The goal of Securing Water for Food (SWFF) was an innovation and acceleration initiative meant to source, incubate and accelerate high-potential technical solutions and/or business models that find new and sustain existing water supplies as well as lower overall water demands in the food value chain to reduce water scarcity and poverty.
The Strengthening Watershed and Irrigation Management (SWIM) project supports sustainable, agriculture-led economic growth by increasing the sustainable and productive use of water and strengthening water resource management. Specifically, SWIM:
Last updated: July 2017
Dec 10, 2018
This is a report on the final performance evaluation of the Innovation Lab for Small-Scale Irrigation (ILSSI) project, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The evaluation was commissioned by the USAID Bureau for Food Security (BFS) and was independently conducted by an external evaluation team (ET) assembled by the Program Evaluation for Effectiveness and Learning (PEEL) project, led by Mendez England & Associates (ME&A).
The Limpopo River basin is one of the most vulnerable transboundary basins in the Southern African region, because of water scarcity and climate-related risks, as well as in its limited capacity to adapt. Water Demand Management (WDM) can reduce these risks through conservation and re-use of water resources.
Agricultural water management (AWM) seeks to use water in a way that provides crops and animals the amount of water they need, enhances productivity, and conserves natural resources for the benefit of downstream users and ecosystem services.
Why Agricultural Water Management Matters
Currently, more than 1.5 billion people live with water shortages for at least part of the year. Those water shortages often threaten their farms, livelihoods, and families.
Throughout the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, fresh water is being consumed faster than it is being replenished. Irrigation accounts for most of this use. Unlike traditional flood-style or rain-fed irrigation, drip irrigation delivers controlled amounts of water directly to each plant through a series of tubes and emitters. This can reduce agricultural water consumption by 30 to 60 percent and increase crop yields by 20 to 50 percent, yet only 27 percent of the irrigated cropland in MENA countries uses the technology.
Picture a rural household in Kisumu, Kenya. Kale, cowpeas, tomatoes, and butternut grow in a kitchen garden fed by a drip irrigation system. Family members harvest these vegetables for the stew that complements their diet, formerly reliant on maize and sorghum. Handwashing stations adjacent to the cooking hut and the improved latrine remind everyone to wash with soap at critical times. Thanks to a new community solar-powered borehole, the family is no longer solely dependent on what the rain provides for drinking water.
