Pathways from irrigation to prosperity, nutrition and resilience: The case of smallholder irrigation in Mali

Pathways from irrigation to prosperity, nutrition and resilience: The case of smallholder irrigation in Mali PDF Author: Nkonya, Ephraim M.
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
Irrigation is increasingly promoted in Africa south of the Sahara, but the benefit streams of small-scale irrigation in Mali remain largely unknown. This study collected detailed quantitative data of irrigators and non-irrigators in two regions of Mali: Mopti, which is in the Sahelian zone, and Sikasso, the southernmost region of the country, which receives more rainfall. Econometric results show that the irrigation suitability, female household headship, proximity to markets and market participation increase the propensity to irrigate. The results suggest that small-scale irrigation investments have the potential to benefit women farmers directly. We used Two-Stage Weighted treatment effects multivariate regression to identify the impact of irrigation on selected outcomes. The impact assessment results show that crop income and diversification, market participation, employment, and dietary quality were substantially higher in irrigated farms compared to non-irrigated farms. Likewise, irrigating households had higher food security and higher dietary diversity. The results show that irrigation is a key entry point for combatting climate variability and change. However, the low adoption levels of improved water-lifting technologies are a major challenge. Limited promotion of solar and motorized pumps has contributed to the low adoption of these improved water-lifting technologies. A less profitable option, lifting water with a rope-and-bucket system, remains the most common water-lifting technology in the study areas. We find that investing in effective advisory services that target agricultural water management could increase uptake of more profitable irrigation technologies.

Pathways from irrigation to prosperity, nutrition and resilience: The case of smallholder irrigation in Mali

Pathways from irrigation to prosperity, nutrition and resilience: The case of smallholder irrigation in Mali PDF Author: Nkonya, Ephraim M.
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
Irrigation is increasingly promoted in Africa south of the Sahara, but the benefit streams of small-scale irrigation in Mali remain largely unknown. This study collected detailed quantitative data of irrigators and non-irrigators in two regions of Mali: Mopti, which is in the Sahelian zone, and Sikasso, the southernmost region of the country, which receives more rainfall. Econometric results show that the irrigation suitability, female household headship, proximity to markets and market participation increase the propensity to irrigate. The results suggest that small-scale irrigation investments have the potential to benefit women farmers directly. We used Two-Stage Weighted treatment effects multivariate regression to identify the impact of irrigation on selected outcomes. The impact assessment results show that crop income and diversification, market participation, employment, and dietary quality were substantially higher in irrigated farms compared to non-irrigated farms. Likewise, irrigating households had higher food security and higher dietary diversity. The results show that irrigation is a key entry point for combatting climate variability and change. However, the low adoption levels of improved water-lifting technologies are a major challenge. Limited promotion of solar and motorized pumps has contributed to the low adoption of these improved water-lifting technologies. A less profitable option, lifting water with a rope-and-bucket system, remains the most common water-lifting technology in the study areas. We find that investing in effective advisory services that target agricultural water management could increase uptake of more profitable irrigation technologies.

Pathways from Irrigation to Prosperity, Nutrition and Resilience

Pathways from Irrigation to Prosperity, Nutrition and Resilience PDF Author: Ephraim Nkonya
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Green jobs in agrifood systems

Green jobs in agrifood systems PDF Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
ISBN: 9251380023
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 102

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Book Description
Populations in the G5 Sahel countries are growing rapidly. Given these large cohorts of young populations, over the next five years 11.4 million youth will turn 16 years old, and most will then start to seek jobs in the region. Although the countries are urbanizing, meaning that future economic growth may be faster in industry and services than in agriculture, in the short and medium run the bulk of new jobs are likely to be created in the agriculture sector and its supply chains. For the five countries of the G5 Sahel – Burkina Faso, Chad, Mauritania, Mali and Niger – this study aims to address the following questions: i) What employment can be created for youth, as agriculture and the agrifood value chains become environmentally sustainable as part of a rural green transition?; and ii) What policies, programmes and investment are needed to create these jobs and ensure that young women and men can access them?

