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65. Shallow Groundwater Irrigation in the White Volta

Full Title:

Contribution of shallow groundwater irrigation to livelihoods security and poverty reduction in White Volta Basin: current extent and future sustainability

Project Summary:

The majority of Volta Basin inhabitants are rural, and small-scale rainfed agriculture is the dominant economic activity, employing roughly two in three Basin inhabitants (nearly 9 out of 10 in Burkina Faso). Livelihoods vulnerability, food insecurity and poverty are major problems. Agricultural productivity is low, at roughly 1 metric ton of cereal yield equivalent per hectare, reflecting erratic and unreliable precipitation and low levels of fertilizer consumption. Both factors are exacerbated by the extremely low percentage of cropland within the basin and surrounding areas for which supplemental irrigation is available. Less than 1 percent of agricultural land in Ghana and Burkina Faso is irrigated, as compared to 4 percent in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and the global average of 17-20 percent. Given the extremely unreliable rainfall, irrigation development is seen as an obvious strategy to increase agricultural production. One irrigation development pathway involves the utilization of small reservoirs, found throughout Northern Ghana and Burkina Faso. However, the performance of many of these systems is affected adversely by management problems and the economic benefit relative to the investment is characteristically low and only benefits a limited number of farmers.

The use of hand-dug shallow wells and dugouts, enabling the utilization of shallow groundwater for irrigated production of vegetables and cash crops during the dry season provides an alternative source of income for farmers and poor households. SGI has developed without any government or donor involvement. In the last 10 years, hand-dug shallow wells have been spreading throughout the upper parts of the basin and are located mainly in inland valleys. Although SGI is increasingly adopted by farmers within the White Volta Basin, the current extent of use, the physical and economic efficiency of SGI, the socio-economic drivers and the potential environmental impacts are largely undocumented. Impacts on rural livelihoods and poverty reduction are similarly poorly understood.

The potential use of shallow groundwater for small-scale irrigation as an alternative to surface and reservoir systems is an important issue for irrigation development in Africa. Groundwater utilization is currently estimated to be less than 5 % of average annual groundwater recharge in most of the Volta basin. We propose to study shallow ground water irrigation (SGI) in the White Volta sub-basin of the Volta Basin, Africa. The main goal of the project is to first assess and document the current extent of SGI in the White Volta and then to develop innovative but locally adapted recommendations for future sustainable use and management.

The study is divided into five Work Packages:

1. Mapping Spatial Extent
2. Water Productivity, Efficiency and Sustainability
3. Environmental Impact
4. Socio-Economic drivers and impacts
5. Institutions, Stakeholders Knowledge Synthesis and Exchange

Recommendations from this project will be applicable not only to other areas within the Volta Basin with similar agro-ecological and socio-economic conditions but throughout Sub-Saharan Africa.

Project Proposal:

Technical Submission (XLS 128 Kb)
Annex A: CVs (PDF 179 Kb)
Annex B: Bibliography (PDF 82 Kb)
Annex C: Objective Tree (PPT 43 Kb)
Annex D: Gantt Chart (XLS 29 Kb)
Annex E: Project Team (PDF 69 Kb)
Annex F: Stakeholders and Beneficiaries (PDF 77Kb)
Annex G: Environmental Impact (PDF 74 Kb)