Africa
UN Food Gardens and William Gates
Drainage: The natural or
artificial removal of surplus
surface or subsurface water
from agricultural soils to
improve plant growth.
Figure 2: The spectrum of
agricultural water management
(Delany, 2012)
Conclusions
Water is a crucial resource
with great implications for
African development and the
management of agricultural
water has a huge potential
Source: United Nations Commission for Africa (UNECA), Addis Ababa:Global
Environment Outlook 2000 (GEO), UNEP, Earthscan, London, 1999.
Agricultural water
management in Africa
Agricultural water management
(AWM) as defined by the
Comprehensive Africa Agriculture
Development
Programme
(CAADP) is the continuum from
rainfall management through to
irrigation for food production.
CAADP includes field water
conservation practices, water
harvesting,
supplemental
irrigation, ground water irrigation,
surface water irrigation and
drainage See figure 1. It also
considers both development and
management of water for food.
Sarah Delaney (Delaney S, 2012)
described agricultural water
management as the “planned
development, distribution and
use of water resources to meet
predetermined
agricultural
objectives” - and is the
overarching term that covers
all of the following specific
management practices:
Soil and water
conservation(SWC): Activities
that maintain or enhance the
productive capacity of the
land – preventing run-off,
inducing water infiltration,
minimizing evaporation, and
collecting and concentrating
rainfall. These activities’
intention is to make best
use of rainfall.
Irrigation: The artificial
application of water to soil,
confined in time and space,
for the purpose of crop
production. Irrigation’s aim is
to augment the water supply
from rainfall. Irrigation is
the term most often coming
to mind when it comes to
the management of water
for agriculture.
Agricultural water management
is the continuum from rainfall
management through to
irrigation for food production
and it encompasses field water
conservation practices, water
harvesting, supplemental
irrigation, ground water
irrigation, surface water
irrigation and drainage.
It also considers both
development and management
of water for food. The following
is achievable with agricultural
water management:
• Increased and
intensified production
• Reduced of risk
• Diversified production
• Increased efficiency
and water saving
• Renewed/sustained
natural resources.
References
Delaney S, 2012. Challenges
and opportunities for agricultural
water management in West
and Central Africa: lessons
from IFAD experience.
ISBN 9789290723400.
Food and Agriculture Organisation
of the United Nations (FAO) 2005.
Land and Water Development
Plan, Irrigation in Africa in figures,
Aquastat survey. ISBN 92 – 5 –
105414 – 2. Rome, Italy.
Food and Agriculture Organisation
of the United Nations (FAO) 2006.
Demand for products of irrigated
agriculture in Sub-Saharan
Africa. FAO Water Reports No.
31. Rome, Italy.
Wireless Irrigation Control
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Water harvesting: The
collection and concentration
of rainfall for direct
application to a cropped
area, either stored in the
soil profile for immediate
uptake by the crop (SWC), or
stored in a reservoir for future
productive use (irrigation);
Supplemental irrigation:
The practice of adding
water to crops only during
dry spells between rains,
especially during important
crop growth stages such as
flowering/grain filling;
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2016
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