::ARID::

1ST ANNOUNCEMENT AND CALL FOR PAPERS

Background

Informal irrigation, often made up of small-scale schemes which are managed directly by the farmers, is distinct from formal irrigation, especially made up of large schemes which have traditionally been developed and managed by the State.

Informal irrigation appears often spontaneously in the urban, peri-urban and rural areas. This spontaneous development of small-scale irrigation schemes, primarily consisting of market-gardens and orchards, is the result of private initiatives taken individually or collectively by a large proportion of the population (including women and young people).

In the context of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), the investment priority for agricultural water development is given to the development of small-scale irrigation of which informal irrigation is a key component to contribute to local food security and poverty reduction. The expansion of cultivated areas with water control will have to depend to a large extent on private investments. Therefore, informal irrigation, financed and managed by individuals, groups of individuals or farmer associations, appears to be a promising option.

Informal irrigation would refer to a substantial amount of land under irrigation in Africa and the impacts of informal irrigation on local production can be considerable. In countries such as in Ghana, informal irrigation within the urban-peri-urban interface covers a larger area than formal irrigation in the whole country and, in other countries such as in Mauritania, nearly 20 % of the fruit and vegetable production would come only from informal irrigation practised by farmers in the city of Nouakchott.

Unfortunately, in a general manner, the extent of informal irrigation in Africa and its real contribution to food security are unknown because it is very rare to find reliable data on this type of irrigation in the statistics provided by the authorities and the official agricultural censuses. Other factors limiting the development of informal irrigation include weak technical, organisational and financial skills of the farmers, absence of support as well as low access to low-cost irrigation technologies, to quality inputs and financial institutions. In urban and peri-urban areas, it is also important to highlight the tightened competition for land and water resources due to increased urbanization, as well as the unhealthy practices of raw water use for market-gardening causing health hazards to farmers and consumers.

Objectives

The regional workshop on "Informal Irrigation : importance and prospects in West and Central Africa" aims at :

making an analysis of the current situation on informal irrigation in a few African countries and contributing to the development of joint inventory methodologies to assess its extent, performance and impacts ;

making specific proposals for the sustainable development of informal irrigation in West and Central Africa, of which the set up of a conducive environment for the promotion of private initiatives.

Topics

1) Typology - Characterization - Inventory

Concept

Typology and characterization

Needs and inventory methodologies

2) Technical, institutional and organizational aspects

Access to appropriate technology and inputs

Types of organizations to promote (e.g. public private partnership)

Dynamics of producers’ associations

Relationships with the state, municipal and financial institutions

3) Contribution to food security and poverty reduction

Sustainability of informal irrigation

Contribution to economic development

Impacts on health and environment

4) Development prospects

Markets and informal irrigation

Potential and constraints

Support measures

Policies, strategies and action plans

Date and venue

The regional workshop will be held on February 7 and 8 2008, in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, during the Second African Forum on Irrigation and Drainage.

Reports format

Any person willing to contribute to the regional workshop is invited to submit an abstract in French or English to the Technical and Scientific Committee before September 15 2007, indicating clearly the title of the paper and the related topic. Abstracts should be limited to 500 words (font : Times New Roman ; size : 12). A scientific committee will read and select the papers to be presented orally or displayed as poster during the workshop. Papers should convey a clear message, expressing significant results. Papers will be included in the proceedings of the Forum. Guidelines for full papers and posters will be sent directly to the selected authors in due time.