Study: Nile Basin Should Focus on Predominantly Rain-Fed Agriculture
- Christian Siderius
- Aug 18, 2016
- 1 min read
Last month the African Water Council of Ministers (AWCOM) and over 1000 experts gathered in Dar es Salaam during the Africa Water Week to discuss new pathways for development and increased investment in water infrastructure. The challenges are huge; the El Nino of last year showed the exposure of African economies to the vagaries of weather.
Climate change is expected to add additional risk and uncertainty in large parts of the continent. The stakes are high too; population growth, poverty alleviation and rapid urbanisation are asking for deep transformation and a better management of scarce resources to contribute to inclusive sustainable growth.
The Nile Basin has been in the limelight for decades when it comes to water and water management. Disputes over water continue against a backdrop of on-going socio-economic and geopolitical transformations in the Nile basin, highlighted by the Arab Spring and South Sudanese independence. Geo-political forces have always defined who gets water from the Nile and who does not. Attempts to initiate a Nile Basin Authority have come to a grinding halt. Diversification in financing, exemplified by the construction of a massive dam in Ethiopia, changes the rules of the game. In the meantime, the fluctuations in food prices raise fears of a further deterioration of food security.
Under these uncertainties both old and new governments within the Nile basin have limited time before their growing populations demand more food. Our study focussed on how cooperation over water can contribute to future food security in this vulnerable region.
NASA/JSC
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