Innovative Agricultural Water
Management Investment
Opportunities:
Towards a New Generation of IFAD
AWM Programs
Douglas J. Merrey, Consultant
AWM Workshop, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
16 November 2012
Water for a food-secure world
Purpose
 Assess range of AWM
investment
opportunities
 Propose potential new
AWM investment
opportunities for IFAD
to consider, and why
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Background
 IFAD striving to be a “learning organization”
 Policy & emphasis—innovation and scaling out
 BUT reality is different
 2010 evaluation questioned innovation capacity
 Most IFAD AWM investments traditional public
infrastructure
 Multiple phases of the same type of project
 COSOPs never mention AWM innovations
 Continuity is defensible
 But our research shows same errors repeated
Not much learning!
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Grab the Opportunities
KEY ROLES
CONSULTANTS &
PARTNERS!
• Pipeline: massive
increase IFAD AWM
investments
• Opportunity to achieve
own goal of innovation &
scaling up-out
• Opportunity for targeted
investments for equity &
poverty reduction
• IFAD could become a
leader not a follower
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AgWater Solutions Project
 Financed by Bill &
Melinda Gates
Foundation (BMGF)
 Challenged researchers
to go beyond usual list
of general
recommendations
 Provide real data on
potential: number of
beneficiaries, value
added, & business plans
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The AgWater Solutions Project
The AgWater Solutions Project aims to improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in
sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia through agricultural water management (AWM)
solutions.
A three-year project,
commenced in 2009.
Implemented in
5 countries in subSaharan Africa and
2 states in India
AWM solutions
identified through
broad partnership of
organizations and
institutions and in
consultation with
stakeholders.
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Identifying AWM Solutions:
Water within the larger context of rural
livelihoods
Forward Linkages
(Ag Products/Markets)
Backward Linkages
(Inputs)
ACCESS
PROFITABILITY
OF AWM
SOLUTIONS
POLICIES/
INSTITUTIONS
IMPROVED
LIVELIHOODS
Externality
Management
Resource/Livelihood
situation
An AWM solution is any measure,
including technologies, products and
practices, that increases or improves
AWM knowledge, policies and financing
and…
•
•
•
•
•
Contributes to smallholder livelihoods
Benefits women and men
Cost-effective
Suitable for out-scaling
Addresses resource sustainability
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Other Sources of information on New
Investment Opportunities
 AgWater Solutions Project (http://awmsolutions.iwmi.org/home.aspx)
 Tools, business plans, analyses – 5 countries
 Other recent IWMI research, most with partners
 Water storage options
 Spate Irrigation Network (www.spate-irrigation.org)
 Multiple Use Water – MUS group (www.musgroup.net)
 IFAD: INNOWAT
(http://www.ifad.org/english/water/innowat/index.htm)
 IWMI’s results-IFAD-supported project ,AWM in ‘Challenging
Contexts’ http://challengingcontextawm.iwmi.org/
Investment Guidelines coming soon—source for this
presentation
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Targeted investments to address AWM constraints &
enhance agricultural sector's potential
Improved livelihoods of smallholder farmers
1
Increase access to water
Rainwater harvesting
• Create suitability maps
• Show farmers the benefits
• Garner local support
• Offer smart subsidies
• Provide technical support
Shallow groundwater
• Map groundwater resources
• Develop affordable drilling
• Raise awareness and create
demand
• Monitor environmental risks
Small reservoirs
• Reduce investment costs
• Pilot new management
approaches
• Acknowledge multiple uses
2
Catalyze smallholder
value chains
Innovative financing
mechanisms
• Pilot financial instruments
• Support rental markets
• Explore irrigation service
providers’ model
• Link specialist financing to
existing programmes
• Encourage women to own
equipment
Helping farmers buy
equipment and become
profitable
• Provide better information
• Educate about marketing
• Provide crop storage
facilities
• Promote ‘try-before-you-buy
scheme’
• Use networks to disseminate
information
3
Create policy synergies
between sectors
Addressing the influence of
external sector policies
• Align energy, import and
water policies
• Develop alternative energy
sources
• Privatize procurement and
marketing of irrigation
equipment
• Review tax policies and
import duties
4 solution
pathways
Water for
a food-secureproposed
world
4
Take a watershed perspective
Managing social and
environmental impacts
• Consider multiple AWM
investments
• Develop systems to promote
cooperation
• Improve evaluation of
investments
• View impacts in broad
context
Current Types IFAD Investments
Technology [Communitymanaged]
Evaluation
Diversion from streamsgravity
SSA potential 20m ha, 113m pop., $14B/year
Sensitive to cost, crop prices; protect watershed, lack
storage. Mixed de facto results
Small reservoirs
SSA potential 22m ha, 369m pop., $20B/year
High costs, many issues reduce performance, potential
negative health impacts; but these are solvable
Inland valleys-wetlands
SSA potential 10m ha, 53m pop., $7B/year.
Irrigated rice in WCA, dry season vegetables ESA
Sensitive: limited runoff, high costs, vulnerable to
climate change; land tenure issues
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Other Potential Investments
Technology
Evaluation
RWH in-situ: Conservation SSA potential 15m ha, 146m pop., $8.4B/year for CA.
