Balancing Long and Short Term Agricultural Water Security Investments: Promoting Market-Driven Small-Scale Technologies Parallel to Large-Scale Water Infrastructure

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Balancing Long and Short Term Agricultural Water
Security Investments Promoting Market-Driven
Small-Scale Technologies Parallel to Large-Scale
Water Infrastructure

• Douglas J. Merrey
• Director of Research, FANRPAN
• Africa Water Week, Tunis, March 2008

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Main Message

• Large-scale water investments for agriculture and
  other purposes are important but take years
  before they provide benefits
• They will therefore not contribute directly to
  2015 MDGs
• In parallel, policy reforms and modest targeted
  public investments to encourage a micro-water
  management industry and market support system
  will provide large returns, contribute
  significantly to reducing poverty in a shorter
  time frame
• And enhance the future benefits of infrastructure
  when it comes on stream

Omamo (2003), Policy Research on African
Agriculture Trends, Gaps, and Challenges,
International Service for National Agricultural
Research (ISNAR) Research Report No 21
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Outline

1. Briefly, the case for large-scale water
   infrastructure (Grey and Sadoff)
2. Micro-water management Evidence showing benefits
   (treadle pump example)
3. Why have micro-water management technologies not
   scaled up?
4. Recommendations for the way forward

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1. Water Security The Case for Infrastructure
Investments

• Sink or Swim? Water security for growth and
  development, David Grey and Claudia Sadoff,
  Water Policy 2007
• Excellent article making the case for renewed
  investments on water infrastructure, especially
  in Africa
• Briefly present their argument, as it makes the
  case for the Conference Theme Accelerating
  Water Security for Socio-Economic Development of
  Africa
• I have some reservations, but for this
  presentation accept the validity of their argument

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Water Security

• Acceptable quantity and quality of water for
  life and ecosystems with acceptable level of
  water-related risks
• Necessary condition for economic growth
• Wealthy countries harnessed hydrologymost in
  easy conditions
• Poor countries faced with difficult hydrology
• direct consequence Have not achieved water
  security
• Some hampered by hydrology
• Some even worse offhostage to hydrology
• Bleak prognosis unless huge investments made to
  achieve minimum platform of water security
• Some slides from Dr. Grey

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Poverty and HydrologyGrey and Sadoff
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Infrastructure gap Access to electricity
2108
2,000
1,800
United States consumption 12000kWh/capita/yr
1,600
1,400
1,200
500 kWh/capita/year minimum consumption
900
for reasonable quality of life
1,000
Elec consumption (kWh/yr)/Capita
800
581
430
600
204
400
184
126
114
85
55
38
200
29
21
0
Egypt
Kenya
Ghana
Nigeria
Algeria
Uganda
Ethiopia
Senegal
Tanzania
Morocco
Cameroon
Burkina Faso
World Average
Energy use per person in Africa
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Water storage per person (m3) Updated from M
Solomon
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• Devastating Impacts of Variable and Uncertain
  Rainfall
• Worsened by Lack of Storage and Inadequate
  institutional and infrastructural Capacity to
  Manage Impacts of Floods and Droughts

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Variability - Annual rainfall in Kenya during
1956 1982
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2. Micro-water management Evidence showing
benefits

• Sources of evidence
• IWMI surveySADC countries of Micro-Agricultural
  Water Management (Micro-AWM) experiences
• Case studies treadle pumps Malawi, Ghana, Mali,
  Zambia, Kenya, Tanzania
• Work in Asia (especially India)
• Several studies on drip irrigation kit
  experiences in Zimbabwe (counter-factual)
• Work by Sokoine Agriculture University, SWMnet,
  IMAWESA project, etc.
• Although mostly case studies, evidence for
  following is compelling

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Agricultural Water Management (AWM)

