A perspective on water control in southern Africa Support to regional investment initiatives This discussion paper is a joint production of the FAO Subregional Office for Southern and East Africa and FAO Land and Water Development Division as a response to the regional drought of 2001 and 2002 in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. The paper attempts to diagnose the root causes of the failure of food production systems that depend upon the control of water in the all-important root zone.
The continuing vulnerability of staple food production systems to periodic drought and the volatility of incomes that are derived from agriculture continue to confound the subregion. Food import bills use up hard-won foreign exchange and distribution logistics to food short areas are stretched to the limit. Turning this chronic vulnerability around, it is argued, will require an advance on two fronts. First, by enhancing profitable farm operations through improved farm management and water control. Second, by expanding the economic opportunities for farmers through progressive regulation of the agriculture sector and the associated business frameworks. In this respect, water control is only one (but nevertheless critical) element of the food security equation in the region and it is important to position good water control practice within the broader production environment.
