An Index-Based Approach to Assess the Water Availability for Irrigated Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa
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Date
2018-07-05
Authors
Zaki, Nizar Abou
Haghighi, Ali Torabi
Rossi, Pekka M.
Xenarios, Stefanos
Kløve, Bjørn
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Water
Abstract
Agriculture is a major economic sector in sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries, where it
contributes 32 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) and employs 65 percent of the population.
However, SSA countries are farming only a small percentage of their potential cultivable area and are
using only a fraction of their renewable water resources. Moreover, despite the importance of land
and water resources in SSA, especially in rural areas, there has been little research on their potential.
In this study, an index was developed to assess the potential for agriculture, considering renewable
water availability of both surface water and groundwater. The index-based approach was then used
to assess the potential increase in arable land area in 15 selected SSA countries. The selected countries
were classified using the index, based on the availability of renewable water resources nationwide.
We also assessed the future water demand by employing three scenarios and combining different
rain-fed and irrigated options. The results show that, except for Zimbabwe, the current available
surface water or groundwater resources could be sufficient to farm all of the potential cultivable areas
in the selected countries when both rain-fed and irrigated systems are fully operational. The findings
also indicate that targeted infrastructure projects (e.g., reservoirs, channels), crop management,
and water saving techniques could improve surface and groundwater availability in the SSA region
Description
Keywords
water resources, groundwater, abstraction, sustainability, cultivation, development
Citation
Nizar Abou Zaki, Ali Torabi Haghighi, Pekka M. Rossi, Stefanos Xenarios and Bjørn Kløve. 2018. An Index-Based Approach to Assess the Water Availability for Irrigated Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa. Water