Sahel Irrigation Strategy April 2025 Cover: Irrigation on a young maize crop in Sub-Saharan Africa. Photo credit: AdeleD @ Shutterstock.com Sahel Irrigation Strategy © 2025 / The World Bank This document has been developed on the basis of a participatory process involving the governments of six Sahelian countries, regional organizations such as CILSS, WAEMU and ARID, as well as contributions from the World Bank Group Staff, led by TTLs Bogachan Benli, Sara Datturi, and Amal Talbi. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this work do not necessarily reflect the views of the World Bank, its Board of Executive Directors, the governments they represent, the Sahelian governments, and the CILSS. The World Bank, Sahelian governments, and the CILSS do not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work, and assume no responsibility for any errors, omissions or discrepancies in the information, nor for any liability arising from the use or misuse of the information, methods, processes or conclusion presented. Furthermore, the boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply any judgment on the part of the World Bank, Sahelian governments, and the CILSS concerning the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. Nothing herein shall constitute or be construed or considered to be a limitation upon or waiver of the privileges and immunities of The World Bank, all of which are specifically reserved. Rights and Permissions The material in this work is subject to copyright. Because the World Bank encourages dissemination of its knowledge, this work may be reproduced, in whole or in part, for noncommercial purposes as long as full attribution to this work is given. Any queries on rights and licenses, including subsidiary rights, should be addressed to World Bank Publications, The World Bank Group, 1818 H Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20433, USA; fax: 202-522-2422; email: pubrights@worldbank.org. Contents Abbreviations ix Preface xi 1 Introduction 1 1.1. The Strategy in Context 1 1.2. Objective 2 1.3. Approach 4 1.4. Working Concepts 5 Definitions 5 Typologies 6 2 Progress and Lessons from Irrigation Development over the Past Decade 11 2.1. Overview of National and Regional Irrigation Initiatives since 2013 11 2.2. Irrigation Coverage – Status and Potential 17 Irrigated Areas in the Sahel 17 Surface Water Resource Potential 20 Shallow Groundwater Potential 22 Summary of the Water Resource Opportunity 24 Increase Water Storage for Water Security and Climate Resilience  26 2.3. Persistent Challenges and Key Lessons 27 Policy and Governance 28 Productivity and Profitability 34 Technology and Innovation 37 Irrigation Finance, Costs, and Investments 40 3 Vision, Goals, and Expected Impacts 49 3.1. Vision  49 3.2. Strategic Goals and Impacts  49 4 Principles of Engagement 55 4.1. Farmer-Centered Approaches 55 4.2. Sustainability  57 4.3. Adaptability 58 4.4. Scalability 59 5 Strategic Actions and Priority Investment Lines 63 5.1. Comprehensive National Irrigation Programs Supported by a Regional Approach 63 5.2. Optimizing Performance on Collective Schemes  64 Policy and Governance  65 Productivity and Profitability 67 Technology and Innovation 67 Financing  68 5.3. Enabling Farmer-Led Irrigation Development  69 Policy and Governance 70 Technology and Innovation 70 Financing 71 5.4. Closing the Investment Gap and Addressing Cost Challenges and Quality Standards to Enhance Irrigation Project Viability 73 5.5. Adopting an Integrated Territorial Approach in Irrigation Development 75 5.6. Concluding Note 78 Reference List 80 Tables Table 2.1. SIIP Achieved Irrigated Areas (February 2025) 15 Table 2.2. Average Available Water (m /s) in the Four Large Transboundary 3 River Basins (Historical and Forecast SSPs)  21 Table 2.3. Calculated Potential Dry-Season Irrigation Expansion (Ha) 22 Table 2.4. Shallow Groundwater-Based Irrigation Potential for Five Sahelian Countries 25 Table 2.5. Farmers’ Rice Cultivation Yield and Profit in Three Major Rice-Growing Environments in Sub-Saharan African Countries  35 Table 2.6. Farmers’ Income and Poverty Line in Three Irrigation Schemes  36 Table 2.7. Average Unit Cost of Irrigation Projects in the Sahel 43 Table 3.1. Short-, Medium-, and Long-Term Goals and Impacts of Irrigation Development in the Sahel 50 Figures Figure 2.1. New Irrigation Development, 2013–2024  18 Figure 2.2. Distribution of Actively Irrigated Areas across the Six Countries in 2022, Based on Remote Sensing Analysis  19 Figure 2.3. Distribution of Donor Investments across Countries (2013–2020) 41 Maps Map 2.1. Major Actively Irrigated Area in 2022 under Partial and Full Water Control in the Six Sahelian Countries Based on Remote Sensing Analysis 19 Map 2.2. Rainfed Regions Underlain by Crystalline Bedrock with Shallow Groundwater 25 Boxes Box 1.1. Traditional Forms of Agricultural Water Management in the Sahel 8 Box 2.1. Lessons Learned from the Use of Solar Pumps through the SIIP 39 Box 3.1. Participatory Planning of Irrigation Solutions in the SIIP 56 Abbreviations Acronym Description AES Alliance of Sahel States AU African Union AWM Agricultural Water Management CAADP Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme CAPEX Capital Expenditure CILSS Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel DTW Depth of the Water Table ECOWAP ECOWAS Common Agricultural Policy ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations FCV Fragility, Conflict, and Violence FLID Farmer-Led Irrigation Development GDP Gross Domestic Product GERTS Runoff Water Management Project in Sahelian Chad ha Hectare IFC International Finance Corporation iOF Irrigation Operator of the Future MOM Management, Operation, and Maintenance O&M Operations and Maintenance OdN Office du Niger ONAHA National Office for Hydro-Agricultural Development OPAH Agropastoral and Fisheries Offensive OPEX Operational Expenditures ORS Office du Riz Ségou P2RS Project to Strengthen Resilience to Food and Nutritional Insecurity in the Sahel PDRICL2 Chari-Logone Rice Development Project 2 PGA Governmental Hydro-Agricultural Development Program PNIASAN National Agricultural Investment Program for Food Security and Nutrition PNISR National Rural Sector Investment Plan Abbreviations ix Acronym Description PNMEA National Policy for the Management of Agricultural Water PNSA National Food Security Program QMS Quality Management System RBF Results-Based Financing SAED National Company for the Development and Exploitation of the Lands of the Senegal River Delta and the Senegal River and Falémé Valleys SIIP Sahel Irrigation Initiative Project SME Small and Medium Enterprise SNDDAI National Strategy for the Sustainable Development of Irrigated Agriculture SNDES National Economic and Social Development Strategy SNDR National Rice Development Strategy SSA Sub-Saharan Africa SSI Small-Scale Irrigation WAEMU West African Economic and Monetary Union WUA Water Users’ Association x Sahel Irrigation Strategy Preface The six Sahel countries (Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and Senegal) stand today at a decisive crossroads. Faced with an arid climate, increasing variability in water resources, and recurrent droughts, the region must confront major challenges to ensure food security and support sustainable development. In a context where agriculture depends 97 percent on rainfall, Sahelian economies remain extremely vulnerable to rapid population growth, urbanization, increasing pressure on natural resources, and the intensifying effects of climate change. However, the Sahel also possesses significant assets that deserve to be highlighted and leveraged: abundant year-round sunshine, major rivers, and shallow groundwater resources that could be better mobilized and managed. In addition, the growing urban demand for agricultural products offers new market opportunities. Aware of the urgency of the challenges and the potential to be harnessed, Sahelian governments recognize the strategic role of irrigation as an essential lever to transform constraints into drivers of resilience, inclusive growth, and lasting stability. On October 31, 2013, representatives from the six Sahel countries committed, through the Dakar Declaration on Irrigation, to expand irrigated areas from 400,000 hectares (ha) to 1 million ha by 2020. The goal of this declaration was to enhance food security and economic development in the region by increasing the use of water for agriculture. Notable progress has been made since then, despite significant challenges, laying the groundwork for a more structured and ambitious development of irrigation. The Sahel Irrigation Strategy assesses the past decade of efforts by evaluating the socioeconomic impacts and identifying levers to accelerate the progress needed for food security. For example, of the initial target of 600,000 ha set a decade ago, approximately 285,000 ha have been developed, marking significant progress. However, a portion of these areas remains underexploited, either partially developed or not utilized, highlighting the need to improve the efficiency and sustainability of existing irrigation infrastructure. Preface xi While not all initial objectives have been achieved, this period has provided valuable experience and essential lessons about what works well and what does not, based on the implementation of national and regional irrigation initiatives and programs. These lessons will guide future interventions in a more targeted and effective manner. Building on these lessons, the Sahel Irrigation Strategy proposes concrete, scalable solutions adapted to local realities, aiming to sustainably strengthen food security, stimulate inclusive growth, and increase resilience to climate risks. These include capitalizing on innovative tools such as remote sensing and water resource mapping to better target future investments. Scaling up small-scale irrigation (SSI) development, particularly through the sustainable use of shallow aquifers, could mobilize nearly one million additional hectares. Furthermore, surface water resources offer equally promising prospects, with potential estimated between 3.18 and 4.36 million ha. These advantages, combined with renewed political will, pave the way for a new regional dynamic toward a more productive, resilient, and truly sustainable Sahelian agriculture sector. The Sahel Irrigation Strategy was developed through a participatory process led by the Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS) and involving the governments of the six Sahelian countries, regional organizations of stakeholders and civil society (such as the Alliance of Sahel States or AES, and the West African Network of Farmer and Producer Organizations), intergovernmental organizations (such as the West African Economic and Monetary Network or WAEMU, the Liptako–Gourma Authority, and the Global Water Partnership-West Africa), private sector representatives through the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and contributions from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Bank Group. The strategic intervention areas and guiding principles of this strategy were validated through national workshops, a thorough review process, and strong endorsement by various stakeholders, particularly during the regional validation workshop held in Bamako, Mali, from March 13–14, 2025. The strategy serves as a reference document for future investment scenarios, proposing innovative approaches to fully harness the significant potential of irrigation as a driver of agricultural productivity, food security, and resilience throughout the Sahel. xii Sahel Irrigation Strategy The strategy sets updated and shared goals for irrigated agriculture, adapted to the short term (2035), medium term (2045), and long term (2055). These goals are accompanied by a clear and feasible intervention framework designed to foster collective engagement and coordinated efforts among Sahelian countries. The strategy is conceived as a dynamic framework, with the expectation that it will be regularly reviewed and updated by Sahelian governments at the end of each phase, to respond to the region’s evolving needs and challenges. It provides member states with guidelines to improve and harmonize approaches and instruments for high-performing and sustainable irrigation systems, as well as better integrated management of shared water resources and groundwater resources. This regional document was adopted at the High-Level Forum on Irrigation, Dakar +10, held from April 7–9, 2025. This new strategy represents a unique opportunity for Sahelian and West African countries to rethink irrigation investments, transforming water management and agricultural development. The new declaration accompanying this strategy is a vibrant call to action for all stakeholders, with the ambition to concretize commitments through clear objectives to increase irrigation investments, thereby strengthening resilience and food security. M. Kedha Ballah Dr. Abdoulaye Mohamadou M. Chakib Jenane Coordinating Minister Executive Secretary of CILSS Regional Director for of CILSS Sustainable Development, West and Central Africa, World Bank Preface xiii Description: Solar tube well system for irrigation Photo credit: Hussain Warraich xiv Sahel Irrigation Strategy 1 Introduction 1.1. The Strategy in Context The 2013 Dakar Declaration on Irrigation—signed by representatives of the governments of the six Sahel countries of Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and Senegal—was a commitment to expand the irrigated area from 400,000 hectares (ha) to 1,000,000 ha by 2025. The goal was to improve food security and economic development in the region through increased water usage for agriculture. A decade after the 2013 Dakar Declaration, there has been an estimated 47 percent achievement against that goal—that is, 285,000 ha of the additional 600,000 ha under total water control. The Sahel Irrigation Strategy assesses irrigation progress, socioeconomic outcomes, and lessons learned over the