Groundwater and Farming in Africa

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The development challenge

In 2015 the United Nations member states adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These aimed to promote action in improving conditions for all life while tackling climate change. When looking at water and development in Africa, SDGs 2 (Zero Hunger) and 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation) are critical in improving quality of life. As discussed in the last post water resources are highly variable. Food production per capita rates are also some of the lowest in the world. Africa's current population of 1.4 billion is projected to increase to 4.2 billion by 2100. Therefore, different farming practices and new resources of water are essential to improve agricultural production and resilience to climate change.


Figure 1: The 17 Sustainable Development Goals.


Rain-fed and irrigated agriculture

Smallholder farmers are vital making up 80% of all African farms and accounting for 90% of the agricultural production in many countries. The vast majority of this agricultural land is rain-fed. This leaves crop production vulnerable to more extreme rainfall events from climate change. More variable soil moisture reduces crop yields with some regions predicted to have a 50% drop in drainage. Irrigation allows farmland to receive drainage during periods of drought. It can double food production but only 6% of total agriculture is irrigated compared to 37% in Asia. Therefore, increasing the amount of irrigated farmland can be a possible solution to meet SDG 2 under the increasing pressures of climate change and population growth.

Figure 2: Sprinkler irrigation system. 

Is groundwater a future-saving resource?

Agriculture already is the biggest consumer of water in Africa and irrigation itself requires large quantities. However, many areas of Africa have groundwater aquifer stores that experience recharge during rainfall events. Studies have shown a non-linearity between these events and groundwater recharge. Heavy monsoonal rainfall disproportionately recharges groundwater compared to less intense rainfall events. This has the potential for groundwater recharge events to be predicted as there are associations with the El Nino Southern Oscillation.



Figure 3: Map of groundwater storage and recharge rates in Africa.

The challenge of using groundwater

Initially, groundwater appears to be the perfect source of freshwater to improve agricultural output. However, there is still a lack of research and understanding of this resource. It also has an uneven distribution over Africa. Therefore, sustainable management plans that take into account the needs of many stakeholders and the distribution of water are necessary. An Integrated Water Resources Management approach attempts to provide successful outcomes. This involves stakeholder participation and interdisciplinary collaboration where the full river basin also defines the management area. Overall, effective water management will be essential in maintaining food production in the face of issues such as climate change and population growth. 
 



Comments

  1. Clement14 November 2022 at 05:36

    Your posts demonstrates a sound grasp of water and food issues in Africa, and the persepctive of physical geography of water presented by engaging with relevant literature is great but the referencing format need to improve. Beyond the detsield physical geography that your two post covered, it will be good to have some practical case studies that higlight the intersection of groundwater, surface water,, irrigation, drought, and famine in Africa.

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