Student interview: Investigating how gender matters for irrigation and nutrition
Today, Bryan is a senior scientist in the Environment and Production Technology Division at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), where she focuses on water resources management and climate change adaptation and gender.
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From the field: Understanding what is holding back irrigated food production in Mali
In Mali, food production is and will continue to be severely limited as long as farmers do not have access to water for irrigation. So far, expansion of new irrigation technologies and practices is slow. One ILSSI researcher went to the field to investigate why.
Scientists and entrepreneurs battle climate change and water scarcity in the Ethiopian Highlands
Groundwater comes from the ground, right? Wrong. In the face of growing water scarcity, scientists, entrepreneurs, and farmers turn the problem on its head and increase groundwater reserves through improved water and soil management.
Building shared skills on tools for managing water across river basins in West Africa
What will happen to the environment, to farmers’ income, and to families’ nutritional health if small scale irrigation is rolled out across river basins in West Africa and elsewhere on the continent?
Four papers on water and climate change impacts in Ethiopia and Ghana
Four recent publications from the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Small Scale Irrigation (ILSSI) investigate how climate change is likely to affect water availability in the future. All four papers present results that suggest needs to put in place measures to adapt to and mitigate risks of plausible climate change.
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Solar-powered irrigation could boost climate resilience for millions
Coming up on this year’s World Water Day, which is about water and climate change, we are taking a closer look at what it will take for even more farmers to get started with small scale irrigation.
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Partner news: Benefits of farmer-led irrigation are “immense”
ILSSI has become a global leader in generating evidence that can inform investments in support of the U.S. global food security goals.
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Ethiopian cuisine’s star ingredient provides clues on how to farm in a climate-change era
Using conservation agriculture practices can increase food production while safeguarding water and soil on farms and across drier, hotter landscapes.
Partner news: Innovative approaches to including gender within agricultural mechanization
While increasing women’s access to agricultural technology is key to their economic empowerment, there is a real challenge in determining how to better include women in agricultural mechanization from the get-go.
Student interview: Raising the alarm on farming-related water pollution in the Ethiopian Highlands
“We found nitrate in the shallow groundwater samples. Having a high concentration of nitrate in groundwater poses a risk to human health, especially if the water is used for drinking.”
Fighting malnutrition with irrigation
New research supported by USAID through the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Small Scale Irrigation (ILSSI) is shining the spotlight on a so far under-appreciated avenue for improving nutrition: irrigation.
BIFAD Award for Scientific Excellence: Drs Jean Claude Bizimana, Yihun Dile, and Abeyou Worqlul
Yihun Dile, Ph.D., Abeyou Worqlul, Ph.D., and Jean-Claude Bizimana, Ph.D. are recipients of the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development (BIFAD) 2019 Senior Research Team Award for Scientific Excellence.
ILSSI hosts NET-MAP workshops in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
The Innovation Lab for Small Scale Irrigation hosted two Net-Map Workshops on 8 and 9 October, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The workshops brought together a cross-section of key stakeholders involved in the small scale irrigation sector The workshops help to map out influence in a network: what actors are involved in the diffusion of SSI technologies, how these actors are linked, and their level of influence on the network. The tool allows participants to explore how things are actually done, not how they should be according to policy.
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ILSSI provides training in Ghana on the Integrated Decision Support System
ILSSI held training in Ghana from 5-10 August on the Integrated Decision Support System, a set of integrated models to enable improved environmental and economic analysis, monitoring and planning, particularly as related to agricultural water management and irrigation development. The training was hosted by the CSIR’s Water Research Institute in Accra, while ILSSI provided the trainers from Texas A & M University. Over 50 participants from universities, public institutions, and research institutions in Ghana participated, including some from USAID supported projects.
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Dr. Seifu Tilahun presents on irrigation and agricultural development in Africa
On July 15th, 2019 Dr. Seifu Tilahun the Scientific Director and Associate Professor of Hydrology at the Bahir Dar Institute of Technology in Ethiopia, presented to over 30 faculty and staff within the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University. His lecture, Irrigation and agriculture development in Africa: Impact on water quality and ecosystem health in the Ethiopian highlands, focused on a study being done in collaboration with The Innovation Lab for Small Scale Irrigation.