past 10 years to identify priority opportunities and refocus investment efforts. The strategy defines actionable and scalable solutions that aim to shape the future of irrigated agriculture in the Sahel. The Sahel region faces unique challenges in securing food and achieving sustainable growth due to its arid climate, significant fluctuations in water availability across time and space, and frequent droughts. These issues are intensified by rapid population growth, increasing food demand, and the escalating impacts of climate change. Temperatures are projected to rise at 1.5 times the global average. This already fragile area is highly vulnerable to more frequent and severe droughts, floods, land degradation, heatwaves, and desertification. The ecological and socioeconomic fragility, combined with the fact that the agriculture sector accounts for 40 percent of the region’s gross domestic product (GDP) and serves as its largest employer, means that the Sahel is among the world’s most-at-risk regions to climate-related impacts. In a region where economic and social development is heavily dependent on agriculture, irrigation expansion, agricultural intensification, and improved agricultural water management can accelerate employment creation, income generation, climate resilience, and food security. Water security and socioeconomic development have a stabilizing effect on the population and attenuation of conflict, enhancing the social contract and trust in authorities. Water insecurity, on the other hand, acts as a significant amplifier of instability and conflict. Introduction 1 Agricultural growth, mostly from rainfed farming expansion due to limited irrigation development and strong demographic growth, is approaching its biophysical and societal limits (Hollinger and Staatz 2015). Such expansion continues to degrade ecosystem services, jeopardize biodiversity, and exacerbate conflicts, aggravating social tension and injustice. Sustainable intensification of agriculture with irrigation, where technically, economically, and ecologically practicable, can contribute positively to multiple goals of food security, increased employment, and more socioeconomic benefits. At the same time, intensification facilitated by irrigation can reduce the agricultural footprint and negative environmental and social impacts. Acknowledging irrigation’s vital role in securing water for agricultural and socioeconomic development and for regional stability, the governments of Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and Senegal have pledged to advance irrigation development across the Sahel region. This commitment aims to achieve the expansion and water resource management goals set in the 2013 Dakar Declaration and is supported by regional development partners. Despite substantial investments and efforts to scale up irrigation development since the 2013 Declaration, significant areas are only cultivated intermittently, while others have been permanently abandoned. The underutilization of costly infrastructure and the untapped potential highlight the critical need to examine the underlying factors behind both successes and failures. Leveraging the experience gained over the past decade in irrigation development will help guide how best to plan and implement investments to achieve expansion objectives. 1.2. Objective The Sahel Irrigation Strategy aims to guide participating countries to scale up irrigation expansion and modernization rapidly and responsibly with a more diverse suite of interventions to optimize the use of their natural and financial resources. It provides a comprehensive roadmap to unlock the full potential of sustainable irrigation as a driver of agricultural productivity, food security, and resilience across the Sahel. Its primary objectives include taking stock of the progress achieved over the past decade, identifying emerging trends and challenges, and moving beyond problem identification to actionable solutions rooted in lessons learned. The strategy establishes updated and shared goals for irrigated agriculture tailored to short-term (2035), medium-term (2045), and long-term (2055) horizons. These targets 2 Sahel Irrigation Strategy are accompanied by a clear framework for intervention, designed to foster collective commitment and coordinated efforts among the six Sahelian countries. A multistakeholder approach is central to this strategy. It places emphasis on regional cooperation and knowledge exchange to address water management challenges and leverage regional expertise. The strategy builds on the 2013 Dakar Declaration and the subsequent Strategic Framework for Agricultural Water in the Sahel (2017), providing a roadmap for sustainable and climate-resilient irrigation in the region. It aligns with the African Union’s (AU) Agenda 2063, the 2020 AU Framework for Irrigation Development and Agricultural Water Management in Africa, and the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP). Compared to the 2017 Strategic Framework, this updated strategy places a stronger emphasis on strengthening irrigation service delivery and promoting a business-oriented approach to irrigated farming. It introduces new data highlighting the potential of shallow groundwater for SSI expansion in rainfed areas, particularly benefiting remote communities, thereby unlocking a critical resource for scaling up production. The strategy prioritizes overall scheme performance, spanning irrigation service reliability, governance structures, operation and maintenance (O&M), and agricultural and economic outcomes, along with (incremental) infrastructure upgrades. It also recognizes that farmer-led irrigation development (FLID) has always been happening in the Sahel and could scale up better and faster with adequate policies and incentives for the private sector, including farmers, and could be an efficient way to achieve large-scale impact at lower cost for the government. To support these developments, the strategy outlines innovative financing mechanisms aimed at enhancing the viability and sustainability of irrigation across the Sahel. Recognizing the diversity across the Sahel, the strategy will be implemented through country-specific plans tailored to each nation’s unique context, while remaining anchored in shared regional objectives. Moreover, although implementation responsibilities rest with individual countries, the six nations face shared challenges and opportunities, and stand to benefit from economies of scale and mutual learning by working together at the regional level. Introduction 3 1.3. Approach The document includes a review of previous national and regional efforts for irrigation development, a review of lessons learned from past and ongoing irrigation projects, and analysis of remote sensing data. Extensive consultations were held with the six Sahelian countries, CILSS, World Bank staff across Global Practices, private sector representatives through IFC, and experts in various related fields. These consultations ensured depth and understanding about key challenges and viable solutions and informed the rationale for action. Under CILSS facilitation, national validation workshops were held in February 2025, followed by a regional validation workshop in Bamako, Mali, from March 13–14, 2025. The strategy acknowledges that achieving the goals set for irrigated agriculture in terms of food sovereignty, rural jobs, economic growth, and poverty reduction requires much more than the construction, operation, and maintenance of irrigation infrastructure and equipment. Successful outcomes depend on functional public policies for agricultural advisory services, enhanced access to financial services, and well-functioning value chains, all of which must be locally adaptable to the specific characteristics of irrigated agriculture and the needs of different types of producers. A systems-based approach during implementation is therefore essential, but the strategy’s focus is on the immediate and narrower challenge of driving irrigation expansion and performance, water productivity, and agricultural water resources development. Opportunities for synergies with other initiatives to address the agriculture and value-chain factors must therefore be leveraged in investment programs to achieve the range of outcomes wanted. A multistakeholder approach—involving collaboration among governments, farmers, civil society, the private sector, and development partners—is therefore key to future success. Regional cooperation and knowledge exchange to address water management challenges and leverage regional expertise is highlighted and promoted. Finally, the strategy is designed as a dynamic framework, with the expectation that it will be regularly reviewed and updated by the Sahelian governments at the end of each phase. These planned phased revisions will ensure reflexivity in response to implementation outcomes and enable adjusted responses to the region’s evolving needs and challenges. It confirms Sahel countries’ commitment to harnessing irrigation for a food-secure, resilient, and prosperous future. 4 Sahel Irrigation Strategy 1.4. Working Concepts Following are some working definitions to ensure clarity on terms and concepts. These are followed by five irrigation typologies that form the basis for problem identification and strategic solutions to achieve the defined goals. Definitions Irrigation system: An irrigation system is a set of techniques and infrastructures used to supply water to crops in a controlled manner in order to compensate for insufficient natural rainfall. Its primary goal is to ensure optimal plant growth by providing the moisture necessary for their development. Irrigation scheme: An irrigation scheme consists of an area of agricultural land brought together under one hydraulic system for water delivery. It can be cultivated by a group of farmers, a public entity, or a company. These developments include water infrastructure, such as intake structures, pumping systems, distribution networks, and other works that enable water control and management. By definition, all ‘schemes’ are “collective” in terms of the shared infrastructure. Effective and sustained water delivery to farmers using the scheme relies on collective agreements, formal or informal, involving different combinations of actors for management, operation, and maintenance (MOM) of this shared infrastructure (including water user associations or WUAs), cooperatives, state irrigation agencies, and/or the private sector). Scale: The terms “large-scale” and “small-scale” are used here as relative size descriptors in different contexts of individual farms, schemes, or programs. It is important to recognize that numerous individual small-scale initiatives, such as farmer-led expansions, can involve hundreds of thousands or even millions of smallholders, and collectively contribute to a large-scale development footprint. Farmer-led irrigation development (FLID): FLID is “a process where farmers assume a driving role in developing or improving their water use for agriculture by bringing about changes in knowledge production, technology use, investment patterns and market linkages, and the governance of land and water” (Woodhouse et al. 2017). These farmers tend to share a market orientation. The emphasis is mostly on cash cropping because the cost of irrigation water is significant, both for equipment purchase and for O&M. They use many different forms of irrigation technology, often starting with simpler lower cost options and increasing sophistication and scale from their farming profits. Solar pumping technology is increasingly favored despite the higher initial costs, because the lifetime cost-benefit outcomes are considerably better than fossil fuels. Introduction 5 FLID in the Sahel spans a variety of spontaneous, small-scale initiatives as well as expansions within larger state schemes. In Mali, the cultivation of Dogon shallots exemplifies how producers intensify dry-season market gardening under challenging conditions. In Niger, farmers tap shallow groundwater for Galmi purple onions and dried moringa leaves (from Goulbi) to meet growing market demand. Likewise, in Senegal—particularly in the Podor-Matam stretch—and in the Niger River loop, local communities use pumped river-based irrigation, benefiting from strong social structures (CILSS 2017). While governments initially constructed large public schemes in the 1960s, farmers have since adapted these infrastructures or independently developed lower-cost perimeters, often relying on existing dams, canals, and partial subsidies. Most of the increase in the irrigated area in Senegal in the 1990s emerged from private initiatives, developed either by individual farmers or small groups comprising multiple families or individuals (El Ouaamari et al. 2019). Comparable changes unfolded in other key irrigated zones of the Sahel. In Mali’s Office du Niger, for example, farmers expanded the cultivation of vegetables along abandoned river branches (falas) with rudimentary irrigation infrastructure. FLID in the context of the strategy relates mainly to individual farmers irrigating between 0.5 ha and 5 ha in size. In practice, FLID includes larger farms (>10 ha), but these are relatively few and typically have more resources to drive their own enterprise growth. As a result, larger individual business farms tend to draw less focus in investment planning. The combined impact (scale) of FLID is seldom recorded accurately but is well established to be a “large-scale” contributor to total irrigation area in Africa. Agricultural water management: Nonequipped agricultural water management (AWM) technologies remain highly relevant for the region. This includes rain and runoff water harvesting and residual moisture management practiced in nonequipped lowlands and wetlands, as well as flood-recession agriculture. These systems sharply elevate water availability in the root zone and recharge groundwater, resulting in increased yields and increased resilience to unreliable