Water productivityWater managementDroughtIrrigated farmingPoverty

International Water Management Institute (IWMI).

English

Research Papers in Economics

Finding ways to boost productivity 
and reduce poverty through better 
water management in Africa
Issue 4 - 2010
Water management in Africa
Project researchers gathered basic data and used it to identify actions with high potential to reduce poverty and increase productivity. Across 
sub-Saharan Africa, rain-fed agriculture accounts for more than 95% of farmed land. Water productivity, ‘the volume of crop produced per 
drop,’ tends to be low in rain-fed farming systems, while losses from evaporation are high. Land is often degraded, crops frequently fail 
because of prolonged dry spells, drought or floods, and few methods are in place for managing water 
more effectively. This low productivity results in food insecurity and poverty. Working from regional bases 
in Pretoria, Accra and Addis Ababa, IWMI undertakes projects concerned with water availability and 
access, productive water use, water quality, health and environment, and water and society with national 
and international partners. 
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WaterM anagement
International
InstituteMapping hydronomic zones helps researchers better 
understand interventions that can have optimal impacts 
in the Nile Basin.
Overcoming the drought of data
Because basic data are so often not available, many projects 
involve gathering and analyzing information. The recently 
completed Nile Basin Focal Project involved ten countries and 
covered an area of 3.3 million square kilometers (km2). 
Using this data, researchers produced maps showing that water 
used in the Blue Nile is primarily for grasslands and rain-fed 
farming. Except in Egypt, water productivity and grain yields, 
particularly in rain-fed areas, are low. Researchers identified a 
number of agricultural water management solutions to increase 
productivity including wells with motorized pumps, spate 
irrigation – where floodwater from mountain catchments is 
diverted from riverbeds (wadis) and spread over farmland areas 
– and building micro-dams.  
The findings were presented to the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) at 
its 10th anniversary meeting in 2009. “Currently, the NBI is 
concentrating on ‘blue water’ irrigation,” says Seleshi Bekele 
Awulachew, Head, IWMI East Africa and Nile Basin office. “Our 
findings show that integrated agricultural water management 
that incorporates rain-fed agriculture is crucial for economic 
growth, as most people rely on rainwater for agriculture.”
Increasing wealth with irrigation
IWMI scientists investigated the potential to boost Gross 
Domestic Product (GDP) in Ethiopia through irrigation. Of over 7 
million hectares that could be irrigated, less than 10% has been 
exploited. The project sought to quantify the current and future 
direct benefits of irrigation to the national economy as well as 
analyze the economic viability of investment in irrigation 
infrastructure. 
Working with partners
In western Africa, IWMI scientists are working with national 
institutions in Ghana to reduce the number of people who get ill or 
die from eating vegetables contaminated with wastewater. Farmers 
in and around African cities increasingly use wastewater to irrigate 
their crops, because it is the only water available to them. By 
identifying points along the food supply chain where contamination 
occurs, researchers are helping advise authorities on the best 
actions to take, for the least cost, to avoid its citizens getting sick. 
The World Health Organization (WHO) is using these trials to test its 
new guidelines on using wastewater for irrigation, while the Food 
and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is using 
them to develop modules for farmer field schools.
Donors and collaborators
The CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food (CPWF) funded 
the Nile Basin Focal Project. IWMI, International Livestock 
Research Institute (ILRI), WorldFish Center, Nile Basin Initiative 
(NBI) and Eastern Nile Technical Regional Office (ENTRO) 
collaborated to implement the project. 
The project, Impact of Irrigation on Poverty and Environment, was 
funded by the Austrian Government. The project was implemented 
by IWMI, Universität für Bodenkultur Wien (BOKU), Arba Minch 
University (AMU), Haramaya University (HU), Ethiopian Institute of 
Agricultural Research (EIAR), and Austrian Research Centers (ARC) 
Seibersdorf in collaboration with the Ministry of Water Resources 
and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in Ethiopia. 
In its efforts to improve water quality in urban areas, IWMI works 
with WHO, FAO, the Department of Water and Sanitation in 
Developing Countries at the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic 
Science and Technology, University of Copenhagen, London 
School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and Emory University in 
Atlanta, besides many others, including national partners.
For more information
Nile Basin Focal Project:
bfpnile.iwmi.org/
Impact of Irrigation on Poverty and Environment project:
eastafrica.iwmi.org/impact-of-irrigation-on-poverty-and-environment.
aspx
eastafrica.iwmi.org/projects.aspx 
The use of wastewater in agriculture: 
www.iwmi.org/Theme3/
www.idrc.ca/openebooks/475-8/
Improving the management of land and water resources for food, livelihoods and the environment 
All IWMI Publications are available online free of charge at www.iwmi.org/Publications
Comments and questions are welcome. Please contact us at: IWMI-Publications@cgiar.org
Publications Unit, International Water Management Institute, PO Box 2075, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Tel: +94 11 2880000 Fax: +94 11 2786854
www.iwmi.org
Issue 4 - 2010
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Finding ways to boost productivity and reduce poverty through better water management in Africa

http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/Publications/Success_Stories/PDF/2010/Issue%204%20-%20Finding_ways_to_boost_productivity_and_reduce_poverty_through_better_water_management_in_Africa.pdf

Finding ways to boost productivity and reduce poverty through better water management in Africa

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Research Papers in Economics