You may have to Search all our reviewed books and magazines, click the sign up button below to create a free account.
Sub-Saharan Africa has an irrigation potential of about 42 million hectares of which only 17% is developed. Despite several investments in irrigation the growth is slow. This study aims at helping to achieve sustainable irrigation in sub-Saharan Africa, through gaining a better understanding of productive irrigation water use and effective management of irrigation development. The study is conducted in the White Volta sub-basin specifically in Northern Ghana and Southern Burkina Faso which have been experiencing rapid irrigation development since the mid 1990s. The study identified growing markets for irrigated products as an important driving force behind the expansion of irrigation which has given rise to new technologies. The new technologies have spread because they gave farmers direct control over water sources. These new technologies allow relatively small farm sizes which can be adequately managed by the surveyed farmers. As a result high productivities are achieved. The hydrological impact of upscaling irrigation in the sub-basin is sustainable and will maximize the overall benefits derived from water resources in the Volta Basin.
In sub-Saharan Africa, there is paucity of information on the potential of groundwater resources. The limited available information paints a pessimistic view about groundwater resources. Due to its perceived inadequate availability, groundwater is associated with domestic use but the potential for using it for agriculture is not well reflected in the national irrigation policies. Contrary to official pessimism, farmers do use groundwater for agriculture in many countries of sub-Saharan Africa including Ghana. This paper analyzes the current extent of use, economics, socioeconomic impacts, and constraints and opportunities of shallow groundwater irrigation based on the experiences of smallholders in the three micro-watersheds of the White Volta Basin in the Upper East Region of Ghana.
We analyze the linkages between irrigation and nutrition using data from irrigators and non-irrigators in Northern Ghana. The results show that (i) there is a modest difference in the overall household dietary diversity score between irrigators and non-irrigators, (ii) there are significant differences in the consumption of animal source foods between irrigators and non-irrigators, (iii) there are significant differences in the consumption of fruits and vegetables as well as sugar and honey between irrigators and non-irrigators, and (iv) the sources of food consumption differ between irrigators and non-irrigators. The analysis shows strong association between households’ nutritional status and their access to irrigation, with evidences suggesting that the irrigation-nutrition linkages play out both through the income and production pathways in Northern Ghana.
This review describes a range of physical and socio-economic scientific methods and field activities that will be implemented in a proposed research project to develop a better understanding of the extent and patterns of flooding and the potential of flood-recession agriculture. These activities will allow the hydrological characteristics of the river to be matched to crop-livestock systems of flood recession agriculture that are well suited to the study communities and their organizational and institutional frameworks in order to support sustainable growth of such systems. This detailed study will provide recommendations on the technical, economic, institutional and policy measures needed t...
Agriculture in African South of the Sahara (SSA) can be transformed if the right public support is provided at the initial stage, and it can sustain itself once the enabling environment is put in place. Successes are also specific to the location of projects. In Ghana, interesting insights are obtained from the successful Kpong Irrigation Project (KIP), contrasted with other major irrigation projects in the country. Through an exploratory review, we describe how a productive system evolved in KIP and how public support for critical aspects (accumulation of crop husbandry knowledge, selection and supply of profitable varieties, and mechanization of land preparation) might have created a productive environment that the private sector could enter and fill in the market for credit, processing, mechanization of harvesting, and other institutional voids that typically have constrained agricultural transformation in the rest of SSA. Slower progress in other projects also raises a number of questions. We conclude by summarizing those questions and some testable hypotheses for future research.
The purpose of this book is to set out the key lessons learned and to provide recommendations and guidance based on existing cases and examples for a wide range of actors involved in urban food systems. In particular, the aim is for this publication to serve as a sourcebook for local decision-makers, policy advisors, urban planners, specialists, practitioners and others involved in urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA). The sourcebook is also for those involved in the design and implementation of production schemes, planning of urban food strategies, and policies concerning agriculture in urban and peri-urban areas.
The AgWater Solutions Project, carried out between 2009 and 2012, focused on resolving water issues faced by smallholder farmers. The project examined existing Agricultural Water Management (AWM) solutions, together with factors that influence their adoption and scaling up. The project aimed to identify investment opportunities in AWM that have high potential to improve the incomes and food security of poor farmers. The work was undertaken in the African countries of Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Tanzania and Zambia, and in the Indian States of Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal. This Working Paper series summarizes results and recommendations from the research carried out in each of these countries and states.
Groundwater is the largest natural resource in the world. The estimation of groundwater resources as well as their sustainable management are challenges for users, practitioners, managers, and decision-makers. These challenges can be solved based on the progress in three domains: (1) data modeling (2) data science, and (3) advanced systems of ground measurement and Earth data. This book contributes to the progress of groundwater characterization by addressing some challenges through applications and discussions of relevant case studies as well as new approaches. It contains six chapters that discuss various approaches and tools used to study and investigate the impacts of climate change and pollution risks. They also present techniques for accessing water that may contribute to sustainable exploitation and management of groundwater resources.