rainfall, and are therefore an important option in integrated irrigation planning and development. A short description of traditional practices is provided in box 1.1. Typologies The strategy focuses on five irrigation typologies that are characterized by their scale, technology, management, ownership status, and financing. They draw water from diverse sources, including reservoirs, rivers, and groundwater, and include partial and full water control systems, according to the definition 6 Sahel Irrigation Strategy provided by the FAO.1 The five typologies have distinct features that aid the design of intervention responses, as follows: Type 1 – Agricultural water management: Small- to medium-scale rainwater harvesting systems are based on partial water control using small embankments, gated structures, and access structures. The locations are mainly lowland areas such as valley bottoms (bas-fonds), shallow natural ponds (mares), bowl-shaped depressions (cuvettes), and flood recession plains on major rivers (box 1). They range from a few dozen to a few hundred hectares and are managed by village communities or municipalities. Type 2 – Small-scale private irrigation: Small-scale private irrigation systems (périmètres irrigués privés) for individuals or small groups (groupements d’intérêt économique) of producers are mostly focused on high-value crops (market gardening and arboriculture). These systems can be fully or partially donor- or government- financed or entirely the result of farmer initiative and self-finance (that is, FLID). They typically range from less than one ha to a few dozen ha. Technologies include solar and fossil fuel pumping equipment, with water transmission by small canals or pipes. Application methods include furrows, sprinklers, spray tubes, and, to a lesser extent, drip irrigation. When combined, the SSI typology covers a massive scale. Type 3 – Community-managed irrigation schemes: These are small- to medium-scale irrigation systems managed by local farming communities, typically covering less than 100 has. and often involving farmers from the same village. These schemes, including village irrigation schemes and small vegetable schemes, frequently rely on external funding alongside community contributions. Operations and maintenance responsibilities lie with farmer organizations or WUAs. Infrastructure generally consists of pumping stations, transmission canals, and pipelines, utilizing various irrigation methods as described in Type 2. Type 4 – Public schemes: These are state-managed or state-supervised large-scale irrigation schemes that span hundreds to thousands of ha. These schemes are often fed by major water infrastructure, such as dams or large pumping stations (in some cases, they can also be fed by groundwater) and feature extensive distribution networks of canals and drainage systems. They tend to require significant capital investment and involve more complex governance structures. The bulk water supply and distribution system is handled by an irrigation and drainage agency, a government department, or a private operator. WUAs often play a role at the secondary or tertiary levels. 1 See AQUASTAT - FAO’s Global Information System on Water and Agriculture. Introduction 7 Type 5 – Public-private partnerships: These are medium- to large-scale irrigation schemes involving a partnership between the government, a private party, and the communities surrounding the scheme. The private partner may play a role in the development and management of the irrigation system (with the same technical features and scale as for Type 4). This option may also incorporate and prioritize an agribusiness dimension by involving private operators for the establishment and operation of agro-industries around these developments. The typologies are useful because their common characteristics capture a shared set of problems and opportunities for change, as well as a distinctive business model and ecosystem of partners. Thus, a typology-based assessment informs the best set of responses that are needed to expand and intensify irrigation development. Box 1.1. Traditional Forms of Agricultural Water Management in the Sahel Sahelian agriculture is largely rainfed, drawing on natural runoff shaped by slight topographic differences in various landscapes such as tiger bush, lowlands, and flood-recession zones. During the rainy season, ephemeral ponds and detention basins—formed by microtopography, interdunal depressions, and fragmented drainage networks—are vital to agricultural productivity. These features include bas-fonds (valley bottoms), mares (shallow natural ponds), cuvettes (bowl-shaped depressions), and zones de décrue de fleuve (flood-recession areas). While cuvettes can hold water or remain moist for a significant part of the dry season, allowing for horticulture or other small-scale irrigation, mares tend to be seasonal, filling during the rainy season and gradually drying out. They are crucial for watering livestock and sometimes for fishing, rather than being cultivated to the same extent as cuvettes. Farmers exploit these natural features, often supplemented by small earth dams. Livestock farming plays a vital role in utilizing the biomass produced in these areas, even during the dry season, with herders adopting mobility to adapt to rainfall variability. To reduce risks and enhance crop diversity, Sahelian farmers have improved rainfed systems by integrating various types of water control structures to allow for different levels of water management. These 8 Sahel Irrigation Strategy include equipped lowlands, flood-recession systems along major rivers, spate irrigation with flood control reservoirs, and natural floodplains for crops such as rice, sorghum, and beans. The Lake Chad area, with its fertile wet soils, serves as a major breadbasket for the Central Sahel, supporting diverse and extensive cultivation, often without formal irrigation. Indigenous innovations, such as small rice polders in northern Lake Chad, further highlight the region’s adaptive agricultural practices. Bas-fonds are particularly important in several countries across the Sahel. In Burkina Faso, they have been central to agricultural strategies for increasing food production, particularly rice, sorghum, and maize. Investments in water management infrastructure and soil fertility improvement have helped make these areas highly productive. Mali’s extensive river systems, including the Niger and Senegal rivers, create significant lowland areas used for rice cultivation, horticulture, and livestock watering. In Niger, bas-fonds are vital for cereal cultivation and livestock during the dry season. Some cuvettes along the Niger River are also used for rice farming, horticulture, and livestock watering. Lowland management helps mitigate water scarcity and improve resilience to climate variability. The floodplains and lowland areas surrounding Lake Chad and its tributaries are critical for agriculture, including rice and vegetable production. These forms of partial water control are becoming increasingly vulnerable due to the regulation of rivers by large dams, despite having the highest labor productivity—requiring minimal tillage and no weeding— compared to rainfed or irrigated crops (CILSS 2017). Introduction 9 Photo credit: Courtesy of the World Bank Communications team, taken during a field visit to Senegal in April 2025. 10 Sahel Irrigation Strategy 2 Progress and Lessons from Irrigation Development over the Past Decade This section provides an overview of national and regional irrigation initiatives over the past 10 years, drawing from past and ongoing national and regional operations as well as existing frameworks and documents. Many of the challenges facing irrigation development are both familiar and entrenched and are briefly summarized. The progress made in addressing these challenges is described. Case studies are narrated. The section concludes with the lessons learned and the emerging opportunities. 2.1. Overview of National and Regional Irrigation Initiatives since 2013 Since the 2013 Dakar Declaration, numerous national and regional initiatives have been launched across the Sahel to promote sustainable water management and boost agricultural productivity through irrigation. These efforts reflect a growing commitment by Sahelian countries to develop climate-resilient agricultural systems, increase food security, and enhance rural livelihoods. Burkina Faso began prioritizing irrigated agriculture in response to severe droughts in the 1970s, instituting a policy in 1975 to increase food production, create jobs, and organize farmers. Building on these efforts, the National Strategy for the Sustainable Development of Irrigated Agriculture (SNDDAI) was adopted in 2003, aiming to reduce food insecurity, alleviate rural poverty, and boost irrigation’s role in the country’s economy. By 2015, the strategy had driven significant gains in irrigation and stakeholder organization. After evaluating the strategy in 2019, authorities recognized the need for a new strategy (2020–2024 and 2025–2029) that integrates lessons learned and responds to current socioeconomic challenges. This updated approach centers on strengthening food and nutrition security through the sustainable growth of irrigated agriculture by 2029 and will act as the main guide for all sector interventions. Progress and Lessons from Irrigation Development over the Past Decade 11 Among the initiatives aligned with the SNDDAI, the Agropastoral and Fisheries Offensive (OPAH) stands out for its objective to achieve food and nutritional sovereignty in Burkina Faso by 2025. Under this initiative, 11,000 ha of new or rehabilitated irrigation schemes were developed, along with 250 ha of borehole-irrigated vegetable production and 30,000 ha of newly developed or rehabilitated lowlands. Overall, the implementation of the SNDDAI between 2013 and 2024 contributed to the development or rehabilitation of 25,000 ha of irrigation schemes and 108,000 ha of lowland areas (bas-fonds). Looking ahead, the Integrated Development Program for Agropastoral and Fisheries Production (2025–2032) aims to strengthen food self-sufficiency and generate decent employment. Its key priorities include sustainably increasing production in targeted value chains, enhancing the competitiveness of agropastoral sectors, and improving access to finance for value chain actors. The program sets ambitious targets: developing 28,000 ha of large-scale irrigation schemes, rehabilitating 2,000 ha of small-scale schemes, developing 50,000 ha of lowlands, establishing 141 integrated farms, constructing 300 high-capacity boreholes for agricultural production, and building large dams to support irrigation. In Chad, the National Rural Sector Investment Plan (PNISR), the National Development Plan (2017–2021), and the 2030 Vision prioritize rural development to improve food production and rural incomes by promoting high-potential value chains—including rice—and establishing genuine economic hubs in the areas where they are produced (AfDB 2022). The PNISR targeted 84,000 ha of developed land and 10,000 ha of rehabilitated irrigation by 2022 (Republic of Chad 2016), though evaluation data on these goals remain limited. Among the national strategies and actions implemented between 2013 and 2024 are: the National Food Security Program (PNSA); the Chari-Logone Rice Development Project 2 (PDRICL2); the Project to Strengthen Resilience to Food and Nutritional Insecurity in the Sahel (P2RS); the Runoff Water Management Project in Sahelian Chad (GERTS); the Natural Resource Management and Development Project. Mali has set ambitious irrigation goals through multiple strategies, including the Governmental Hydro-Agricultural Development Program (PGA 2014–2018 and 2018–2023) and the National Rice Development Strategy (SNDR), aiming to irrigate 400,000 ha by 2025 (Republic of Mali 2016). These initiatives are supplemented by the National Agricultural Investment and Food Security Program, which emphasizes agricultural performance and competitiveness and the National Proximity Irrigation Program 2012–2021 and 2022–2031. 