Changing Paradigms in Water Management and Food

Before exploring present-day and possible future water and food management strategies in Africa, it is essential to examine the past. Immanent challenges such as climate change and population growth can only be effectively mitigated by acknowledging previous successes and failures of management. 

Origins in the Nile

The earliest signs of water management in Africa are found at the River Nile. With the use of radiocarbon dating, the appearance of agriculture in Northern Egypt can be traced back to 6000BC. Water storage and irrigation strategies were first recorded at 5100BC. Nilometers are some of the earliest gauging stations. These large columns allowed future and current water levels to be predicted and measured. Crop failure due to drought or flooding could be expected and mitigated. The necessity to manage these water resources led to hydraulic civilizations as these projects were planned and built by large labour forces. This highlights the link between water management and the growth of societies. 

Figure 1: Nilometer found in Rhoda Island, Cairo, Egypt. 

Water management in the 20th century

With growing populations up to the 20th century, some water management projects occurred at a larger scale with more engineering-focused top-down approaches. One significant example of this is the Bakalori Irrigation Project in Nigeria. This was built in the 1970s on the River Sokoto and aimed to supply an irrigation scheme of 30,000 hectares. However, the scheme was largely unsuccessful with little communication between project managers and farmers. Flood extent in villages was reduced by up to 90% in some areas. Farmers that worked independently now had to work under this new irrigation scheme essentially becoming waged labourers without their full permission. Flood-tolerant rice crops would no longer grow in the wet season as the dam stopped the seasonal flooding. Therefore this crop had to be swapped for lower-value millet and sorghum. Lack of communication and unreliable fieldwork also led to land tenure being underestimated at 60% when occupancy was closer to 90%. This led to a mismanagement of compensation and re-allocation of land that was uneven and some farmers were given low-quality land for agriculture. These issues ultimately led to protests, arrests, and over 380 deaths in 1980. Overall, larger top-down approaches have the potential to be effective in managing water and food production but uneven power distributions and a lack of consulting with local farmers undermined the Bakalori Dam's success. 

Figure 2: The Bakalori Dam.

Management for the future

Chapter 18 in the United Nations Agenda 21 outlined Integrated River Basin Management (IRBM) as a way to improve management. Four principle objectives were outlined: 

1. A dynamic, interactive, iterative, and multi-sectoral approach to management
2. Sustainable and rational water use to meet community needs and national growth
3. Economically and socially efficient strategies that involve public participation
4. Develop institutional, legal, and financial mechanisms for sustainable progress

However, applying this framework to countries in Africa is not straightforward as there are many basins shared by multiple authorities over different countries. Under IRBM rain-fed farmers are extremely important as they are the main source of food and basin managers. To meet these objectives future strategies need to include the voices of these farmers that have been previously ignored.