This publication represents the proceedings of the Integrated Irrigation and Aquaculture Workshop held in Accra, 20-21 September 1999. There is great potential for integrated irrigation and aquaculture (IIA) in sub-Saharan Africa and this type of integration fits well into the water control and diversification components of the FAO Special Programme for Food Security (SPFS). Networking activities of three international institutions interested in IIA were reviewed: the Regional Association for Irrigation and Drainage (ARID), the Eco-regional Programme for Humid and Sub-Humid Tropics of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), and the two regional research consortia, i.e. the Inland Valley Consortium and the Regional Rice Research Network, of the West Africa Rice Development Association (WARDA). IIA field activities in Mali and Zambia were presented and IIA-related research was reported from Burkina Faso and Ghana. All countries indicated a high potential for IIA. Possible actors involved in IIA activities represent a wide variety of research and development agencies in each country. Information to facilitate IIA development is frequently lacking; joining national networks into a regional network would expedite access to and exchange of information. The workshop proposed the establishment of a regional IIA network and elaborated on the potential network’s goal, objectives, themes, context of operation, structure and linkages.
