The country has an untapped potential in water resources that could be used to enhance food production. River Gambia is the main source of surface water in the country and is suitable for tidal and pump irrigation. There are also abundant underground water resources available for drinking and irrigation.

There are four main categories of irrigation technologies in place in the country:

• Pump irrigation: Small low-lift pump irrigated perimeters (dyked lowland fields) located in swamp areas adjacent to the main river or its tributaries.
• Tidal irrigation: This system takes advantage of the ocean tides to force river water onto the fields. A water control valve is usually installed at the entry point of water.  
• Sprinkler and localized irrigation: Practiced in few private and community garden projects. These systems generally use groundwater.
• Inland valley bottoms: Mangrove swamps and freshwater swamps, where rice is grown from August to January by constructing simple protection dykes.

The main irrigation technologies implemented in the country are tidal schemes and groundwater systems by rehabilitating boreholes and wells and implementing pumping systems. Irrigated lowland rice has proven successful.

There is a tendency to avoid pumping and to develop tidal irrigation or to convert pump irrigation into tidal irrigation. This is due to its lower investment costs, as well as cheaper and simpler operation and maintenance.

Drip irrigation for gardens is promoted in Gambia. Cleaner technologies are also introduced by installing solar pumps in community gardens.

Many rice irrigation schemes in the country don’t have internal drainage systems, nor flood protection works. This will be crucial to address this issue in order to increase resilience of irrigation systems to climate change.

When developing lowlands, adjacent uplands should also be developed in order to avoid soil erosion upstream.

The government of Gambia has highlighted the need to develop affordable irrigation technologies and practices for small holders in order to improve productivity, increase their resilience to climate change, and in this way, ensure sustainable food and nutrition security, poverty alleviation and environmental protection.