Mali

From the field: Understanding what is holding back irrigated food production in Mali

March 20, 2020 by Marianne Gadeberg

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.

While Mali shows potential for solar irrigation in some areas, it also differs from other countries in which the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Small Scale Irrigation (ILSSI) works. Much of the country falls within arid and hyper-arid agro-ecological zones, meaning that it is very hot and dry. As the U.S. Government’s Global Food Security Strategy for Mali highlights, the people of Mali are also highly vulnerable to climate change and variability.

One ILSSI scientist, Ephraim Nkonya, who is a fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), met with key irrigation stakeholders in Mali in December 2019 and again in January 2020. His field visits provided insights on challenges to expanding the use of small scale irrigation in the country.

Demand exceeds supply

Nkonya visited the IPRO IRRIGAR project in the city of Sikasso in southern Mali, which has constructed 50 micro dams over the past couple years. The dams create small reservoirs, which can provide water for irrigation, and are part of the project’s efforts to strengthen food security and nutritional status among local communities by increasing and diversifying agricultural production.

Once a dam is in place, a development project funded by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) – the Programme d’Appui aux Sous-secteurs de l’Irrigation de Proximité (PASSIP) – provides farmers with agricultural extension services and technical support, alongside public agencies. While a sought-after solution to the general lack of water for irrigation, the demand for new dams far outpaces the ability of the project to build more, according to local stakeholders.

Slow adoption of new technology

A farmer irrigates his field using a calabash bowl. This time intensive practice makes it difficult to expand the irrigated area. Tingju Zhu/IFPRI. — A farmer irrigates his field using a calabash bowl. This time-intensive practice makes it difficult to expand the area under irrigation. Tingju Zhu/IFPRI.

In addition, bucket irrigation remains a key water lifting and application technology in this part of Mali, despite investments in irrigation by various donors and partners. Nkonya saw farmers irrigating using buckets and calabash bowls to lift water.

However, as past ILSSI and other research has shown, this form of irrigation, which is also widely practiced in northern Ghana, is highly time intensive. Manual approaches to lifting and applying water on fields limit the potential for expanding irrigation. Nkonya also observed incipient adoption of motor pumps, which require much less labor, but only by men. Women dominate rice production in the area, but only irrigate manually, such as with buckets.

Further research needed

To get a better sense of what is holding back the expansion of small scale irrigation in Mali, Nkonya met with a wide range of stakeholders. These included USAID, partners from the Institut d’Economie Rurale (IER), the Deputy National Director of Rural Engineering, who oversees Mali’s small scale irrigation program (PNIP), and the Projet Initiative de Renforcement de la Résilience par l’Irrigation et la Gestion Appropriée des Ressources (IPRO IRRIGAR) based in Sikasso.

Future field research by ILSSI and its partners will further probe why a gender gap exists when it comes to adoption of various irrigation practices in Mali as well as investigate the linkages between household water security and water availability for food production.

Building shared skills on tools for managing water across river basins in West Africa

March 18, 2020 by Marianne Gadeberg

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?

Since it is impossible to precisely predict the future, the best way to anticipate positive outcomes and potential negative side effects is to use scientific modeling tools to produce plausible future scenarios.

That’s why building skills on how to use such modeling tools is a key component of the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Small Scale Irrigation (ILSSI). Since 2014, ILSSI has hosted trainings on its integrated decision support system (IDSS), inviting agricultural extension workers and professionals working in national research centers, universities, and private sector companies to build modeling skills that enable them to evaluate the impacts of small scale irrigation on water resource risks, agricultural production, environmental sustainability, household income, and nutrition.

By using a common set of powerful tools, these decision-makers can better manage water resources across basins in the region, particularly in attempts to address climate change. Already, basin authorities, irrigation departments, and national water planning agencies are applying the tools at multiple levels to help standardize their analysis and planning.

The latest IDSS training took placed at the University of Cape Coast in Ghana, on February 17–22, 2020. Photo: Yihun Dile/ILSSI.

Significant demand for shared tools

ILSSI’s latest IDSS training took place at the University of Cape Coast in Ghana, on February 17–22, 2020. For the first time, ILSSI provided a regional training, which will help technical experts across West Africa better coordinate their data collection and analysis. Participants taking part in the training originated from nine West African countries, namely Ghana, Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, and Togo.

The integrated decision support system includes the integrated application of tools such as the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), Agricultural Policy Environment eXtender (APEX), and Farm Income and Nutrition Simulator (FARMSIM). These can be used to evaluate the interaction between climate, water, and agriculture, and decision-makers can therefore draw on them to plan for different potential scenarios in the future.

The IDSS training usually extends over five days, during which participants are taught about the integrated application of the IDSS models and receive hands-on training drawing on relevant examples. The events are adjusted to meet participants’ needs, and have in the past been updated to include training on advanced SWAT, GIS, and AutoCAD. Training documentation and open access software is also distributed.

After the event, ILSSI experts continue to support participants, providing advice for professionals and mentoring students and research scientists. The engagement is especially strong with graduate students and research institutions, as reflected in multiple peer-reviewed publications.

People from nine different countries participated in the recent IDSS training. Photo: Abeyou W. Worqlul/ILSSI.

Building skills across the continent

Since 2014, ILSSI has provided the IDSS training 13 times in Ethiopia, Ghana, and Tanzania, educating a total of 874 participants. These events were hosted and organized by local institutes such as universities, federal offices, and CGIAR research centers, and have included diverse participants representing universities, international and local research institutions, private companies, and more.

Although the IDSS trainings were provided in Ethiopia, Ghana, and Tanzania, the participants over the course of the past seven years have originated from more than ten African countries as well as from Europe and the United States. This continent-wide interest in common analytical tools that can enhance understanding of interactions between agriculture and the environment may prove particularly useful as African countries move ahead with regional-level coordination of their response to climate change.

ILSSI will continue to offer IDSS trainings in the sub-Saharan countries where needs are expressed. Coming up are a training in Côte d’Ivoire focused on cocoa production under climate change and a training in Ethiopia related to irrigated fodder production for livestock.

Solar irrigation in Mali: Potential to increase food security amid climate vulnerability

July 8, 2019 by matt.stellbauer

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.

With the growing urgency to expand irrigation expansion for smallholders in the region, suitability mapping can help to target the right people, in the right places and with the right technologies. ILSSI supported research to identify areas in Mali where there is a high potential for scaling solar water pumps for developing irrigation: Suitability for farmer-led solar irrigation development in Mali.

Results from the mapping show the total area suitable for solar-based irrigation varies between 0.69 and 4.44 million hectares (Mha), representing 11% and up to 69% of Mali’s agricultural lands. Groundwater up to depths of 7 m can be found near the river network in south-western Mali and the central Niger Delta making Kayes, Mopti and Koulikoro are the most suitable regions.

The mapping utilizes data including: solar irradiation, groundwater levels, aquifer productivity, groundwater storage, proximity to rivers, proximity to small dams, crop, and land suitability, and travel time to markets. Areas that are unsuitable for agricultural production, such as natural parks, forests, permanent meadows and pastures, are excluded. Suitability was assessed for five different available water sources, considering two different types of pumps.

Suitable areas could be expanded through investments in infrastructure to increase access to markets for produce. This mapping considered existing infrastructure, such as road networks and markets, so expanding that infrastructure could create greater potential in more areas.

More information, including the maps, is available in a Technical Brief. This research was carried out by the International Water Management Institute under the Water, Land, and Ecosystems Research Program. Additional funding was provided by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).