The African Union Commission through its specialized technical office, Semi-Arid Food Grains Research and Development (SAFGRAD) and the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, organized a 5-day knowledge exchange and capacity building workshop targeting high level, technical Directors, of departments of irrigation and agricultural water management from AU Member States. The workshop was designed to provide the avenue for knowledge exchange and also serve as a capacity building support, through the African Union Commission, to member States.
Over 40 high-level technical experts on agricultural water management and irrigation met in Kigali, Rwanda, for knowledge exchange and capacity building workshop on agricultural water management and irrigation in Africa. Participants comprised of Directors and Director Generals in the Ministries of Agriculture/irrigation from 34 Governments (Benin, Burkina Faso, Botswana, Cameroun, Cote d’Ivoire, Centre Africa Republic, Republic of Congo, DRC, Djibouti, Egypt, Kingdom of Eswatini, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Mali, Malawi, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Chad, Togo, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, South Africa and Zimbabwe) and from key development partners and stakeholders from FAO, IFAD, League of Arab States Fund (AFTAAC), The World Bank Group and AFREXIM Bank. Dr Mure Agbonlahor (Senior Production & Marketing Officer) and Mr Valere Nzeyimana (Senior Water Development & Management Officer) represented AUC and FAO respectively as organizers. After five days of active engagements, learning and discussions, participants agreed on the outcomes/action points summarized below.
Need for national governments to create an enabling environment for private investment in irrigation through targeted policy, institutional and governance support. Irrigation services providers should be encouraged as this will increase adoption while reducing the huge financial burden of installing irrigation structures. Need to emphasize irrigation as programs rather than a stand-alone project- this will help to leverage other development elements such as capacity building, multi-user and social projects benefit with it. Ensure that the project preparation process is inclusive and that it takes into consideration the entire value chains; especially the market demand and access to high value markets. Need to base development planning on good data that is complete and current. This will help to ensure that the monitoring and evaluation process is robust. Need to institutionalize regular knowledge exchange workshop on various aspect that impact implementation and maintenance of irrigation schemes. Need to encourage private sector participation and continued documentation of best practices and appropriate business models. Investments in green energy and in water-efficient technologies should be encouraged and incentivized.