Agric., zai pits
Can stabilize production & increase staple prod. Laborcost issue, vulnerable to drought, few successful
programs at scale [Ethiopia exception]
RWH ex-situ: Capture
runoff in small ponds
Positive outcomes farm ponds. No figures on potential.
Going to scale based on quotas undermines quality;
requires subsidies
Spate irrigation
Moderate potential in dry areas, improve traditional =
opportunity. Vulnerable to rain variability, low returns.
www.spate-irrigation.org supported by IFAD
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The Potential of PUMPS
Technology – Pumps
Treadle pumps
Diesel/petrol
Electric
Solar
Evaluation
Low cost capital & maintenance; high potential but
often not attractive, constrained by depth of water;
some success e.g. www.kickstart.org, www.ideorg.org;
Invest in value chain plus smart vouchers
Est. 1m users now; potential believed high
Advantages: capacity, portable
Problems: cost, unreliable spares & fuel; threat to
aquifers
Invest in value chain plus smart vouchers -- –
equipment, spares, service [women-owned businesses
possible]
Potentially cheaper than diesel, need to expand
electric supply. India example—very positive
outcomes. Invest in rural electrification
High initial costs but robust, long life
Not read to scale but pilot test opportunities
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Manual Drilling of Aquifers
• Basic low-cost business
opportunity – linked to
pump industry
• Can be women-owned
businesses
• Common in India; pilot
tested in Ethiopia;
UNICEF mapping
aquifers SSA
• IFAD can promote
business
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Keys to Success: Pumps, Drip & Sprinkle
 POLICY: Support developing sustainable agroindustry, NOT “uptake” of specific technology
 Other sectors’ policies: import, tax, exchange rates, credit/
micro-credit, electricity
 Input and output markets -- value chains
 Potential for smart targeting to women or
cash-poor
THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX
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Smallholder AWM: A vibrant and growing sector:
Build on existing trends
India > 50% of the irrigated area watered by smallholder pumps
Africa - Smallholder AWM reaches more farmers than public irrigation
Agricultural Water Management in Ghana
400,000
350,000
300,000
250,000
200,000
150,000
100,000
50,000
0
No. of farmers
Irrigated area (ha.)
Public irrigation schemes
Small reservoirs
Motorized pumps
Buckets, watering cans
Source: estimates based on farmer surveys under this project
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Drip irrigation
• Failures projects
supplying drip kits
• Opportunities =
promote range of
technologies & support
services through private
agro-business
development [applies to
pumps] – can be
COMESA for economies
of scale
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Sector largely overlooked by investors
Investment costs of irrigation technologies in sub-Saharan Africa
Buckets
Motor pumps
Treadle pumps
Public canal irrigation
Investment
O&M costs
costs
(USD/year)
(USD/ha)
<50
<10
400
330
350
<10
Often not charged, but frequent
10,000
rehabilitations needed
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Financed by
Farmers
Farmers
NGOs & Farmers
Gov’t & Donors
Invest in value chain improvements: increase access
• Costs and financing constrain farmers.
• Programs do not target beneficiaries according to their needs.
• Women are underrepresented in AWM technology use.
Irrigation Service Providers:
Local entrepreneur owns 1+ pumps.
Paid per hour for irrigation.
Benefits:
• Incomes for entrepreneurs.
• Income from dry season crops for
farmers.
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Investments in a watershed perspective
Examining a range of impacts and the institutional capacity to manage trade-offs could
help improve the benefits from future AWM investments.
Mkindo Watershed, Tanzania: Participatory impact assessment of AWM solutions
Social Impacts
Environmental Impacts
Equity
Gender
Poverty
Reduction
Water
Quality
Water
Quantity
Natural
Resources
Gravity based furrow
system for paddy rice
production
+/-
-
+
-
-
-
Diesel pumps – irrigating
from rivers
+/-
+
+
-
-
-
Livestock watering ponds
+
+
+
NA
+
+
Livestock watering canal
-
+
+
NA
NA
-
Large scale irrigation for
cash crop production
-
NA
Unclear
-
-
-
Technology
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Water Storage
Multiple options, critical issue as adaptation to
climate variability & change
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Multiple Use Water Services (MUS)
 Applies to all water
management
technologies
Cattle need to drink too!
 “irrigation plus” other
uses
 “Domestic plus”
agriculture
 Community demanddriven process 
substantial increase
benefits,
sustainability
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Water will be used as needed regardless of
design
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Supportive Institutional Structures – All Levels
 Existing policies & institutions not designed to
support alternative modes of AWM development
 IFAD should engage in multi-stakeholder policy dialogue
for reform
 Bring in business community, other sectors
 Local government-sponsored organizations often
weak
 Experience shows IFAD & partners need new approaches
to empowering local communities
 Engage users from earliest stages, build capacity, & share
responsibility
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Conclusions
 Opportunity: IFAD can achieve innovation & AWM
out-scaling goals
 Opportunity: Improve existing AWM investments
 Opportunity: New AWM investment areas
 Value chains to scale up access to low cost technologies
 Build on farmer-driven market-based innovations 
increase access, support services, smart targeting
 MUS – applies to all technologies, increases sustainability
& impacts on livelihoods
 Watershed perspective
 Water storage alternatives
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Critical Advice
Policy & institutional reform are critical to success!
 Bring other sectors into policy dialogue
 Involve wide range of key stakeholders for policy changes
Thank you!
Water for a food-secure world