session vi said silim

Enhanced Water Productivity in

Agriculture

Dr. Said Silim

Director, ICRISAT-ESA, Nairobi

AgriBusiness Forum 2010 | 3 – 6 October 2010 | Kampala, Uganda.

• Rainfed agriculture is and will continue to be the main source of livelihood for nearly

85% of farmers

• Water is the most critical constraint for

productive and profitable agriculture under rainfed conditions

• Variability in amount and distribution of

rainfall leads to erratic soil moisture

conditions

• Climate change is predicted to further

excerbarate the situation

• Prudent management of water is an

important first step in buffering the negative impacts of climate variability

Agriculture in Africa is largely rainfed

Source: World Bank 2005


• The problem of water in

the region is one of

economic scarcity

• Irrigation is an option

but economic viability

and sustainability

remain as concerns

Significant untapped potential

Source: CA, 2007


• Current levels of productivity of

rainfed agriculture is very low

• Opportunities exist to improve

the productivity by 2-3 times

through improved management

of rain water at farm and catchment scales

Significant untapped potential

Rockström et al., 2007


Many technologies are

available but their adoption

by smallholder farmers is limited


• Increased availability of water

alone cannot produce the

required benefits

• Productivity of water can be improved substantially when

used with appropriate production

technologies

• The risk associated with the investments and risk averseness

of smallholder farmers is a major

constraint to adoption of new

technologies

Water management +


• Precision use of small doses of costly

inputs

• Tactical decision making in the

selection of crops and management

practices

– market information

– Climate information

– Risk and return profiles

• Risk covering through crop

insurance and policy support

Risk management - Key to promote use of inputs


• India has adopted IWM as a

fundamental strategy for rural

development and poverty

reduction in drought-prone

regions

• Is an approach that links

production, conservation and

livelihood objectives of people

• Provides a framework for

integrating technical, economic

and social knowledge

Integrated Watershed Management


• Watershed programs yielded

more than double the initial

investment (B:C ratio of 2.14)

• Implementation requires

technical, financial and

policy support

Integrated Watershed Management


• Aimed at meeting food and cash

needs

• Involves:

– Irrigation system

– Innovative crop mix

– Efficient management

• Generates up to us$2.5/m2/pa

Diversification of systems Africa market gardens


• Give high priority for improving productivity of rainfed

agriculture

• Pay adequate attention to risk associated with rainfed

agriculture by making inputs accessible and affordable

• Promote adoption of technologies that are appropriate

and adoptable by smallholder farmers

• Integrated catchment management systems with high

levels of community participation were found to be

effective

• Smart subsidies and market linkages be given high

priorities

Way forward


Thank you

session vi said silim

Technology

nairobiagribusiness

limitedagribusiness

farmers water

enhanced water productivity

problem of water

efficient management

profiles risk

rainfed agriculture