Water and Food in Africa

Are small achievable projects better than ambitious projects? Small private irrigation systems are already more significant than state irrigation systems in many sub-Saharan African nations in terms of land area, population serviced, and income a s smallholder agricultural water management (AWM) could increase yields by up to  300 per cent .  For instance, the small private irrigation industry in Ghana employs 45 times more people and irrigates 25 times more land, improving food security and local living standard.  Malawi  In Malawi, 5.4 million people are experiencing moderate or severe chronic food insecurity, according to the  IPC Chronic Food Insecurity Report . 19.1 million people, or more than 70% of the population, are estimated to be living in poverty, with a daily income of less than $1.90. Figure 1 :SHA projects in Malawi Increasing communities in Malawi are struggling to adapt to the climate change vulnerability and food shortage. The  ...

Following the challenges triggered by climate change, this post aims to assess the potential fields of adaptation to water and food stressors, to achieve better development.  Different stakeholders have employed  diverse strategies , including food aid and finances,  safety net systems  (water storage),  irrigation scheme implementation  during drought.  According to the International Water Management Institute ( 2009 ), allocating water supply from rainy to dry seasons is the fundamental strategy for improving citizen access to water. Dam as water storage? People push for the  construction of dams to capture surface  water, but only a small part of the big dams are located in Africa (less than 2,000 of the 45,000 globally;  Hanjra et al., 2009 ).This strategy could be successful in richer nations that can afford heavy infrastructure. Also, dams are not best option for Africa, as surface water evaporation rates are high in many reg...

Scarce and deteriorated water Agriculture is already Africa's largest consumer of water. In response to global warming, irrigation is crucial because it enables farms to get drainage during dry spells. In the interviews with African scientists, it was highlighted that  Ethiopia  is expanding its large-scale irrigation programme while  Tanzania  has a well-distributed irrigation system.  Food output in Africa may be doubled, yet just 6% of all farmlands is irrigated. In a warmer world, the increasing proportion of irrigated land needed for food security and poverty reduction would put additional burden on people and the environment.  Sub-Saharan Africa has had the greatest pace of urban expansion in the world since the early 1970s, with an average annual rate of 5%     ( Todaro, 2000 ).  By 2050, there will be six persons per hectare of arable land in Uganda, increasing strain on food supplies.  Soil erosion persisted when vegetation was ...