Better access to irrigation for farmers is key for climate change adaptation. Only 4 to 7 percent of arable land is irrigated in Sub-Saharan Africa, the lowest ratio across the world. Until recently, irrigation had never taken off in Africa for multiple reasons from poor maintenance planning to lack of inputs and market access. Many donor and government-funded large and small-scale irrigation schemes lay dry after a few years of exploitation.
The transfer of irrigation management from public institutions to local water user associations since the 1980s in Africa has always been difficult as the transfer has rarely translated into ownership. No clear boundaries of plots, under-representation of marginalized groups in irrigation groups, for instance women, means there is uneven distribution of water and benefits. Conflicts of interests often occur, collection of maintenance fees trickle down after a while and many schemes are now obsolete. Many irrigation systems were not built with smallholdings in mind, but more as small-scale models of large public schemes. Technically they are often too advanced (80% of smallholder irrigation devices are manual) and once a piece is broken, e.g an electrical motor pump, user groups have no way to fix the whole system. Another example of mismanagement of water is when water is distributed on a weekly roster, it leads to overwatering the fields, and loss of much of the fertilizers, as farmers will irrigate their crops whether it is required or not.
In the 450 hectares Silalatshani Irrigation Scheme, one of the oldest in Zimbabwe, farmers have learned how to use the Chameleon, a low cost tool to measure soil water moisture availability for the crops through a color code, easy to recognize even for illiterate farmers. Another device, the Full stop, has helped farmers understand when fertilizers are washed away by excessive irrigation. Farmers began to only use water when crops really needed it (every two to three days instead of daily) and realized this saved a lot of water. This ultimately reduced water conflicts between water users.
More important than looking for ‘technological interventions’ to boost water and farming efficiency, irrigation interventions should focus on investing in building inclusive institutions like Silalatshani and Magozi innovation platforms where members learn step by step to use water more efficiently, earn more per drop and build skills and social connections to become more resilient and prosperous.
For instance, in the Magozi scheme in Iringa district, Tanzania, only 750 hectares out of a potential of 1,300 ha are irrigated, where farmers produce a meagre one to two tons of rice per hectare. Rice farmers complained about the low prices of their rice harvests and came up with the idea of organizing themselves to collectively sell the rice, invest in storage to be able to later sell when prices are more attractive, and grow varieties that are in higher demand.
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