12 Sahel Irrigation Strategy The objectives assigned to the Agricultural Development Policy 2013 are aligned with the guidelines of the Agricultural Orientation Law 2006. These include: ensuring food security for the population and guaranteeing the nation’s food sovereignty; ensuring the sustainable management of natural resources and the environment, taking climate change into account; modernizing agricultural production systems and improving the competitiveness of agricultural value chains to enhance the value of products; ensuring the development of technological innovations through agricultural research and vocational training; promoting the status of farmers and strengthening the capacities of all stakeholders; and reducing rural poverty. A National Policy for the Management of Agricultural Water (PNMEA, 2021) was adopted with the vision to: “Mobilize, use, and enhance available water resources in an optimal, equitable, and sustainable way for various agricultural uses, while contributing to the development of a modern, diversified, and climate-resilient agriculture within a coordinated and shared framework.” The national irrigation development strategy, which is an integral part of the PNMEA, aims to: “Standardize the approaches implemented thus far and identify priority actions to be undertaken in order to make the best use of available human and financial resources.” Recently, the Government of the Republic of Mali adopted the Mali Vision 2063 and the National Strategy for Emergence and Sustainable Development 2024–2033. This vision aims for the structural transformation and modernization of agriculture in Mali through the implementation of a program for Agricultural Infrastructure and Equipment Development in the rural sector. Mauritania’s National Rural Development Strategy (SDSR 2025) aligns with broader poverty reduction and food security goals, supporting irrigated agriculture through the National Agricultural Investment and Food Security Program (PNIA-SA), which targets 60,000 ha of irrigated land by 2030 (Islamic Republic of Mauritania 2012). Projects such as the Brakna-Ouest Hydro- Agricultural Development Project (AfDB 2023) specifically support rice production, while the National Strategy for the Environment and Sustainable Development promotes sustainable land use. Since the 2013 Dakar Declaration, numerous national initiatives have been launched to promote water management and boost agricultural productivity through irrigation, including the following: • Cleaning of 222 km of hydraulic axes across 7 basins in West Brakna and the development of 4,520 ha under partial water control (flood recession irrigation). Progress and Lessons from Irrigation Development over the Past Decade 13 • Implementation of the Regional Program for Enhancing Resilience and Food and Nutritional Security in the Sahel (P2RS), involving the development of 11 dams and 1,124 ha of irrigated land. • National Program for the Rehabilitation and Construction of Dams, entailing the construction and rehabilitation of 110 dams for a total area of 8,800 ha, as well as building the large Séguelil Dam, which stores 11 million m³ of water. • Implementation of the Project for Building Resilience to Food and Nutrition Insecurity in the Sahel in Mauritania (Projet de Développement de la Résilience à l’Insécurité Alimentaire et Nutritionnelle au Sahel en Mauritanie), including the development and rehabilitation of 6 dams. • Implementation of the Project Strengthening Productive and Energy Investments in Mauritania for the Sustainable Development of Rural Areas (Renforcement des Investissements Productifs et Énergétiques en Mauritanie pour le Développement Durable des Zones Rurales) resulting in 11 dams constructed in 4 eastern regions of Mauritania (the two Hodhs, Assaba, and Guidimagha). These efforts demonstrate the Mauritanian government’s growing commitment to developing sustainable and viable agricultural systems. They have achieved substantial results in rice self-sufficiency and vegetable production. Nonetheless, further measures are needed to consolidate progress and move toward more resilient irrigation systems. In Niger, the Ministry of Agriculture oversees the irrigation sector through the General Directorate of Rural Engineering, which includes the Land and Irrigation Development Directorate. Since 2005, Niger has had a National Strategy for Irrigation and Water Harvesting Development, but most importantly, it has a Small Irrigation Strategy in Niger (SPIN) since 2014 (SPIN 2015), and a National Rice Development Strategy (SNDR 2021–2030). Moreover, recently, the government launched the Large Irrigation Development Program with the goal of expanding irrigated land under full water control from 18,500 ha to 39,700 ha by 2027. Meanwhile, the National Office for Hydro-Agricultural Development (ONAHA), operating under the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, is tasked with supporting the implementation and management of large-scale irrigation schemes. At the regional level, the 2013 Dakar Declaration has inspired several initiatives, most importantly the Sahel Irrigation Initiative, a joint effort by six Sahelian countries, coordinated by CILSS, WAEMU, and ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States), with the financial support of the World Bank. This initiative supports governments and stakeholders in expanding irrigated 14 Sahel Irrigation Strategy agriculture with a target of adding 1,000,000 ha under water control. It emphasizes the viability, performance, and environmental sustainability of existing and future irrigation systems. The initiative’s first project, the Sahel Irrigation Initiative Project (SIIP), was launched following the heads of states’ 2013 endorsement of the Dakar Declaration and the endorsement of the International Institute for Water and Environmental Engineering by line ministries and regional organizations. SIIP focuses on accessible and cost-effective technologies, integrating local expertise to irrigate farmland across over 2,000 sites, covering close to 15,000 ha (table 2.1). As of 2024, 53,000 farmers—nearly half of whom are women—have already benefitted from improved irrigation and drainage services. The project has helped reduce irrigation costs, increase resilience to climate change, raise farmer incomes, and enhance food security (World Bank 2024).2 The WAEMU Commission, in line with the AU’s Agricultural Policy and the Common Environmental Improvement Policy, has launched a regional climate change adaptation program focused on water and agriculture. Under this initiative, each member state, including the four Sahelian countries, will develop 1,000 hectares of lowlands for agro-sylvo-pastoral and fisheries activities. The program is fully funded by the WAEMU Commission through grants to member states. Furthermore, following the recommendations Table 2.1.  SIIP Achieved Irrigated Areas (February 2025) Country Achieved Irrigated Areas (ha.) Burkina Faso 1,857 SOFITEX 1,398 Chad 1,011 Mali 1,989 Mauritania 3,514 Niger 2978 Senegal 2,157 TOTAL 14,904 Source: SIIP Project ISR (2025), World Bank Operations Portal. Note: SOFITEX = Société Faso-Nationale des Industries Textiles. 2 The PARIIS project (or Projet d’Appui Régional à l’Initiative pour l’Irrigation au Sahel), which means ‘Regional Support Project for Irrigation Initiative in the Sahel’, aims to strengthen stakeholders’ capacities to develop and manage irrigation and increase irrigated areas by following a regional approach based on solutions in six countries of the Sahel. Progress and Lessons from Irrigation Development over the Past Decade 15 issued at the fourth meeting of the High-Level Committee on Food Security in the WAEMU region (held on May 9, 2014, in Niamey, Niger), the WAEMU Commission introduced the Regional Multi-Use Hydraulic Development Program to enhance food security. This initiative will address agricultural, pastoral, aquaculture, and social dimensions. A pilot phase of the program has been underway since 2015 in all WAEMU member states. The Malabo Declaration on Accelerated Agricultural Growth and Transformation for Shared Prosperity and Improved Livelihoods, adopted in 2014, reinforces the commitment to end hunger in Africa by 2025 through efficient water management systems, notably irrigation (AU Commission 2014). Over the past 20 years, the CAADP, part of the African Agenda 2063, has emerged as the cornerstone framework for driving agricultural transformation across Africa. Launched in 2003 following the Maputo Declaration and reaffirmed in 2014 with the Malabo Declaration, CAADP has contributed to notable achievements, including increased GDP, higher average incomes, enhanced agricultural output and productivity, expanded agricultural trade, greater investments, and significant reductions in hunger and poverty. The AU has taken a decisive step in addressing Africa’s agri-food challenges with the Kampala Declaration on the CAADP+10 (2026–2035). Announced at the Post-Malabo CAADP Extraordinary Summit, held January 9–11, 2025 in Kampala, Uganda, this declaration serves as a master plan for sustainable, resilient, and inclusive agri-food systems. With Africa’s population projected to reach 2.5 billion by 2050, the declaration emphasizes the urgent need to modernize food systems to meet growing demands and environmental challenges. In alignment with the CAADP, the ECOWAS Common Agricultural Policy (ECOWAP) establishes agricultural principles and goals for West Africa, including the Sahel, focusing on sustainable food security and agricultural development. ECOWAP’s implementation is supported through three complementary mechanisms, contributing to the broader framework of Africa’s agriculture policies under the CAADP. Under the West African Water Resources Policy (2008), ECOWAS encourages private investment to support the creation, maintenance, and renewal of irrigation infrastructure. This policy framework strengthens the role of water management in achieving agricultural and food security goals. 16 Sahel Irrigation Strategy Finally, the Volta Basin Strategic Action Program Implementation Project (VSIP) specifically targets the Sourou Basin in Mali, supporting the rehabilitation and construction of SSI schemes. This project aims to enhance local water availability for agriculture and foster regional cooperation in managing transboundary water resources (VBA n.d.). Collectively, these national and regional initiatives display various governments’ commitment to scaling up irrigation and improving water resource management across the Sahel. Furthermore, they promote climate resilience and food security in alignment with the goals of the 2013 Dakar Declaration. For instance, regional initiatives such as the SIIP and the CAADP, along with national strategies such as Senegal’s PNIASAN and Mali’s PGA have demonstrated the transformative potential of collaborative efforts in expanding irrigated areas, enhancing agricultural productivity, and supporting rural livelihoods. Overall, however, limited or nonexistent information—on economics of investments, system O&M modalities, and water pricing and cost recovery policies, as well as outcomes of these initiatives in terms of irrigated area achieved—makes it difficult to assess the effectiveness of the strategies and implementation arrangements employed in these programs (Namara and Sally 2014). 2.2. Irrigation Coverage – Status and Potential Irrigated Areas in the Sahel Since the 2013 Dakar Declaration, approximately 285,000 ha of land has been developed for total water control irrigation in the six countries (figure 2.1). At the same time, significant areas are only sporadically cultivated while others have been permanently abandoned due to technical failures, infrastructure degradation, or poor irrigation and drainage services. Over the past decade, growing social insecurity has also become a leading factor behind the abandonment of irrigated land. There is uncertainty about the extent of equipped versus actually irrigated areas under full-control irrigation, partly because of inadequate data collection and coordination between sectoral agencies. Furthermore, distinguishing among various irrigation typologies (for example, full control, partial control, equipped and nonequipped lowlands, and irrigated wetlands) based on satellite imagery alone is unreliable. As a result, it is necessary to work with estimates and ranges rather than precise figures. Progress and Lessons from Irrigation Development over the Past Decade 17 Figure 2.1.  New Irrigation Development, 2013–2024 Source: National implementation reports of the national irrigation strategies. According to the FAO and AQUASTAT, only 36 percent (725,000 ha) of the 2 million ha of irrigable land in the region is equipped for irrigation, and just 60 percent of this equipped area (428,000 ha) is actively irrigated. Of this, about 290,000 ha are irrigated under full control irrigation. These figures are dated 2011 and very likely underestimate the actual extent of irrigation, even more so due to the widespread but undocumented development of FLID systems, as also highlighted by the AU (2020). Recent preliminary remote sensing analysis suggests a higher degree of irrigation: a total of 845,000 ha when both wet and dry seasons and both full and partial control irrigation are considered (see map 2.1 showing location of main irrigated areas—including partial and full water control—and figure 2.2 for their distribution across countries). Full control irrigation in the dry season is estimated at 363,000 ha The total irrigation area could be as high as 3 million ha when wetlands and nonequipped lowlands, as well as flood- recession agriculture, are also considered, but significant uncertainty persists regarding the actual irrigated area. 18 Sahel Irrigation Strategy Map 2.1.  Major Actively Irrigated Area in 2022 under Partial and Full Water Control in the Six Sahelian Countries Based on Remote Sensing Analysis Source: ESA-CCI land cover product and custom analysis using Sentinel-2 for the five-year period 2019–2024. Figure 2.2.  Distribution of Actively Irrigated Areas across the Six Countries in 2022, Based on Remote Sensing Analysis Source: ESA-CCI land cover product and custom analysis using Sentinel-2 for the five-year period 2019–2024. Progress and Lessons from Irrigation Development over the Past Decade 19 Accurate information on irrigated land and water resources—including their availability, seasonal variability, and sustainability—is essential for informed decision-making. Without such data, water-related development risks resource degradation, groundwater overuse, ecosystem damage, and potential conflicts. Surface Water Resource Potential The region is endowed with four major transboundary rivers: the Niger, Senegal, and Volta River Basins as well as Lake Chad Basin. Transboundary river basins and wetlands such as lakes and floodplains, which are shared by neighboring countries, support livelihoods and provide invaluable ecosystem services, such as food provision and reduction of flood impacts and pollution (Bonzanigo, Lajaunie, and Abdulnour 2022). Table 2.2 provides historical (2000–14) and forecasted average water availability for 2030, 2040, and 2050 across the four basins. These forecasts are categorized under different Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs) (DKRZ n.d.),3 representing various global development scenarios. Some river basins show potential increases in water availability under specific pathways (for example, SSP585), while others face declines, particularly under the regional rivalry scenario (SSP370). These trends highlight the need for adaptive water resource management that requires cooperation across national borders and takes future climatic and socioeconomic conditions into account. 