Overview VI. Untapped potential of upgrading rainfed agriculture

Near East and North Africa Division pre-retreat learning session on rainfed agriculture ,[object Object],Rainfed agriculture (RA) is when crops are produced without irrigation .. It only uses green water (that comes from the precipitation and is stored in the unsaturated soil) while irrigated agriculture uses blue water (see Ongoing IFAD grant on green water credit , Morocco) Rainfed agriculture is considered with all its phases (= System) : Therefore, livestock systems, crop-livestock systems, and crop systems are all important components of Rainfed Agriculture Broad definition , with large diversity in term of agroecological conditions, infrastructure development, human capital, and socioeconomic variable....at global , national and local scales- Difficulties for mapping, developing strategies and technology transfer => We need to develop a typology for rainfed areas Rainfed Areas : In drier regions RA is associated/supported with water management systems (water harvesting, soil and water conservation, and some irrigation) we generally allow up to 25% irrigated areas. ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]

Near East and North Africa Division pre-retreat learning session on rainfed agriculture ,[object Object],Rainfed Corn fields of the Midwest Rainfed Wheat fields Rainfed Lowland rice paddies Slash-and- burn Rainfed sorghum in Sudan Around 80 % of the World Arable Land is Rainfed

Near East and North Africa Division pre-retreat learning session on rainfed agriculture * v isit the FAO FS website and download the FS book ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/003/y1860e/y1860e00.pdf ,[object Object],Photo © JHADP, 2006 ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]

Near East and North Africa Division pre-retreat learning session on rainfed agriculture ,[object Object],Photo © JHADP, 2006 II. Rainfed Farming Systems (RFS) in the NENA Region Rainfed Farming is the dominant land use in the region with around 80% of the arable land Indicator Unit: Total Area 1 000 ha Agricultural Area Arable land and Perm. Crops 1 000ha %total Irrigated Area 1 000 ha % A gr.Land 1 000 ha % total Algeria 238,174 39,956 16.0% 8,215 3.4% 569 6.9% Djibouti 2,320 1,701 73.3% 1 0.0% 1 100.% Égypt. 100,145 3,424 3.4% 3,424 3.4% 3,422 99.9% Gaza and the West Bank 602 345 57.3% 223 64.6% 20.1 9.0% Jordan 8,878 1,142 12.9% 400 4.5% 75 18.8% Lebanon 1,040 329 31.6% 313 30.1% 104 33.2% Morocco 72,655 30,376 68.0% 9,376 21,0% 1445 15.4% Somalia 63,766 44,071 69.1% 1,071 1.7% 200 18.7% Sudan 250,581 134,600 53.7% 17,420 7.0% 1863 10.7% Syria 18,518 13,759 74.3% 5,421 29.3% 1333 24.6% Tunisia 16,361 9,784 59.8% 4,930 30.1% 394 8.0% Turkey 78,356 39,180 50.0% 26,013 33.2% 5,215 20.0% Yemen 52,797 17,734 33.6% 1,669 3.2% 485 29.1% TOTAL NENA REGION 876,193 336,401 46.9% 78,476 17.5% 15,126 19.3% World 13,432,420 4,973,406 37.0% 1,540,572 11.5% 277,000 18% Share of NENA in the world 6.5% 6.8% 5.1% 5.5%

Near East and North Africa Division pre-retreat learning session on rainfed agriculture Percentage 0–15 15–25 25–35 35–45 45–55 > 55 Population below the poverty line (%): less than US$ 2 day-1 Source ILRI: http://www.ilri.org/Infoserv/webpub/Fulldocs/Mappoverty/media/PDFpages/map7d.pdf Close Correlation between hunger, poverty and water  the bulk of the rural poor live in rainfed areas: Exp = the recent poverty maps of Morocco shows the overlap of rural poor communes and the rainfed areas where water scarcity is a problem (see Morocco COSOPS, 1999&2008)

Near East and North Africa Division pre-retreat learning session on rainfed agriculture III. Constraints and Key Issues of Smallholders’ RFS in the NENA Region ++ Despite great efforts, investment, innovation and technological breakthrough the productivity levels of these rainfed areas have remained lower across years: Rainfed production level at 1-2 tons/ha while Irrigated at 3-5 tons/ha . Common problems and constraints remain and are causing the deterioration of resources, decreasing areas planted with field crops, poor investment, and low returns they are: ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],=> Issues/challenges that are extensively analyzed during IFAD COSOP & Project design and regional grants at Country

Near East and North Africa Division pre-retreat learning session on rainfed agriculture III. Constraints and Key Issues of Smallholders’ RFS in the NENA Region ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],At Guigou Area (Morocco, Middle Atlas Mountain ) 1977-1999: Isohyets shifted 100 mm (deficit) See drop in river flow at Ait Kabbach hydrological station Between 1939-1970 et 1970-2002. Average flow rate dropped to half: from 1.13 to 0.63 m 3 /s ,

Near East and North Africa Division pre-retreat learning session on rainfed agriculture III. Constraints and Key Issues of Smallholders’ RFS in the NENA Region (continued) ,[object Object],Note the Badea Line @ around 200mm

Near East and North Africa Division pre-retreat learning session on rainfed agriculture ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],Untapped potential of improving rainfed agricultural productivity : Observed gaps for major grains are large between farmers’ yields and achievable yields for selected African, Asian, and Middle Eastern countries. Potential

Near East and North Africa Division pre-retreat learning session on rainfed agriculture ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]

Near East and North Africa Division pre-retreat learning session on rainfed agriculture ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]

Near East and North Africa Division pre-retreat learning session on rainfed agriculture Finding the focus Ask the farmers directions Ask the right question Read the new book : Rainfed Agriculture: Unlocking the Potential ( Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture) (Hardcover) by S. P. Wani (Editor), J. Rockstrorm (Editor), T. Oweis (Editor) This book is based on research undertaken by a team of leading scientists from 10 global organizations including ICARDA and ICRISAT. http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/Publications/CABI_Publications/CA_CABI_Series/Rainfed_Agriculture/Protected/Rainfed_Agriculture_Unlocking_the_Potential.pdf

Near East and North Africa Division pre-retreat learning session on rainfed agriculture Have a productive and pleasant retreat ICARDA

Rainfed agriculture systems: finding the focus

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