Erratic Weather is Encouraging Interest in Irrigation
Sub-Saharan Africa is seeing a surge of interest in irrigation among small-scale farmers as climate change brings more erratic weather and as rising populations in countries from Nigeria to Kenya mean demand for a reliable harvest is growing, agriculture and water experts say.
The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) estimates that more than a million hectares of small farms are now irrigated in the region, based on limited government data and satellite images.
In Tanzania, the area of small farms with access to irrigation has risen from just 33,500 hectares in 2010 to about 150,000 today, institute figures show. But up to 29 million hectares in the East African nation alone potentially could be irrigated, said Ruth Meinzen-Dick, an IFPRI researcher.
Ollivier Girard/CIFOR