3 SSP126: This scenario with 2.6 W/m² by the year 2100 is a remake of the optimistic scenario RCP2.6 (Representative Concentration Pathway) and was designed with the aim of simulating a development that is compatible with the 2° C target. SSP370: With 7 W/m² by the year 2100, this scenario is in the upper-middle part of the full range of scenarios. SSP585: With an additional radiative forcing of 8.5 W/m² by the year 2100, this scenario represents the upper boundary of the range of scenarios described in the literature. It can be understood as an update of the CMIP5 (Coupled Midel Intercomparison Project) scenario RCP8.5, now combined with socioeconomic reasons. 20 Sahel Irrigation Strategy Table 2.2.  Average Available Water (m3/s) in the Four Large Transboundary River Basins (Historical and Forecast SSPs) Historical 2030 2040 2050 Lake Chad 1158.6 1,721.2 1,496.5 2,088.1 2,446.6 2,510.8 2,315.0 2,121.7 2,338.2 2,825.0 Niger 5609.5 6,797.7 6,850.7 6,842.3 6,711.2 6,397.2 5,955.2 6,844.1 7,888.2 6,759.1 Senegal 1050.5 774.9 947.0 1,032.2 931.8 925.3 8,13.3 949.5 1,039.8 968.4 Volta 863.4 748.3 997.3 938.7 728.2 691.7 448.2 974.0 866.3 692.3 Source: Rapid Assessment of Current and Future Water Resources Availability in the Sahel Region. IHE Delft Institute 2024, unpublished report. Note: The SSPs are color coded: SSP126 (green); SSP370 (blue); and SSP585 (grey). Despite challenges—including extreme variability in water availability across time and space, degraded storage infrastructure, and catchment degradation—the river basins collectively present significant potential for dry-season irrigation. The potential ranges between 3.18 and 4.36 million ha4 across the region, offering opportunities to enhance agricultural productivity and resilience (table 2.3). The resource potential can be compared with the estimated total irrigated area of 845,000 ha, which is between 19 percent and 27 percent of the region’s surface water potential. 4 This potential needs to be aligned with existing river basin development plans to ensure sufficient storage capacity for dry season irrigation. Progress and Lessons from Irrigation Development over the Past Decade 21 Table 2.3.  Calculated Potential Dry-Season Irrigation Expansion (Ha) Historical 2030 2040 2050 Lake Chad 2,716 142,686 183,066 128,511 265,085 320,036 203,219 139,130 277,302 207,393 Niger 217,092 582,446 531,301 623,316 889,380 906,559 721,237 902,182 765,824 978,853 Senegal – 1,868 2,037 1,334 24,282 20,061 10,807 17,558 20,935 18,945 Volta 580,507 627,206 748,079 765,022 611,573 538,235 348,572 769,969 694,737 555,571 Source: Rapid Assessment of Current and Future Water Resources Availability in the Sahel Region. IHE Delft Institute [2024, unpublished report]. Note: SSPs are color coded: SSP126 (green); SSP370 (blue); and SSP585 (grey). Shallow Groundwater Potential Recent studies confirm significant shallow basement groundwater potential, which is well suited for small-scale private irrigation and community scheme development (that is, Type 2 and Type 3). Shallow groundwater in basement aquifers is expected to play a key role for the sustainable expansion of SSI in the Sahel, and as such, contribute significantly to climate adaptation as well as improved food security, child nutrition, and human health, particularly for vulnerable populations with no access to surface water. Analysis reveals that without access to shallow aquifers, households face nearly double the loss in agricultural output during droughts, with significant implications for nutrition and child development (Rodella et al. 2023). Despite this potential, groundwater is used for only 15 percent of the total irrigated lands—a shortfall stemming from various limitations discussed in detail in section 2.3.4., not least of which is a lack of financial means to mobilize the available resource. Securing water resources and enhancing their management, thus enabling irrigation for year-round agriculture, is a 22 Sahel Irrigation Strategy cornerstone adaptation measure for the Sahel region, as highlighted by the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report. Shallow basement groundwater5 is particularly suitable for increasing water security in remote and marginal rainfed areas that do not have economically and technically viable access to surface water, and for the rapid expansion of micro- and SSI (Type 2). While development projects must carefully evaluate the risks of overexploitation inherent to groundwater development, these aquifers, including alluvial aquifers near rivers and basement aquifers, have short recharge cycles and can typically replenish fully within one to three years. While shallow local aquifers are unsuitable for boreholes due to their discontinuous nature, shallow wells carry relatively limited overexploitation risks, making large-scale development of smallholder irrigation more feasible. Despite being unsuitable for boreholes, shallow local aquifers are generally considered to pose relatively limited overexploitation risks for SSI when viewed from a water resources management perspective. However, from the farmer’s point of view, the risk of overabstraction must be carefully evaluated. Field observations indicate that wells frequently run dry during the cropping season, directly impacting yields and livelihoods. In such situations, the prospect of natural aquifer recharge in the following season offers little consolation. This divergence in perspectives highlights the importance of integrating both hydrological assessments and user realities when planning the large-scale development of smallholder irrigation systems based on shallow groundwater. An analysis of shallow groundwater resources reveals that 62 percent of West Africa is underlain by crystalline basement aquifers. The relatively shallow water table in crystalline rock aquifers facilitates cost-effective groundwater access for smallholder farmers, often using open wells. While their productivity is typically limited, the wells provide sufficient storage to support daily irrigation needs for small plots. As highlighted in the recent flagship report on the economics of groundwater (Rodella et al. 2023), basement aquifers can be effectively utilized for irrigation beneath rainfed agricultural lands, particularly where the depth of the water table (DTW) is less than 7 m deep—the maximum depth for water extraction using surface (suction) pumps. When the depth of the pumping groundwater level exceeds 7 m, the surface pump needs to be replaced by slightly more costly submersible pumps, though robust solar technology and grid-powered 5 Shallow groundwater here refers to the groundwater resource in aquifers that are present just below the ground surface. It is considered “shallow” when the water table—the upper surface of the saturated zone of soil or rock—is close enough to the ground surface to be reached with a well or to affect the root zone of plants. In the present document, it is considered shallow if it is less than 20 m from the surface, while other authors may use a limit of 6 m, 7 m, and up to 25 m (Hare et al. 2021; Doble and Crosbie 2017; Bonsor and MacDonald 2010). Progress and Lessons from Irrigation Development over the Past Decade 23 options are well established and widely available. Shallow wells less than 10 m deep where there is soft overburden are also readily constructed by hand. In the Sahel, an ongoing World Bank analysis, being conducted with support from the University of Neuchâtel (Switzerland), assessed the potential to transition from rainfed to shallow groundwater-based irrigation in five of the six Sahelian countries— Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and Senegal. Because of a lack of data, the same analysis could not be performed for Burkina Faso. This preliminary analysis mapped rainfed agricultural land underlain by shallow water tables in crystalline basement rock using a 30 by 30 m scale (map 2.2).6 The analysis highlights the potential for converting approximately 8 percent of the agricultural land from rainfed to small-scale irrigation, totaling nearly 1 million hectares (table 2.4). This result underscores the pivotal role that shallow basement groundwater could play in ensuring food security, enhancing drought resilience, and fostering socioeconomic development—particularly in remote regions where mobilizing water from large transboundary rivers is not technically or economically feasible (for instance, eastern Chad bordering Sudan). Nonetheless, the physical potential must be rigorously complemented by economic analysis to determine the feasibility and sustainability of such developments. Summary of the Water Resource Opportunity The Sahel region possesses substantial surface water and groundwater resources to enhance agricultural resilience and productivity. The surface water potential ranges between 3.18 and 4.36 million ha, with an additional 1 million ha identified in the groundwater resource at a depth of less than 7 m across five Sahelian countries, excluding Burkina Faso. The resource potential can be compared with the estimated total irrigated area of 845,000 ha, which is between 19 percent and 27 percent of the surface potential and between 11 percent and 14 percent of the combined surface and groundwater potential. By leveraging underutilized irrigation potential—particularly by expanding economically and technically viable access to abundant surface water and shallow groundwater—the region can address persistent food insecurity and strengthen climate resilience. Transboundary water resources, including 6 The analysis is based on a preliminary evaluation of the DTW beneath the crystalline basement and focused on areas currently classified as rainfed agricultural land, as identified by Chandrasekharan et al. (2015) and Owusu et al. (2024). With support from the University of Neuchâtel (Switzerland), DTW was estimated using a machine learning methodology that incorporated topographic features, proxy to groundwater recharge (rainfall), and proxy for groundwater demand. The result is a high-resolution raster map at a 30x30 meter scale, matching the original resolution of the digital elevation model used to derive topographic features. The ML model was validated using over 3,000 DTW measurements collected from borehole sites during their construction since 2003. 24 Sahel Irrigation Strategy Map 2.2.  Rainfed Regions Underlain by Crystalline Bedrock with Shallow Groundwater Source: World Bank and University of Neuchâtel [2024, preliminary analysis, unpublished]. Note: Preliminary assessment of the rainfed area beneath crystalline bedrock shows potential accessibility to shallow groundwater small-scale irrigation (DTW model still under development). Table 2.4.  Shallow Groundwater-Based Irrigation Potential for Five Sahelian Countries Areas with shallow Rainfed area beneath Country groundwater in ha crystalline basement rock in ha (% of rainfed area) Mali 7,215,976 398,434 (6%) Chad 1,375,904 318,357 (23%) Mauritania 133,162 3,031 (2%) Senegal 143,474 6,823 (5%) Niger 733,061 31,160 (4%) TOTAL 9,601,577 757,805 (8%) Source: World Bank and University of Neuchâtel 2024, preliminary analysis, unpublished. Note: Preliminary assessment of the rainfed area beneath crystalline bedrock shows potential accessibility to shallow groundwater small-scale irrigation (DTW model still under development). Progress and Lessons from Irrigation Development over the Past Decade 25 shared rivers and lakes, also need to be mobilized strategically to boost agricultural productivity. The promising potential of shallow groundwater-based irrigation and diversified value chains, especially for smallholder farmers, underscores the importance of targeted investments in infrastructure, technology, and institutional capacity to unlock these opportunities sustainably. However, progress is limited by economic water scarcity, largely driven by inadequate access to appropriate equipment, technology, and broader infrastructure. By addressing the identified constraints and adopting adaptive water resource management strategies, the Sahel region can pave the way for year-round actionable and scalable solutions for irrigated agriculture and a more secure future not only in the face of climatic and socioeconomic uncertainties, but in the context of regional fragility and development as well. Increase Water Storage for Water Security and Climate Resilience Because water resources in the Sahel vary greatly across both space and time, diversifying water sources and enhancing recharge and storage are crucial climate-resilient solutions. The Sahel’s highly variable water resources and rising temperatures—projected to increase 1.5 times faster than the global average—place the region at heightened risk of long-term droughts, as shown by the 107 million people affected and US$3.4 billion in damages across Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) between 1980 and 2015 (Ault et al. 2014). Such conditions threaten crop yields, livestock productivity, and food security (van Trotsenburg 2021), emphasizing the need to curb surface water demand, increase storage, and mobilize groundwater sustainably through stronger water governance and upgraded technical standards. While water storage is crucial for boosting the Sahelian population’s resilience to increasingly erratic rainfall and rising temperatures, existing infrastructure is both limited and often underperforming, thus requiring urgent rehabilitation. For instance, 5–10 percent of the Sahel’s reservoir capacity has been lost between 1990 and 2010 due to sedimentation and poor maintenance (Wisser at al. 2013). According to the water resources management plan of the Nakanbe Basin in Burkina Faso, 159 dams lost their function due to sedimentation, while major dams in Mali also need repairs. Although countries— backed by international financiers—are building large multipurpose dams (for example, Fomi, Gourbassi, Koukoutamba, Taoussa, and so on), these complex projects demand rigorous planning to balance multiple water uses. Beyond large dams, there are diverse storage avenues—from aquifer recharge and soil moisture management to small-scale reservoirs. Smaller, 26 Sahel Irrigation Strategy decentralized solutions tend to be more climate-resilient and socially feasible. They unlock significant potential for in-stream aquifer recharge, in-situ soil-water retention, and runoff harvesting, provided they follow robust, catchment-level assessments and account for multiyear wet-dry cycles. In hyper-arid (<250 mm) areas, aquifer storage is likely the most effective option due to lower evaporation and reduced contamination risks. Still, it is crucial to recognize the inherent carrying capacity limits of the Sahel’s arid and changing climate. Changes in the macro climate complemented by large-scale deforestation in West Africa are shifting evapotranspiration rates and precipitation patterns across the Sahel (van der Ent et al. 2010, 2014; te Wierik et al. 2022; Sheil and Tobella 2021), with significant implications for both rainfed and irrigated agriculture. Beyond the impact on surface (blue) water flows, shifts in green water availability (soil moisture from rainfall) are critically altering the seasonal balance of crop water needs. This necessitates a deeper understanding of the evolving delta in irrigation demand between wet and dry seasons, especially for buffering climatic shocks. Some areas are projected to become increasingly unsuited for agriculture due to the depletion of green water and the absence of accessible blue water resources, while others with underutilized water and land potential may emerge as more viable. Strategic planning must therefore integrate spatial analyses of water availability and crop viability under future climate scenarios and openly confront the difficult choices ahead—particularly regarding the long-term sustainability of certain livelihoods in zones where agricultural viability cannot be maintained without significant transformation and investment. 