Challenges

From the Sahara to the savanna, dry soils are a significant and constant threat to food production. The savanna is widely known for its dry conditions, which, complemented by an acid soil, represent a significant barrier for agricultural activities in countries such as Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Sudan and the United Republic of Tanzania. Countries in the Sahara-savanna area have some of the continents’ poorest areas/communities, especially impacted by climate-change effects: rising temperatures, increasingly severe incidences of drought and diminishing water sources.

Toward a Solution

This project, supported by the China-IFAD South-South and Triangular Cooperation Facility, aims  to improve ecosystem and community resilience in Ethiopia and Kenya through improved management of natural resources and, specifically, of water while expanding linkages between government, private-sector and civil-society organizations to provide access to markets, finance and agricultural technology. The main driver of the initiative is the goal to enhance the development of the water resources of both countries in order to make an optimum contribution to accelerated socioeconomic growth, mitigating the risks of droughts and floods in each country, especially in its rural communities. The objectives of the project are the development of the water resources of each country for the economic and social benefits of the people, on an equitable and sustainable basis, with the allocation and apportionment of water based on comprehensive and integrated plans and optimum allocation principles that incorporate efficiency of use, equity of access and sustainability of the resource. 

In terms of methodology, the Promotion of Water Conservation and Efficiency of Irrigation Water Use in Ethiopia and Kenya seeks to deepen the form and scope of the exchange of existing Ethiopia-Kenya knowledge, skills and experiences, engaging government institutions from the two countries in joint activities in the field. The aim is for policymakers and businesses to act mainly by assessing the following areas: (a) technologies for efficient irrigation­-water use; (b) effective capacity-building approaches of irrigation and water user associations and other community-based organizations; (c) interaction and learning from poor rural farmers who have developed their capacity to grow crops profitably and sustainably using irrigation water and who successfully market their produce; (d) interaction and learning from poor rural farmers who have been trained in sustainable rainwater harvesting using farm-level ponds and are profitably growing and marketing food crops; and (e) awareness of policy and legislative regimes that enable the creation of community-based institutions that have a legal basis and the capacity to manage and oversee the use of river waters.

With regard to the outcomes, since the agricultural productivity of Ethiopia is hampered by poor water management and climate-change risks, the aim is for the IFAD project to help the Government of Ethiopia in addressing the country losses of about 2 billion tons of fertile soils annually due to land degradation and the siltation of water bodies as a threat to irrigation development. Kenya, for its part, benefits from a water-management scheme that improves the conditions of smallholder farmers planting in the savanna and helps the infrastructure and sanitation services in the Nairobi region. IFAD seeks to improve the resilience of ecosystems and communities through improved management of natural resources and, specifically, of water, while expanding linkages between government, private-sector and civil-society organizations to provide access to markets, finance and agricultural technology. 

South-South cooperation is thus undertaken by the China-IFAD South-South and Triangular Cooperation Facility, which enables the exchange of experiences between an emerging country with multiple projects in the agriculture and water management realms and less developed countries, which suffer from water scarcity and misuse.  In terms of sustainability, the IFAD initiative is aligned with the Water Resources Management Policy of Ethiopia and the First Natural Water Resource Management Strategy of Kenya, which indicates a political commitment to its main goals and strategies as well as a potential for engagement by local communities and businesses.