• AWM technologies, practices to capture, store
  or drain water, lift and transport it, and apply
  it to crops in the field
• Continuum formal irrigation ? micro-AWM
  drip, treadle pumps ? capturing and managing
  water in rainfed fields rainwater harvesting,
  conservation agriculture
• Use treadle pump example here, but argument
  applies to a large menu of small individualized
  technologies

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Treadle Pumps--Types
ZAMBIA
SWAZI- LAND
KENYA
S. AFRICA
INDIA
ZAMBIA
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Tanks and Drips
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Micro-AWM--a best bet investment

• Low-cost small-scale technologies and practices
  are promising investments
• Relatively low cost per household? can benefit
  more people/
• Rapid impacts minimal gestation period
• Individualizedlower transaction costs than
  communal or government irrigation
• Lend themselves to being promoted through
  markets, and to being targeted, e.g., to women,
  or poor
• Not a panacea, but high potential intervention if
  done right, in the right circumstances

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Treadle PumpsMalawi Study

• Impact study comparing 50 adopters and
  non-adopters in 2 districts, Malawi (Mangisoni
  2006 2008 forthcoming)
• Adopters have significantly higher productivity
  incomes, better food security, ability to improve
  lives created employment
• Non-adopters (using water cans)poorer, with
  higher risk of falling deeper into poverty
• Consistent with results in other East and West
  African countries

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• Ghana study from IWMI similar results
• Recent study by FANRPAN in Zambiasignificant
  impacts on poverty (Merrey et al. 2008)
• Kickstart in Tanzania and Kenya report
  significant contributions to economic growth
  (www.kickstart.org)

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From Treadle to Motorized Pumps

• Irrigating eggplant with motorized pump purchased
  with profits from treadle pumpZambia (A. Daka)a
  route to prosperity

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If micro-AWM so good, why have they not reached
any scale in SSA?

• Main problem is restrictive and variable
  government policies (Merrey Sally, forthcoming
  in Water Policy, 2008)
• Compounded by small national markets in most SSA
  countries
• Mostly NGO-driven these tend to be supply-driven
  limited-time projects, often for relief
• Often import technology no local support system
  for spare parts, replacement, scaling up
• Examples show quality manufacturing is possible
  in SSA but firms face many impediments

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Inconsistent, Unsupportive Policies

• No SSA country has a long-term supportive policy
  framework for encouraging a local market-driven
  industry (manufacture, sales, after-sales
  service, etc)
• Inconsistent policies duties on imports
  subsidized imports and distribution through MPs
  under projects
• ?High costs (2-5 X Indian price), no long-term
  investment
• Small national input output markets, and poor
  market access for sale of produce

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Recommendations Way Forward

• National Level
• With stakeholders, develop consistent long term
  supportive policies designate a lead agency
• Support for local RD, social marketing, low-cost
  loans
• Limited-time smart subsidies to kickstart the
  industry, focused on small farmers
• Target women, households who have labor and land
  but need help with capital
• Use input vouchers as a way of subsidizing
  through the markets
• Build into overall long-term agricultural and
  water resources development policies

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Recommendations Way Forward

• Regional Economic Communities
• As part of moving to freer trade, support
  development of regional markets for small-scale
  low-cost technologies for economies of scale
• Support exchange of experiences among countries

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Recommendations Way Forward

• Development Banks, Donors
• Actively support policy reform
• Provide financial support to encourage
  development of African industries in micro-AWM
  technologies
• RD by local (not foreign) private firms,
  research institutions
• Smart subsidies
• Low-cost loans for manufacturers, retailers
• Social marketing to popularize technologies
  (Kickstart is a good example)

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Emilys triumph

• 16 Oct 2003 Awareness!catching the first rain

Oct-Nov 2003 digging storage to catch more
19 Jan 2004 We have buried the hunger
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Final Word

• Supporting development of an African
  market-driven micro-AWM industry can contribute
  directly to reducing poverty and hunger by 2015
  while through synergies, enhancing the returns to
  large-scale water infrastructure investments.
• Let us not miss the opportunity!

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