2.3. Persistent Challenges and Key Lessons Irrigation development in the region faces significant challenges, including perpetually declining infrastructure conditions of public schemes, limited access to affordable finance for individuals to acquire their own equipment, limited knowledge of irrigation options and practices, a reliance on subsistence farming with little crop diversification, and underdeveloped value chains and weak market linkages. High investment costs for massive irrigation infrastructure, poor adoption of quality standards, and inadequate MOM of irrigation systems further undermine technical adequacy and functionality. Weak governance, under skilled personnel, limited private sector involvement, high agricultural input costs, and structural challenges such as insecure land tenure, equity issues, and gender disparities hinder progress in the sector. Inadequate responses to these challenges are reflected in the Progress and Lessons from Irrigation Development over the Past Decade 27 degradation of infrastructure, abandonment of irrigated land, limited agricultural growth, and persistent food insecurity. The underutilization of costly public and community irrigation systems represents a missed opportunity to create jobs, boost rural incomes, enhance climate resilience, and foster socioeconomic growth. Additionally, poor infrastructure and water management along with poor agricultural practices contribute to environmental degradation, including soil salinization and degradation (Sene et al. 2023; van Asten et al. 2003), water pollution, proliferation of invasive species, and waterborne diseases, posing serious risks to both ecosystems and public health. Effective solutions to the raft of challenges are available and have been successfully demonstrated across SSA. The imperative is now to adapt and adopt proven solutions and scale up these interventions to achieve impact at national and regional levels. The following sections describe the persistent challenges, and the progress achieved and highlight the lessons learned across key areas. These lessons cover different levers for change, namely: policy and governance, productivity and profitability, technology and innovation, and financing and irrigation costs. Policy and Governance Lesson 1: Enhanced land planning, tenure security, and water rights are key and effective levers for sustainable management of land and water resources and incentives for irrigation investment and expansion. The main challenges for land tenure security include unclear or overlapping land rights between formal and traditional systems, weak enforcement of land policies, insufficient recognition of customary rights, limited access to secure titles for smallholders, and frequent conflicts from competing land uses. Despite comprehensive legal frameworks and existing regulatory tools, implementation often remains difficult due to limited awareness, lengthy land tenure processes, and other barriers. Land tenure procedures must be streamlined to encourage investment in irrigation and agricultural development. These persistent challenges contribute to suboptimal profitability and a slowed uptake of irrigation, perpetuating poverty among farmers. In Senegal, tools such as Land Use and Allocation Plans and the creation of a digital cadaster facilitate the transparent management of agricultural land for irrigation. Early groundwork exists within irrigation schemes managed by SAED (National Company for the Development and Exploitation of the Lands of the Senegal River Delta and the Senegal River and Falémé Valleys) and the (Senegalese Sugar Company). These tools need to be deployed on a large scale to ensure efficient land allocation, facilitate access to irrigated land for women and youth, and prevent conflicts between competing uses, especially between farmers 28 Sahel Irrigation Strategy and herders. Senegal places land governance at the core of its recent antipoverty and food security agenda, aligning with its Agenda 2050.7 Burkina Faso aims to increase the annual growth of land areas secured with Rural Land Tenure Certificates (Attestations de possession foncière rurale) to 35 percent and raise the proportion of functional rural land tenure services (service foncier rural) from 68.92 percent in 2020 to 80 percent by 2025 (Government of Burkina Faso 2021). Lesson 2: Irrigated rice remains high on the political agenda despite modest results in achieving the expected food sovereignty. Targeting high value rice varieties such as long white or perfumed rice for urban domestic and regional markets could improve the viability of irrigation schemes. Increasing rice production is a capital milestone of the agriculture development policies of Sahelian countries and regional and international partners, irrespective of the endless and expensive efforts it would cost to the country’s economy. Undoubtedly, adequate internal cereal production would protect the most fragile economies from global food crises, and market shocks—in a relative abundance of land and untapped water resources—would make countries more resilient to drought and the impacts of climate change. Increasing rice production has, nevertheless, missed the economic goal of import substitution, mostly due to intrinsic limitations to production growth and because of regular increase of internal consumption and limited border protections against market trends. Still, the extent to which irrigated rice production in the Sahel is economically and financially viable looks questionable. Irrigated rice cultivation in the SSA has proved viable, at least for the local market, if yields are relatively good and intensive production systems are used, including increasing the cropping intensity of the irrigation schemes.8 These are conditions that are hard to meet at the same time. Many schemes were established with social objectives rather than financially sustainable, market- oriented ones, and there is path dependency in terms of institutions, farmer attitudes, and management practices. Focusing on high-value rice varieties could significantly enhance the viability of irrigation schemes. Non-rice cereals have proved less viable under irrigation, particularly during times of decline in world prices (World Bank 2010; Bazin et al. 2017).9 7 See Brochure-Senegal-2050.pdf. 8 In Mali, intensive irrigated rice production (yields of up to 6 tons per ha and cropping intensities of 1.2) is competitive for the domestic market and for some border areas of neighboring countries. In general, irrigated rice production in the subhumid zones of SSA is viable if (a) investment costs are relatively low (US$5,000 per ha has been suggested as a cut-off point for a single-cropped paddy at an average yield of 3.3 tons per ha); (b) more intensive production systems are used (yields up to 5–6 tons per ha and double cropping may be needed to justify a high-cost irrigation schemes); and (c) production is for import substitution. 9 The fact that there are 1.4 million ha of irrigated land in the SSA cropped to non-rice cereals is probably a reflection of subsidies on capital and O&M costs, rather than viability. Progress and Lessons from Irrigation Development over the Past Decade 29 Lesson 3: A transition toward more productive, diversified, and market- oriented farming systems is essential for ensuring the sustainability of irrigation investments and requires significant policy reforms and careful project design. Regional value chain studies have found that horticultural and fruit crops generally provide greater per-hectare returns for smallholder farms and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) than rice (Faye and von Braun 2014). Crop diversification and the inclusion of high-yielding cash crops—particularly horticultural and fruit varieties and fibers such as cotton—can significantly boost incomes and reduce poverty, provided there is adequate input supply, as well as technical and advisory support. Year-round water availability is key for horticulture and fruit production. The higher profitability of these crops also depends on minimizing postharvest losses and managing crop cycles to buffer against price fluctuations. Value chain development around specialized vegetable, fruit, and tuber crops—linking agro-industry, SMEs, wholesalers, exporters, and smallholder farmers—has proven effective in both domestic and regional markets and international export. Irrigated production of tubers such as cassava and sweet potato crops with high yields and strong urban market demand could significantly contribute to reducing food and nutritional insecurity for both humans and livestock, especially given the valuable crop residues they produce. Finally, diversifying crops in both time and space— incorporating legumes into rotations, adopting off-season farming, and practicing sustainable land management—helps maintain permanent ground cover while improving soil fertility and soil health. To maximize irrigation performance and enhance overall project sustainability, irrigation projects or programs must include an agricultural development and business focus, whether embedded within the design as a dedicated component or by careful alignment with ongoing agricultural development initiatives. Moreover, national and regional policies should promote financially viable value chains and stimulate climate-adapted and environmentally sound, diversified agricultural production. Coherent cross-sectoral policies to support this transition include agricultural advisory services, access to seasonal credit, strengthening of producer organizations, and value chain development. Lesson 4: Given the Sahelian livestock emphasis, irrigation initiatives will be more responsive to local priorities when fodder and cover crops are included in the mix, and where irrigation investments are aligned with livestock and rangeland management initiatives. Policies in the Sahel often draw a strict distinction between farmers and livestock herders, despite the clear benefits such integration could bring. This approach segregates agricultural and pastoral zones, significantly hindering opportunities for integrating agriculture and livestock. Bovine traction, for instance, is crucial for preparing rice cultivation soils, while organic manure from livestock enhances 30 Sahel Irrigation Strategy soil fertility and boosts crop productivity. Promoting the development of cover crops during the dry season and integrating livestock management in the grazing of these areas would maintain soil fertility, enable a vegetative cover during the dry season, and limit livestock pressure on the natural environment around the irrigation schemes. Tubers such as cassava and sweet potato could also serve as integrative elements between crop and livestock farming, given the valuable agricultural residues they produce (leaves, peelings, and so on). Lesson 5: Effective irrigation development requires strong institutions and governance mechanisms to ensure equitable water allocation, delivery, transparent decision-making, and accountability for results. The governance of irrigation and drainage in medium- and large-scale irrigation schemes faces long-standing challenges, particularly in the areas of MOM and operational cost recovery. Governments are no longer willing or able to finance year-to-year operational and financial sustainability, and a major paradigm shift is needed where farmers who use the water must pay for most or all of it to avoid a spiraling cycle of infrastructure decay. Cost recovery hinges on profitable, business-oriented farming (as previously discussed), which relies on good water delivery services alongside other agricultural production factors. Good water services can be described by indicators such as: quantity, reliability, equity, organizational responsiveness, and accountability. Separate from the challenges of water source adequacy and functioning infrastructure, good services demand effective institutions (rules), capable organizations (actors), defined MOM modalities, and financial resources. However, both irrigation agencies and WUAs, operating independently or