Chapter 1 - Agricultural water management: an overview of concepts

Senzanje, A.; Malota, M.; Cofie, Olufunke O.; Mabhaudhi, Tafadzwanashe

Chapter 1 - Agricultural water management: an overview of concepts

Autores

Senzanje, A.

Malota, M.

Cofie, Olufunke O.

Mabhaudhi, Tafadzwanashe

Editor

Elsevier

Descripción

Globally, agricultural food production systems face numerous challenges, making it more difficult to produce enough food to meet the growing demand. Unfortunately, low agricultural food production levels are more pronounced in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This is despite the region being blessed with abundant water and land resources, some of which are still untapped. Poor access to appropriate technology, lack of tenured land, and poor accessibility to water permits are some of the reasons contributing to SSA's low agricultural food production. Analyses of the contributions of various agricultural water management interventions and practices in selected agricultural lands in the region indicate that there is enormous potential for agricultural water management (AWM) to improve food production in SSA. Notably, many of the dominant AWM interventions/practices in the region are physically implementable interventions, for example, construction of multipurpose dams, in-situ water harvesting structures, soil and water conservation structures, provision of drainage in agricultural lands, and wetland management and utilization. The training needs of various personnel who can effectively contribute to implementing effective AWM practices must be given the utmost attention in the region. In this regard, issues such as training facilities, training needs at various levels (vocational to technical to university, and certificate to diploma to degrees), and when they are required (timing) should be addressed. Issues of the sustainability of the pieces of training as a catalyst for AWM improvement also need to be looked into. Additionally, improvements in AWM in SSA should consider local challenges and available resources to develop more contextualized agricultural water management innovations and approaches that can easily be replicated within the region.