Drivers of adoption of small-scale irrigation in Mali and its impacts on nutrition across sex of irrigators

Drivers of adoption of small-scale irrigation in Mali and its impacts on nutrition across sex of irrigators PDF Author: Nkonya, Ephraim M.
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 34

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Book Description
Irrigation is an important strategy to increase agricultural productivity, improve nutrition security and reduce climate-related risks in rural Africa, but adoption of this technology has been low. Using data from the Living Standards Measurement Study, this paper analyzes the characteristics of irrigation in Mali and its impact on nutrition across sex of irrigators. Results show that gravity irrigation is the most common technology and is practiced by 47 percent of irrigators. The share of women irrigators (3 percent of all plots) is significantly lower than that of men. Econometric results show that the proximity of crop fields to the homestead increases the propensity to use motor pumps while more remote plots are more likely to rely on gravity irrigation. Literacy and income from nonfarm activities increase the propensity to use motorized irrigation technologies. Access to motor pumps, in turn, increases consumption of fruits and vegetables, oils, spices, and cereals for female-headed households. Overall, irrigation increases consumption of nutrient-rich food groups, which significantly improves household nutrition in addition to increasing income. Participation in farmer groups increases the propensity to adopt irrigation. Farmer groups might also be an entry point for capacity building on irrigation; and groups to which women farmers belong should receive information on irrigation. Farmer groups also tend to support market participation, which is important to help address the challenge of economies of scale of small-scale irrigators.

The Impact of Irrigation on Nutrition, Health, and Gender

The Impact of Irrigation on Nutrition, Health, and Gender PDF Author: Laia Domenech
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN:
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 28

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Book Description
Agriculture in Africa south of the Sahara (SSA) is still largely rainfed. SSA also exhibits the lowest crop yields for major staples in the world, largely due to low use of irrigation and fertilizer. Rainfed agriculture poses growing production risks with increased climate variability and change. At the same time, smallholder irrigation in the region developed rapidly over the past decade, albeit starting from very low levels. In addition to largely demand-driven irrigation development by smallholders, there is a significant push by donors for large-scale irrigation development, as well as some push for smallholder irrigation. There has also been a long-standing debate about whether irrigation in SSA should be large scale or small scale to achieve its potential. However, given the potentially high rewards, but also high possibility of failure, the assessment of irrigation potential must go beyond large scale versus small scale to integrate concerns regarding environmental sustainability, resource use efficiency, nutrition and health impacts, and women’s empowerment. The hypothesis underlying this review paper is that how irrigation gets deployed in SSA will be decisive not only for environmental sustainability (such as deciding remaining forest cover in the region) and poverty reduction, but also for health, nutrition, and gender outcomes in the region. The focus of this paper is on the health, nutrition, and gender linkage. We find that to date, few studies have analyzed the impact of irrigation interventions on nutrition, health, and women’s empowerment, despite the large potential of irrigation to affect these important variables. Irrigation interventions may have differential effects on different members in the household and in the community, such as irrigators, non-irrigators, children, and women. Measuring and understanding such differences, followed by improving design and implementation to maximize gender, health, and nutrition outcomes, could transform irrigation programs from focusing solely on increased food production toward becoming an integral component of poverty-reduction strategies.

Women and small-scale irrigation: A review of the factors influencing gendered patterns of participation and benefits

Women and small-scale irrigation: A review of the factors influencing gendered patterns of participation and benefits PDF Author: Bryan, Elizabeth
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 48

