Assessment of Existing Irrigation and Drainage Infrastructure

This report is a part of the project “Improving Agricultural Resilience to Salinity Through the Development and Promotion of Pro-Poor Technologies (RESADE),” jointly funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA). The RESADE project aims to provide effective solutions to the growing problems of soil salinization in seven sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries: Botswana, Namibia, Mozambique, Liberia, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, and Togo. This project assesses and identifies deficiencies in water management and irrigation infrastructure to improve agricultural resilience in SSA countries. Improving irrigation and drainage infrastructure should be a top priority for sustainable production and livelihoods in the agricultural sector. 

The RESADE project is led by the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) and is being implemented with the collaboration of the national partners in the target countries: the National Agricultural Research Institute of The Gambia (NARI), Mozambique's Institute of Agricultural Research (IIAM), Togolese Institute of Agronomic Research (ITRA), Sierra Leone Agricultural Research Institute (SLARI), and Central Agricultural Research Institute of Liberia (CARI). These national partners have provided unwavering support and technical expertise in achieving the project objectives. Their contributions to this report in particular and to the RESADE project in general are highly appreciated. 

This report titled "Assessment of Existing Irrigation and Drainage Infrastructure" is based on an analysis of the primary and secondary data collected during the course of the project. The collected data include a bibliographic review, project documents and reports, and information obtained from site visits. The collected data were analyzed to create a history of accomplishments related to water collection and storage, crop yields, and other uses. Surveys were conducted to record stakeholders’ views regarding the effectiveness, relevance, and usefulness of the irrigation and drainage infrastructure. 

The authors are extremely grateful to Dr. Tarifa Al Zaabi, ICBA Director General, for her overall guidance and leadership for the successful implementation of this project. We express our gratitude for the invaluable support extended to the project by our esteemed partners and we remain steadfastly committed to the successful execution of this pivotal initiative. We also extend our appreciation to the field teams and scientists in all target countries for actively contributing to the data collection and analysis. 

The information, opinions, and perspectives presented in this report are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the beliefs or guidelines of ICBA or its beneficiaries.