collaboratively, face persistent but well-identified challenges across the spectrum of critical elements for MOM success (Waalewijn et al. 2020). Members often lack managerial skills, technical expertise, and full ownership rights, leading to poor decision-making and financial mismanagement. Most WUAs struggle to collect a high percentage of irrigation service fees, which are typically set lower than required for operational cost recovery. MOM is often seen as a government responsibility, originating from a social development history of the schemes, or a precedent of ad-hoc government crisis response. Enforcing adequate financial contributions from farmers is socially and politically challenging and technically difficult (apart from the electricity component of pumped schemes). Investments aiming to achieve technical and financial sustainability on schemes must include adequate budget to not only establish capable operational organizations and systems (both WUAs and irrigation agencies) but also mentor and support operations and costs for three to five years to achieve sufficient organizational maturity. Progress and Lessons from Irrigation Development over the Past Decade 31 Lesson 6: Underinvesting in software components of institutional, organizational, and human capability development can lead to significantly higher hardware costs and lower project performance. Soft components should be properly matched or balanced with investments in physical structures. Indeed, investment costs in governance are a small fraction of infrastructure costs. Operational expenditures (OPEX) relative to capital expenditures (CAPEX) in World Bank projects consistently fall below 1.5 percent of CAPEX, based on raw data from several prior World Bank investment projects (for example, Georgia Resilient Agriculture, Irrigation, and Land Project, Kenya Nzoia [Denison and Maina 2023], Tanzania Food Systems Resilience Program, and SPIN in Nigeria). While most programs allocate minimal O&M funding, the Transforming Irrigation Management in Nigeria project was a notable exception, reaching 3.2 percent of CAPEX (US$175 per ha) due to client willingness and advocacy of financing institutions, which proved just adequate for institutional reform and WUA setup. It presented an opportunity to achieve quantum leaps in water service delivery (Denison 2024). Additional examples that did comparatively well in MOM cost recovery are those of the Office du Niger (OdN) and SAED. Thus, meaningful outcomes can be achieved by increasing investment in institutional and organizational components. They are a result of evolutionary and iterative processes that take time. They unfold in iterations of learning, requiring shifts in attitude from farmers to policy makers and changes in rigid organizational norms and sometimes need legislative reform (Waalewijn et al. 2020). Lesson 7: Bridging the MOM functionality gap requires not only intensive operational capability development but also major social awareness and communication tactics to achieve farmer-attitudinal change. Attitudinal change around willingness to pay hinges on evidence and understanding of crop profitability (irrigation versus production without water) and on the real MOM costs. Farmers have to internalize the real cash value of irrigation benefits versus without irrigation water, the real costs of MOM, and the implications for scheme sustainability (functionality in future) if they do not cover the costs of operations and routine seasonal and annual maintenance (as opposed to major rehabilitation or disaster-related repairs). A key priority is also having operators incorporating a customer service function and explicit agreements on the service delivery criteria that will be met, for which payment is demanded. The information must be packaged into strategic and targeted mass media campaigns aimed at farmers and scheme technicians. The costs of such investments in WUA and irrigation agency capability development and evidence- based strategic attitudinal change are fractional compared with irrigation infrastructure costs. Prioritization of these investments is imperative if the persistent and well-documented patterns of past MOM operational dysfunction, lack of financing for MOM, and subsequent scheme decline are to be overcome. 32 Sahel Irrigation Strategy Lesson 8: Effective governance and high fee collection rates are possible, particularly on state-owned tenant schemes where there is political will to enforce the tenancy modality. The OdN, Office du Périmètre Irrigué de Baguinéda, and Office du Riz Ségou in Mali, and SEAD in Senegal are effective governance options where land is owned by the state. Strict plot management practices, including the withdrawal of land and water access rights for nonpayment, are possible on schemes where land is owned by the state and there is political willingness to enforce “use-or-lose access” policies. While most public schemes originated on state-owned land, over the many decades since establishment, de facto perceptions of family-based land rights are often deeply entrenched despite de jure state ownership. Land tenure practices, fragmentation due to customary inheritance, and leasing arrangements have become a customary norm contrary to the legal reality. Reversing these accepted social norms is complex and has political implications that usually exceed the political cost. However, the three organizations named have succeeded in achieving a formalized and normalized tenant system, with high fee collection rates of 93 percent, 98 percent, and 90 percent, respectively. In the case of ONAHA in Niger, fees collected by cooperatives are used to fund the management of collective irrigation schemes, with maintenance tasks either carried out by ONAHA or outsourced to private companies. Penalties for nonpayment of land access and water charges are typically gradual and can result in the forfeiture of the defaulting farmer’s plot. However, the OdN is the only institution known to enforce this rule consistently and strictly. Lesson 9: The private sector can fill the operational functionality gap on smallholder public schemes subject to appropriate risk allocation between the government and the private sector. There are relatively few examples of successful public-private partnerships on public smallholder irrigation schemes in developing countries compared to other sectors, such as roads and power generation (Waalewijn et al. 2020). The main reason is due to the predominance of small farm sizes, typically 1 ha, which translates to extremely high transaction costs in administering billings and enforcing water allocations and use. Technically, excepting the case of pumped irrigation schemes, enforcing nonpayment by cutting off water supply is hydraulically impossible and usually socially and politically unacceptable. Successful cases of operational PPPs tend to have unique characteristics such as: (a) where an agribusiness entity leases government land and develops the whole irrigation scheme for their own commercial production purposes (such as Galana in Kenya), or (b) where an operator holds a majority of the scheme in an estate arrangement with smallholders as outgrowers (such as Chianzi sugarcane in Zambia); or where commercial farms of large size predominate and counter the risks inherent in supplying many smallholders (such as Guerdaine in Morocco). Progress and Lessons from Irrigation Development over the Past Decade 33 Productivity and Profitability Lesson 10: Collective irrigation schemes continue to face significant challenges in terms of agricultural productivity and profitability, hindering their potential contribution to food and nutritional security and economic development. Key challenges include: • Variable and low yields: Between 2018 and 2022, rice yields in Sahel countries remained low despite significant irrigation investments, with total production stagnant at around 5.5 million tons annually. Average yields showed little progress, influenced by the mix of rainfed and irrigated areas. Mauritania achieved the highest average yield (5.5 tons per ha) and exceeded the global average (4.8 tons per ha) due to predominantly irrigated cultivation, while Mali, the largest producer with 900,000 ha (including rainfed rice) saw limited yield improvements. Recent increases in the prices of fertilizers further hamper productivity gains. Yields of irrigated lowland rice in SSA are comparable to the global average of around 4.8 tons per ha, challenging the widespread perception that rice yields in the region are universally low. This perception is largely fueled by statistics that fail to distinguish between different rice-growing environments and their respective contributions to harvested areas. The relatively low national averages are mainly due to the predominance of rainfed lowland and upland rice systems, which inherently produce lower yields (table 2.5). The shift from rainfed to irrigated agriculture can significantly increase yields, especially for rice, with expected gains of 2 to 6 tons per ha of paddy. However, average yields in the Sahel mask considerable variability in productivity, influenced by socioeconomic conditions, individual capacities and strategies, the quality of irrigation and drainage services, farming practices, and surges in fertilizer prices. Nevertheless, several sources suggest that many family farmers achieve remarkable agronomic and economic results, provided that water is reliably available, input and output market linkages are strong, operational costs are effectively managed, and farm sizes exceed subsistence thresholds. Altogether, cereal production in West Africa has increased substantially (World Bank 2017), but the Sahel’s reliance on irrigated rice has not delivered the expected economic impact in terms of import substitution. • Subsistence farming and limited crop diversification: The reliance on subsistence farming limits opportunities to increase agricultural income and diversify cropping systems. Cash crops, such as vegetables and tree crops, which offer higher profit margins and have strong urban demand, are rarely integrated into collective rice schemes, despite significant cultivation potential. Horticultural production is dispersed across numerous small-scale sites (Sanfo et al. 2017) with the majority of producers (90 percent) cultivating plots ranging between 0.05 and 0.25 ha (Sanfo et al. 2017). 34 Sahel Irrigation Strategy • Underdeveloped value chains and weak market linkages: The lack of strong connections to markets prevents farmers from accessing outlets for their produce, Value chains remain underdeveloped due to lack of conservation infrastructure, storage, and appropriate processing equipment, hindering commercialization and reducing incentives for farmers to intensify and/or scale up production. In addition, postharvest losses remain high not only for most perishable agricultural products but also for cereals, leading to increased financial risks for the producers. • Low agricultural incomes and poverty trap: Incomes generated from irrigated agriculture often fall short of expectations, keeping many farmers trapped in poverty and limiting their ability to invest in agricultural inputs, O&M, or modern technologies to boost productivity. Despite the often-touted need for crop diversification and a value chain approach to increasing irrigation profitability, national irrigation strategies in the Sahel continue to prioritize increasing yields of staple crops, particularly rice, to achieve objectives such as food self-sufficiency, poverty reduction, job creation, and climate resilience. Table 2.5.  Farmers’ Rice Cultivation Yield and Profit in Three Major Rice-Growing Environments in Sub-Saharan African Countries Rice area Rice yield Net profit Environment (ha per household) (tons per ha) (US$ per ha) Irrigated lowland 1–1.2 4–5 909–1,036 Rainfed lowland 1.3–2.3 1.4–3.0 223–526 Rainfed upland 1.8 1.6–1.8 376 Source: Saito et al. 2023. Lesson 11: Planning of irrigation investments need to consider the diversity of producers that may coexist within the same scheme to design functional O&M mechanisms. For example, a study of three large irrigation schemes in Mali, Niger, and Senegal identified three groups of farmers based on their income and capacity to reach the poverty line: farmers who exceed the poverty line10 farmers on the edge of the poverty line, and farmers persistently below the poverty line (table 2.6). High water charges disproportionately affect poor farmers, making increases in water tariffs politically and economically challenging. For instance, the same water charges can represent 10 percent 10 These are farmers practicing horticulture, who cultivate limited areas with high value-added production. These producers have small families compared with the average for the region, with an average of seven people per family, which explains the possibility of obtaining a sufficient income per person on limited areas. Progress and Lessons from Irrigation Development over the Past Decade 35 of the rice cropping income of producers with the best economic results to nearly 25 percent of income for producers in poverty (Bazin et al. 2017)11 Table 2.6.  