Presentation from Ephraim Nkonya from the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) gives an overview of water management practices, relevant to the context of smallholder farming, that are able to both increase water use efficiency and the provision of ecosystem services. The presentation was prepared and delivered in occasion of the International Symposium on Agroecology for Food Security and Nutrition, held at FAO in Rome on 18-19 September 2014.

1. An Agroecological Approach to Water
Scarcity
Ephraim Nkonya1
Wei Zhang1
Mariana Bouza2
1 International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington DC
2 Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria INTA), Argentina
Sept 18, 2014
Rome, Italy
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2. Overview
I. Context of water scarcity & agroecology
II. Smallholder farmers’ crop & livestock water
management (AWM) practices used to
increase water use efficiency & productivity
III. Economics & institutional issues of AWM
IV.Policy implications
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3. Context of water scarcity & agroecology
 Water scarcity posing challenge to development
in arid and semi-arid lands (ASAL).
• Climate change, increasing human population, land &
water degradation and other drivers.
• Drought, flooding and other extreme events are
expected to increase  loss of ecosystem services of
fragile environment in the ASAL.
 This paper explores the agricultural water
management (AWM) practices used by farmers
to simultaneously increase water use efficiency
(WUE) and ecosystem services in the ASAL.
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4. intercropping/mixed cropping
 intercropping/mixed cropping cereals and
legumes common in SSA & other
developing countries. Benefits
 Greater Land equivalent ratio (LER) (Wiley
1985)
 Less use of inorganic fertilizer (Adu-Gyamfi
et al. 2007).
 Leaf cover  moisture conservation
higher WUE
 Reduced weed & pest population (Beets
1990)
 Diversified diets better health
 More profitable. Mongi et al (1976)
observed a 34% increase in profit
 Reduced production risks
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5. Traditional water harvesting technologies
 Rainwater harvesting (RWH)
common practice for rice
production most common in SSA
• E.g. in Tanzania traditional bunded
flood irrigation account for 74% of
rice production (Seck et al 2010)
 Zai (improved planting pits) –
invented by farmer in drylands of
Burkina Faso – increased yield
by 24% in Niger (Pender et al 2009)
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6. Conservation agriculture, the case of Argentina
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Conservation agric.
Bahia Blanca
No Conservation agriculture
Bahia Blanca
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• CA reduces soil erosion &
improves WUE through improved
infiltration and reduced evaporative
water losses (Vogel 1993; Giller et
al 2009).
• 64% of cropland in Argentina
under CA (AQUASTAT)
• 30% of land cover reduces wind
erosion by 75% (Bouza et al 2013)
• Strong public-private partnership in
promoting CA play key role

7. Land management practices that increase soil carbon
enhance moisture conservation, reduce production risks &
increase crop yield
Relationship of soil carbon and yield & production risks, Uganda
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Source: Nkonya et al 2014

8. Higher soil carbon leads to higher productivity &
lower production risks
Yield variability
Crop yield
Soil carbon
Crop yield mean & variance
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So farmers simultaneously increase
yield and enhance CC adaptation
Source: Nkonya et al 2014

9. Moisture conserving practices are more
sustainable
15
10
5
0
-5
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-10
All zero Crop residue
100%
Manure
1.7tons/ha
Manure 5
tons/ha+80kgN/ha
Yiled change (Percent)
Millet yield change after 30 years, Mali
Source: Nkonya et al 2014

10. Adoption & Returns to
land management
practices that enhance
moisture conservation
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11. The Unholy Cross: Inverse relationship
between adoption rate and profitability of
land management practices, selected SSA
countries
250
200
150
100
50
0
-50
ISFM Fertilizer Manure Nothing
Adoption rate (%), Profitabiilty
(US$/ha/year)
Adoption rate Profit US$/ha/year
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12. Why low adoption of ISFM?
 Land management practices using
organic inputs have high labor
intensity
• Labor accounts for 50% of the
production cost of combining
chemical fertilizer and organic
inputs
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13. Extension messages on organic inputs is low
– case of Nigeria
Planting
10%
Agrochemicals
10%
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Improved seeds
56%
Inorganic
fertilizer
18%
Organic fertilizer
(1%)
Note: No advisory
Services on AWM,
ES, CC
Send AEA back
to School

