1. Action research for social learning and water
governance – a facilitative service approach
Bruce Lankford
24 November 2010.
SESSION 6: Case studies on Knowledge support
systems
CTA Conference, South Africa

2. Responding to scale in water mgt and food security –
irrigation expansion and water allocation
Long-term engagement using action-research
programmes (5-10 years)
(Test) Framework of mono/polycentric governance
Facilitate change management including gaming
approach to natural resource management
Scientists as brokers of knowledge; multi/trans-
disciplinarity
Promotion of local experts, leaders, artisans as catalysts
of community learning and infrastructural redesign
Action-research for water management

3. Food/water security in Sub-Saharan
Africa: expansion with water allocation
Current irrigation
13 million ha irrigated
215 million ha cultivated
6% of total is irrigated
Compared to 37% Asia
Opportunities to increase
Policy questions
How to increase area
Improve performance of
existing areas
At low cost
Not stress river basins
Water → other sectors

4. Micro-technologies inappropriate
(ICRISAT “African Market Gardens”)
Treadle
pumps
Micro-
irrigation kits
Row crops – perishable veg & fruit 
Near urban centres 
Lift of <0.5 metre ideally 
Treadle work-effort equiv 0.5 ha = 0.6 million Joules/day
$20-$100 bucket kits = Cost US$5-10K/ha
Governance of diffuse vs point demand
Cumulative irrigated area can deplete small catchments

5. Implementing irrigation reform and expansion;
recognising conditions in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Large distances and distant communities/sectors
High levels of water unpredictability and variability
Data scarcity
Lack of administrative reach
Fiscal constraints
Irrigation systems (with many thousands of farmers)
account for 60-80% depletion of freshwater?
Horizontal (geographic) scale
‘Remote
complexity’

6. Vertical reach of scale (As ecologists say
“there’s plenty of room at the bottom”)
Smallholder irrigation – in
southern Tanzania
System are fractal –
replicating bifurcations
River system
Main canal system
Secondary
Tertiary
Farm
Field
Bund/row
Crop plant
Crop branch
Leaf
Stomata

7. January 29, 2015
Scale & localisation: forms of polycentrism
Require modular units
Breaking
large basins
down into
smaller units
of
management

8. Facilitating water management – role
of experts mediating local policies
Devolving responsibility
Facilitating local ownership
Local bye-laws
Problem resolution
Technological choice Top-enders Tail-enders

9. Current costs for irrigation new-
build & rehabilitation (FAO, WB,
JICA, EU) approx $10,000/ha
Local artisanal engineers to keep
costs of irrigation investments
below $5000/ha, while aiming for
less than $2-3K/ha
Controlling costs: putting users into
water policy and delivery
Formal designed
irrigation headworks
– too expensive?

10. Replace this type of support thinking
“Farmers must be trained on soil and water technologies
to enhance crop production and food security”
ASARECA. 2006 Maputo Workshop statement www.asareca.org/swmnet
With this kind of support thinking:
What training needs arise when we facilitate dialogue and
local policy-making? When we bring farmers from top-
and tail-end systems together while handing them
responsibility to allocate water between irrigators,
systems and to downstream sectors?
Engaging with irrigators’ knowledge

11. Food and water security – sustainable irrigated area
Vertical and horizontal scale challenges
Human capacity & skills investments
Governance architecture; polycentrism
Scientists as mediators (transformative agents)
Water users & local engineers as water experts
Framework to accommodate this
Long-term, large action-research projects: supporting &
creating local ability/responsibility for water policy
Conclusions