AFRICA. Xolelwa Lamani

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Willis Greer
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1 IRRIGATION PROBLEMS IN SOUTH AFRICA Xolelwa Lamani

2 Irrigation To irrigate: supply (land/crops) with water (by means of rivers, water channels, overhead pipes, etc.)

4 Why is irrigation important to us? To alleviate the poverty problem (1930 s) To improve rural livelihood by increasing crop production. To provide cash income for family needs & food for home consumption. Economic development of the country. Gambian women working in their vegetable gardens to provide cash income for their children's education

5 How much irrigation do we have? S.A has only 13 % ( ~ 14 million ha) arable land & most of this has low production potential. AccordingAccording to international norm: 0.4 ha arable land = 1 person 14 million ha = 35 million people What about the other 10.5 million???

6 S.A has a very limited irrigation potential max. max. of 1.5 million ha can be irrigated. Comparing with Iran (same( size as S.A) has a potential to irrigate 7.5 million ha. MaizeMaize is the chief staple and nation s chief farm export. OtherOther major crops include sugar cane, wheat, potatoes, groundnuts, citrus fruits and grapes.

7 What are the problems? SOIL WATER Central & Western parts of the country suitable soil and lack of water Eastern parts of the country lack of suitable soil

8 Soil S.A soil falls within the relatively little known Third Major Soil Region of the world. It is dominated with very shallow soils and also large parts of the country are covered by sandy soils. Soil Soil is extremely vulnerable to various forms of degradation and have low resilience.

9 Sources of degradation WaterWater erosion Wind Wind erosion Waterlogging and Salinization Acidification,, etc.

10 Water. Natural resource that belongs to all people. Scarce commodity which is unevenly distributed in S.A. Total run off per year from S.A rivers is estimated to be million m 3 Only million m 3 can be practically and economically used. Total potential ground water delivery is estimated to be million m 3 of which million m 3 can be practically retrieved.

11 IrrigationIrrigation sector uses appr.. 50 % of the water currently used in S.A GroundGround water irrigated 24 % of the irrigable area and surface water irrigates 76 %. In the Northern parts of the country, both surface water and groundwater resources are nearly fully developed and utilized. Southeastern parts are well-watered watered but significant undeveloped and little-used resources exists.

12 Water demand projections indicated an annual growth of 1.5 % between 1990 and 2010, ranging from 3.5 % for urban and industrial use to 1% for irrigation. Total water withdrawal estimated in 2000.

13 Modern technologies. Have potential to raise the productivity of water and labour. Affordable small motor driven pumps can greatly reduce work needed to lift and move water.

14 Kwa Zulu-Natal Sept Installation of innovative pump irrigation systems to support vegetable garden cooperations. High poverty and illiteracy levels preclude the installation and operation of sophisticated pumping equipments by the communities.

15 Sprinkle & irrigation machine Drip irrigation pipe Phoenix Romania

16 Small farmers Farmers with growing problems due to drought Long furrows present farmers with difficulty in land levelling

17 How to achieve a sustainable balance with the environment? Any technology to be transferred from Northern developed countries to S.A must be modified and adapted to local conditions. S.A needs locally trained soil scientists and experts and leader farmers with local experience to guide land use and management. Prevent degradation of area that are still in good conditions. Well-qualified soil scientists to conduct the required soil surveys and research to be part of the multi-disciplinary teams that are needed to do efficient land suitability evaluations.

18 Eyes on Precision Irrigation Involves differential delivery of irrigation water in optimum quantities over an area of land which is not uniform and has variations in soil type, soil water capacity, yield potential and topography. It is believed that it is more important in future to protect the scarce water resources in S.A and the world.

19 Conclusion To achieve and maintain ecological, socio- economic and economic sustainability over the next 20 years will depend on a sound knowledge of the county s resources and political will have to implement appropriate land use planning principles and management practices.

Speaker Summary Note

2020 CONFERENCE MAY 2014 Session: Speaker: Speaker Summary Note Building Resilience by Innovating and Investing in Agricultural Systems Mark Rosegrant Director, Environment and Production Technology Division