The African market garden: The development of a low‐pressure drip irrigation system for smallholders in the sudano sahel

Abstract

The African Market Garden (AMG) is a holistic horticultural production system for small producers based on low-pressure drip irrigation combined with a crop management package. Over the last 10 years, ICRISAT (the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics) and partners have tested four AMG models in the Sudano Sahel of West Africa. The Thrifty (80 m 2 ) and Commercial (500 m 2 drip kit) AMG systems were developed for individual gardening. The Cluster (multiple kits of 500 m 2 ) and Communal systems were developed for producers to benefit from collective use of water, energy resources, land, purchasing and marketing. This paper describes the development pathway of the four different models and assesses their returns to investment. It was shown that irrigated vegetable production is a capital-intensive undertaking where investment and operation cost per unit land can be reduced through economies of scale. The payback period for a 500 m 2 traditional garden and for a single 500 m 2 AMG is 15 months, while for a 5000 m 2 Cluster or Communal AMG it is only 5-6 months. The latter two systems have been tested using alternative energy sources like solar radiation, gravitation or artesian pressure to further cut down costs of water supply.

Water Gender Indicators in Agriculture: A Study of Horticultural Farmer Organizations in Senegal

“…In many interventions, a communitarian management of the irrigation perimeters is required and promoted by the international donors [12]. One of the main adduced motivations is that, by decentralizing to local institutions the management of water resources, the whole community will benefit, and this will lead to a sustainable use of the resources over time [40].…”

Farmers’ Logics in Engaging With Projects Promoting Drip Irrigation Kits in Burkina Faso

“…Its promoters argued this success was linked to the suitability of the micro-drip technology for the specific arid environment of the Sahel and its affordability for smallholder farmers (Pasternak et al 2006;Woltering, Pasternak, and Ndjeunga 2011). In several other countries of Sub-Saharan Africa (Kenya, Zimbabwe, and South Africa), micro-drip kits were likewise said to have been successfully introduced for small-scale vegetable gardening (Kabutha, Blank, and van Koppen 2000;Karlberg et al 2007).…”

The case for distributed irrigation as a development priority in sub-Saharan Africa

“…Through follow-up visits to farmers who purchased the pumps, KickStart estimates that their pumps have created $110 million in new wages and profits and have helped move more than 600,000 individuals out of poverty. Baseline surveys have confirmed that most farmers are selling their products locally, providing more evidence for the large (and elastic) local demand for vegetables and fruits that are often high in micronutrients (23,27).…”

“…Over the last decade, the International Crops Research Institute of the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT-Niger) has helped install thousands of "African Market Gardens" (AMGs)-a holistic irrigation and management package-in nine countries across the Sudano-Sahel region of West Africa (27,28). These systems ranged in size from 80 to 500 m 2 (for individual farmers) and up to several hectares in communal and cluster configurations.…”

“…Although the limited literature on farmer groups is mixed (37,38), success stories tend to be found where distributed systems are used in a cooperative setting, permitting the sharing of knowledge, risk, credit, and marketing (39). For example, the AMG project saw farmers in Niger join together to purchase pumps and also documented greater revenues from communal and cluster models (27).…”