Smallholder irrigation could change the lives of millions of people

Smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia are increasingly using small-scale irrigation to cultivate their land. Individually owned and operated irrigation technologies improve yields, reduce risks associated with climate variability and increase incomes, allowing farmers to purchase food, health care and education. There is great potential for many more farmers to benefit from small-scale irrigation. This report presents governments, donors, lending institutions, the private sector and farmers with the opportunity to make well-informed decisions about investments in agricultural water management (AWM) that could change the lives of millions of rural people.

Small-scale AWM is outpacing the use of large-scale irrigation

The proliferation of small-scale private irrigation is an established trend in South Asia that is now gaining ground in sub-Saharan Africa. In many African countries, water management by smallholders is already more important for irrigation than the public irrigation sector, in terms of the number of farmers involved, the area covered and the value of production. For example, in Ghana, private irrigation by smallholders employs 45 times more individuals and covers 25 times more land than public irrigation schemes.