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Solar irrigation in Mali: Potential to increase food security amid climate vulnerability
Actions are needed urgently in Mali – the country is on the front-line of climate change, and expected to experience worsened food insecurity and even food shortages. The people of Mali rely heavily on rainfed agriculture, exposing them to pervasive climate-related shocks. Irrigated agriculture is one high potential pathway to increase resilience and improve food security.
USAID Deputy Administrator Bonnie Glick’s meeting with Texas International Education Consortium
Deputy Administrator Glick visited Texas A&M University, where she met with Ambassador Eric Bost, Deputy Director of the Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture and Development, and representatives from the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Small-Scale Irrigation and International Wheat Yield Partnership.
Lefore named director of Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Small Scale Irrigation
Dr. Nicole Lefore has been named director of the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Small Scale Irrigation.
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ILSSI presents on research in Ghana
“If you don’t work in the irrigated vegetable garden, you will sell the food crops you harvested during the rainy season – and you will be in hunger.”
Training announcement on the Integrated Decision Support System
The Abbay Basin Authority will be hosting an international training workshop on the Integrated Decision Support System (IDSS) from March 11-15, 2019 in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. The training is conducted under the Feed the Future Innovation Laboratory for Small Scale Irrigation (ILSSI) which is led by Texas A&M University.
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Texas A&M Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture receives additional $12.5 million for research on small scale irrigation
The Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture, part of Texas A&M AgriLife Research, has received an additional $12.5 million from the U.S. Agency for International Development for the Feed the Future Innovation Laboratory for Small-Scale Irrigation.
ILSSI International Symposium 2018
On January 31, 2018, ILSSI hosted an international symposium on irrigation in African smallholder farming systems.
USAID Administrator visits the Feed The Future Innovation Lab for Small Scale Irrigation
USAID Administrator Mark Green visited the Texas A&M Borlaug Institute of International Agriculture on October 16, 2017 to learn more about the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Small Scale Irrigation (ILSSI).
Agriculture and water: To whom much is given, much will be required
Much has been given to agriculture and, under growing water scarcity, variability, pollution, and continued lack of access to this vital resource by many—much will be demanded from agriculture to ensure that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 6 on Water and SDG2 on Ending Hunger are achieved—and without adversely affecting other water-related targets and goals. Meanwhile, efforts to meet the SDGs must also dovetail with the objectives of the Paris Climate Agreement.
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Investigating gender dynamics in irrigation
Motivated by the fact that control over water is essential, but have limited knowledge about whether women’s water needs are being met..
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Water-smart investment benefits ripple beyond food security
Now, as part of the ILSSI program, WLE researchers are unpacking the complex relationships among water, nutrition, health and gender.
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Pail lifter, drip irrigation & conservation agriculture technologies
Although the ‘Pail Lifter’ was mainly designed to fetch water for irrigation; eventually women used it to fetch water for livestock and home use.
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Drought: Solutions for Ethiopia
ILSSI seeks solutions for battling one of the world’s worst droughts in Ethiopia’s historic dry spell.
Tanzania: Conservation through training
Scientists of Tanzania learn to use modeling systems to predict the effects of small-scale irrigation interventions.
Financing of irrigation essential for Africa south of the Sahara to achieve sustainable development
This blog by the International Food Policy Institute stresses the necessity of adequate financing of irrigation tech for sustainable development in Sub-Saharan Africa.
New tech tested
Drip irrigation technology and conservation agriculture show promise for farmers of Ethiopia, Tanzania and Ghana.
Water access and nutrition security
How can reliable water access contribute to nutrition security in Africa south of the Sahara?
Study: ‘Garden kits’ could help home gardens provide food security
ILSSI partners consider a pilot test on ‘garden kits’ to fight hunger in smallholder communities.
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ILSSI selects work locations in Ethiopia, other countries to follow
ETHIOPIA – Four work locations across Ethiopia have been selected by ILSSI and could translate to big water savings for Ethiopia’s smallholder farmers and eventually for those of Ghana and Tanzania.
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Training offers bright outlook
Training on assessing tech and policy consequences puts farmers one step closer to boosted income through research.
ILSSI moving forward
ILSSI Leaders meet to discuss the next steps in the project
Demand-Driven Research: Irrigation, Irrigated Fodder
25 ILSSI stakeholders converge in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to achieve greater impact of research results on development.
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