A water angle on Africa’s 2050 food security challenge
2025
Veldwisch, Gert Jan | Denison, Jonathan | Izzi, Gabriella | Kamwamba-mtethiwa, Jean | Komakech, Hans | Mati, Bancy | Waalewijn, Pieter
Irrigated agriculture is an important contributor to African food security, both for farmers directly and for the urban population and wider economy. This chapter argues that the irrigated area in Africa is much larger than generally thought, but still much smaller than it could be. We also explore the concept of irrigation potential and show that it is not a static number, but depends on economic context and people’s abilities to develop irrigation. It is important to also consider that irrigation can be partial or for protection against droughts. The potential of irrigation to contribute to Africa’s food security depends not only on developing water resources, but even more so on an approach that focuses on inclusion and optimization to get the most benefits for most people. The concluding section presents five areas where work can be done radically differently to support a much faster development of water-based agricultural intensification.
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Publisher Routledge
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