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Book Description
Small-scale irrigation is expanding rapidly in parts of the world, especially sub-Saharan Africa, offering smallholder farmers an opportunity to improve their livelihoods, diets, and resilience to climate change among other benefits. Growing research focuses on the potential for small-scale irrigation to offer a pathway for women’s empowerment, yet the factors conditioning the relationship between small-scale irrigation and women’s empowerment are not well understood. The evidence tends to be scattered across context-specific case studies that focus on targeted outcomes, without distinguishing between technology types, scales, or approaches to irrigation systems or technologies. This paper synthesizes the issues related to gender and small-scale irrigation using a conceptual framework that highlights the linkages between elements of women’s empowerment and small-scale irrigation. Because gendered dynamics with small-scale irrigation play out differently depending on the scale of irrigation and the technologies used, this paper applies the framework to examine case studies across a typology of small-scale irrigation systems. The case studies cover a range of farming and livelihood systems in which women’s roles and gender relations vary, highlighting the importance of the opportunity structure or context in which irrigation takes place. This paper then draws lessons on the various ways in which small-scale irrigation, gender relations, and women’s empowerment interact and highlights areas where research gaps remain.

Exploring small scale irrigation-nutrition linkages

Exploring small scale irrigation-nutrition linkages PDF Author: Choufani, Jowel
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 4

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Book Description
The evidence on the potential for agricultural interventions to contribute to improved nutrition has grown considerably over the past decade (Ruel et al., 2018). Numerous studies have explored both positive and negative effects of agriculture on nutrition and health (Ruel and Alderman, 2013; Herforth and Harris, 2014; Masset et al., 2012; Hoddinott, 2012). However, as an important and growing component of agriculture, smallscale irrigation has not yet been given the attention it deserves. The Innovation Laboratory for Small Scale Irrigation (ILSSI) set out, among others, to fill the evidence gap on irrigation-nutrition linkages. Domènech (2015) describes several potential pathways through which irrigation can influence food security, nutrition, and health outcomes, including 1) a production pathway, 2) an income pathway, 3) a water supply pathway, and 4) a women’s empowerment pathway. To illustrate these pathways, we adapted the agriculturenutrition framework of Herforth and Harris (2014) to include irrigation (Figure 1), while also noting a fifth, negative pathway that links irrigation to water pollution and disease via the application of fertilizers and pesticides and via supporting vector-borne diseases, such as malaria or schistosomiasis, respectively (Passarelli et al., 2018).

The impact of irrigation on nutrition, health, and gender: A review paper with insights for Africa south of the Sahara

The impact of irrigation on nutrition, health, and gender: A review paper with insights for Africa south of the Sahara PDF Author: Laia Domenech, and Claudia Ringler
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN:
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description


Smallholder irrigation technology diffusion in Mali: Insights from stakeholder mapping

Smallholder irrigation technology diffusion in Mali: Insights from stakeholder mapping PDF Author: Houeto, Dede Aduayom
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
Small-scale irrigation has significant potential to increase crop productivity in Mali, in particular given growing climate change impacts on the country and region. While large-scale development is substantial, small, private irrigation remains limited, affecting food and particularly nutrition security as small-scale technologies are more likely to be used for high-value vegetable crops. To better understand the challenges and opportunities in the diffusion of small-scale irrigation technologies, two workshops were organized in 2021 at the national and regional levels, respectively, to consider national and local factors supporting the diffusion of small-scale irrigation technologies. Key constraints identified were a lack of linkages between intermediary organizations in the small-scale irrigation diffusion process, such as commodity associations, financial institutions and technology vendors with government agencies in charge of irrigation, limiting the sharing of consistent and effective information across entities; the lack of a clear policy framework and long-term guidance for private individual irrigation; an associated lack of targeted technology development including limited adaptation to different local contexts, missing financial products linked to irrigation technology, and inadequate capacity building of farmers through extension services and demonstration sites. Workshop participants suggested a dedicated platform for more effective information exchange across the key actors identified in the events, improved capacity building on private irrigation, and a supportive policy and financial environment to ensure growth and sustainability of small-scale irrigation development in the country.

Drivers of Adoption of Small-scale Irrigation in Mali and Its Impacts on Nutrition Across Sex of Irrigators

Drivers of Adoption of Small-scale Irrigation in Mali and Its Impacts on Nutrition Across Sex of Irrigators PDF Author: Ephraim Nkonya
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description