The world has to feed a growing population with the same area of land and less water. Irrigation is key to managing this problem. A 10-year project called Transforming Irrigation in Southern Africa focused on capacity constraints on schemes in Mozambique, Tanzania and Zimbabwe and how to solve them. This led to a new project which uses small-scale irrigation schemes as learning sites for circular food systems. Here, the researchers involved in the projects share some findings.
What are the barriers to smallholder irrigation schemes?
First is a lack of coherence between national policies and local realities. The objectives of governments and funders don’t always align with the livelihood goals of irrigators. Governments strive for food security and large donors tend to finance and develop large irrigation projects.