14. Livestock & rangeland
management in ASAL &
Customary institutions
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15. Traditional pasture and rangeland
management
 Transhumant livelihood leads to sustainable
rangeland management(Toulmin et al 2009)
• Mongolian pastoralists have an extensive
knowledge of rangeland management 
enhances sustainable rangeland management
(Fernandeze-Gimenez 2000)
 Global study on change of vegetation cover
(NDVI) by Nkonya and Anderson (2014)
observed greater NDVI increase in pastoral
areas than in croplands in 1982-2003
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16. Strong traditional ecological knowledge &
customs enhance sustainable rangeland
management
 In Tanzania, only the Maasai allowed to
live in game parks because customary
laws prohibit (Asiema & Situma 1994):
• eating wild game meat,
• cutting live trees & bush burning  enhances
moisture conservation
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17. Community pasture improvement in SSA
using traditional institutions
 Rangeland enclosure common among
many SSA countries including: Ethiopia,
Somalia, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania & Sudan
 Enclosures increase soil C & improve
moisture conservation & livestock
productivity
• Ngitili (enclosures) in NW Tanzania
sequestered 23.2 million tons of carbon in 1986-
2002 (Barrow & Shah 2011).
• Enforcement of rules for ngitili protection done by
customary institution thru:
– Local vigilante- (Sungusungu) &
– Community assemblies (Dagashida).
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Public punishment & shaming of offenders

18. Economic returns of nomadic systems,
The case of Turkana (Kenya) pastoral system
 Pastoral economies derive value from
tangible and intangible value of
ecological services of rangelands.
• Hence best approach is to use Total Economic
Value Approach (TEV)
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19. Total Economic Value of Pastoral
Household, Turkana of Kenya
5%
1% 5%
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35%
55%
Livestock sales
animal products
Tree products
crop prod
other ecosystem
services
Source: Barrow (2006)

20. Challenges and future directions for
coping with water scarcity
 High labor intensity of intercropping/mixed cropping
– reduces its use as labor cost increases with income
& alternative activities
 intercropping/mixed cropping hampers mechanization
(Machado 2012)
Implications
 Alternative management practices required – e.g.
rotational cropping
 Development of farm tools that smallholder farmers
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21. Challenges and future directions (2)
Land degrading practices
 Low adoption rate of ISFM &
other SLM (unholy cross)
require:
– Retraining extension agents
on ISFM, AWM, CC,
ecosystem services
– Improve rural infrastructure
– Incentives to reward off-site
benefits of SLM
– Encourage crop-livestock
systems
– Low-cost mechanization Page 21
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22. Challenges & future directions (3)
 Traditional rainfall water harvesting
structures poorly developed  loss of
water
• Need to enhance AWM engineering advisory
services
• Strengthen water user groups institutions
 Conservation agriculture adoption rate low
in SSA
• An African success story required to improve &
promote traditional AWM
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23. Challenges & future directions (5)
 Government Agricultural budgets allocated to
livestock <30% even though
• land area used for livestock > cropland
• Increasing demand for livestock products
• Benefits of livestock on sustainable land
management & food & nutrition
 Land grabbing affecting pastoral systems
considered to be “unused” land
 Increasing land privatization limits livestock
mobility – which could lead to sustainable
pasture management
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24. Old customs & traditions eroding
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25. Challenges & future directions (4)
 Eroding customary institutions – need to
give them legal mandate (e.g. Nigeria)
• But address their weaknesses – e.g. bias
against women
 Enhancing local governments & their
complementarity with customary institutions
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