Farmers’ Income and Poverty Line in Three Irrigation Schemes Percentage of farmers Irrigation perimeter Above the On the edge of Below the poverty line the poverty line poverty line Bagré 22.0% 33.0% 45.0% Sélingué 26.5% – 73.5% Anambé 32.0% 25.0% 44.0% Source: Bazin et al. 2017. Lesson 12: Irrigation profitability depends heavily on plot sizes. The study mentioned in lesson 11 also indicates that the area needed to achieve food security ranges from 1.2–4.0 ha and 2–7 ha to cross the poverty line per household (Bazin et al. 2017).12 However, most households only have access to 0.5–1.5 ha, leaving a significant portion of farmers below the food security threshold. Women in particular face additional challenges in accessing irrigated plots of profitable size. One challenge is that successful farmers are unable to expand their holdings because there is limited scope for scheme expansion and/or acquisition of additional land within the irrigation scheme. Lesson 13: Families that generate high agricultural incomes are also those with the highest nonagricultural incomes, which emphasizes the importance of unlocking complementarities between production systems (rainfed, irrigated, livestock, remittances, and nonfarm). Self-financing of the agricultural season by the producer is feasible when they have sufficient and diversified income sources outside of rice farming. Livestock farming can play an important role by serving as a form of savings that can be mobilized during the agricultural season. Nonagricultural income sources—such as income from trade, remittances from migrants, or earnings from providing agricultural services— can also contribute to financing irrigated rice cultivation. However, these income levels vary significantly between different types of producers. Producers with the highest agricultural incomes also having the highest nonagricultural incomes results in considerable heterogeneity among producers in terms of production costs and their ability to prefinance rice farming operations. Producers whose agricultural income is above the poverty line naturally have more flexibility to 11 The area required to meet the annual needs of a family living solely on irrigated rice cultivation can be defined on the basis of the production costs, the average yields, and the market price of paddy. 12 The area required to meet the annual needs of a family living solely on irrigated rice cultivation can be defined on the basis of the production costs, the average yields, and the market price of paddy. 36 Sahel Irrigation Strategy finance the rice-growing season within the irrigation perimeter as compared with those who must allocate their financial resources to meeting the basic needs of their families (Bazin et al. 2017). Studies identified that farmers who have off-farm income are particularly interested in investing in agriculture if irrigation is made available, whereas other groups may be interested in first improving their access to credit for farm inputs and then on irrigation. It is important to identify how production risks are perceived to ensure that the irrigation systems fostered can be seen as risk-reducing. Functioning supply chains would also make irrigation more profitable as they reduce losses of potentially more valuable products from irrigated agriculture and enhance market access (van der Wijngaart 2019). Technology and Innovation Lesson 14: The rapid, spontaneous, and extensive growth of private SSI (Type 2) through FLID processes demonstrates that fast and lower-cost irrigation expansion can be achieved. While SSI expansion is widely observed and acknowledged in the Sahel, there is a major startup hurdle in the initial cost of equipment. The result is that either cheap and poor-quality equipment is used (usually petrol pumps with high running costs and short lifetimes) or that the opportunity is taken up by the relatively well-off and thus excludes many who could otherwise farm successfully. Expansion at scale is mainly constrained by limited access to affordable financing, weak quality standards for solar pumping and irrigation equipment, and limited knowledge about irrigation practices and profits. In a program context, farmers make all or most of the capital investments from savings, farming profits, or loans, and the private sector is enabled or incentivized to provide technical and financial services. Incentivizing the private sector to catalyze FLID can be achieved in relatively short timelines and at lower costs for the government (20–50 percent) compared with large-scale infrastructure projects because farmers are willing to pay a major part of the capital cost since they then own the equipment. Lesson 15: Water resource planning and local watershed development are needed to ensure lowest-cost and ecologically sustainable SSI expansion. SSI expansion would initially target the most accessible water sources that are close to farmers’ fields because these are the lowest cost overall and the fastest to equip. Immediately accessible sources would include water in small dams and ponds, in major rivers, and from shallow wells accessing groundwater. Investments in small storage structures (for individuals and small groups) in the range of 500 m³ to 1,000,000 m³ and the use of rainwater harvesting techniques to augment inflow can support wider expansion into typically water-short areas. Water resource scoping at the planning stage is essential to focus on the most opportune locations of resource availability and also to avoid over abstraction and water- Progress and Lessons from Irrigation Development over the Past Decade 37 related conflict. Careful planning of target areas at the (sub)basin level (Bonzanigo et al. 2021), with the promotion of local water management arrangements to ensure collective curtailment in times of stress or shortage, is also needed. Lesson 16: The region’s relatively abundant shallow groundwater resources present significant potential for expanding SSI, but access to appropriate, high-quality technology and construction standards must improve. Poorly designed and constructed open wells and handmade boreholes often constrain groundwater abstraction and long-term sustainability, particularly as climate change intensifies seasonal variability. Key technical challenges include insufficient well depth, operational siltation, and structural failures. Additionally, local expertise in well construction is often inadequate, exacerbated by weak supply chains for groundwater infrastructure. Limited use of locally sourced materials further drives costs to levels three times higher than in Asia. These constraints disproportionately affect small-scale farmers in remote areas, particularly women and young farmers, where financing options are scarce and low market demand deters well-diggers from entering the sector. Improving well and borehole designs, ensuring deeper and more durable construction, and increasing the use of local materials can enhance system longevity and accessibility for smallholders. Large-diameter agro-wells may also help boost water productivity in low-permeability terrains. Strengthening the technical capacity of well diggers is also essential for improving both the efficiency and sustainability of groundwater extraction (CIWA 2023). Lesson 17: Solar pumps are more expensive to purchase but have the distinct advantages of mitigating climate change and generating higher profits for farmers over a 10-year lifetime. Solar pumping technology costs have declined rapidly and provide both cost and carbon mitigation advantages over fossil fuel alternatives. While solar irrigation pumps are still more costly than fossil fuel pumps to purchase (6 to 10 times high capital cost), solar pump installations demonstrate 50 percent higher returns for the farmer in a 10-year cost-benefit analysis due to their low operations costs compared with the high operational cost of fossil fuel. Enabling access to solar pumping technology through favorable financing mechanisms, subsidies, or incentives is therefore a justified top priority given both the carbon emissions and the farming profit advantages. According to CIWA 2023, several solar-powered pump options are available for smallholder farmers in the Sahel, and some of them are light enough to be easily handled by women (for instance Future pumps made in India and available in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and Senegal) as opposed to standard diesel pumps. The adoption of solar pumps through the SIIP has shown promising results, including availability of postsale services and spare parts, reliability, and increased irrigation coverage, while also reducing labor and time spent on irrigation (see box 2.1). 38 Sahel Irrigation Strategy Box 2.1.  Lessons Learned from the Use of Solar Pumps through the SIIP Various types of solar pumps, including submersible and surface models, are used in irrigation Type 2 and Type 3. Their cost varies based on technical specifications and country of origin. These pumps are mainly available in major cities and sometimes through regional branches. Higher-quality models are widely used but expensive, often requiring project subsidies, while more affordable options are common in smaller market gardening perimeters. Performance depends on proper sizing, quality, and usage. In Burkina Faso, submersible pumps with a minimum flow of 5 m³/h and adjustable power capacities have proven reliable, allowing remote monitoring and operating without breakdowns. Similar models are used in Mali, Niger, and Senegal for various irrigation schemes. Pump specifications vary based on irrigated area size and water source characteristics. In Mauritania, surface solar pumps support village irrigation schemes for rice cultivation, often combined with thermal generators to create hybrid systems. These high-flow electro-pumps, used along rivers and irrigation canals, have few reported failures, with most issues related to normal wear on water distribution networks. After-sales services differ by country. Some suppliers offer renewal or replacement services for pumps and accessories at 10 to 30 percent of the initial cost. A survey found that 73 percent of producers had local access to irrigation equipment and spare parts, typically within 33 km but sometimes up to 100 km. While most suppliers provide installation, in Niger, 43 percent leave the task to local artisans. Impacts on Irrigation • A recent study on performance and sustainability found that in Type 2, annual cropping intensity ranges between 166 and 200 percent. Irrigated areas expanded by an average of 93 percent, effectively doubling cultivated land. • Solar pumping through the SIIP has thus increased irrigation coverage, while also reducing labor and time spent on irrigation. Progress and Lessons from Irrigation Development over the Past Decade 39 Lesson 18: Targeted technological upgrades, tailored to each site’s constraints and opportunities, can improve irrigation efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance system sustainability. In several SIIP-supported countries, different irrigation typologies underwent technological upgrades tailored to their specific needs. In gravity-fed systems such as those in the SAED area (Type 3 and Type 4), compacted-earth canals were replaced with masonry-lined alternatives, improving durability and efficiency and lowering maintenance costs. In Burkina Faso’s bas-fonds (Type 1), degraded embankments were replaced by stone bunds along the contour lines that better retain water and reduce vulnerability to erosion. In Mauritania, some small-scale collective schemes (Type 3) benefited from a hybrid solar-diesel pumping system that cut energy expenses and increased reliability, while upgrading the traditional small-scale private schemes (Type 2) meant transitioning from small motor pumps and hose relocation to fixed semi-Californian systems with high-capacity pumps, allowing larger areas to be irrigated with less labor. Small-scale market-gardening perimeters in Senegal (Type 2 and Type 3) were modernized by adding mini-boreholes equipped with solar submersible pumps and pressurized irrigation (drip or sprinkler) within fenced plots, thereby ensuring both water efficiency and better crop security. These targeted solutions— whether canal lining, strengthened embankments, hybrid power sources, or modernized pumping—collectively enhanced system efficiency, reduced costs, and improved sustainability across varying irrigation typologies. Lesson 19: The design and sizing of irrigation and drainage infrastructures needs to account for increased variability and intensity of water hazards exacerbated by climate change. Structures that were once expected to withstand certain conditions are now failing, often due to unpredicted flooding events. This global challenge requires a thorough scientific and technical review of all the tools used for sizing structures, especially those related to water mobilization and asset protection. Irrigation Finance, Costs, and Investments The 2013 Dakar Declaration urged Sahel governments to “substantially increase investment in agricultural hydraulic infrastructure to expand irrigated land from 400,000 ha to 1,000,000 ha by 2020, at an estimated total cost exceeding US$7 billion”—an average investment of around US$11,700 per ha. In response, approximately US$2 billion has been invested by international donors in irrigation infrastructure since 2013, complemented by national budget contributions, resulting in the development of about 285,000 ha of irrigated land under total water control. Figure 2.3 indicates how investments are distributed across the six Sahelian countries and relative contributions of financial institutions to total donor investment. 40 Sahel Irrigation Strategy Figure 2.3.  Distribution of Donor Investments across Countries (2013–2020) Source: World Bank and other IFIs databases [2024]. Note: IFI = international financial institutions. The World Bank Group has contributed US$173 million to help design, organize, and implement the SIIP. An additional US$11.7 million has come from the governments of Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and Senegal, while beneficiaries have contributed US$10.7 million. International financing institutions (including the World Bank and the African Development Bank) and bilateral donors (such as the French Development Agency and USAID) have significantly supported infrastructure (for example, dams, pumps, and canals), capacity building, and institutional strengthening in water management. The Gambia River Basin Development Organization, covering multiple Sahelian countries, has likewise received funding for regional irrigation and water management projects. At the regional level, the WAEMU Commission has granted subsidies to member states for the implementation of the regional climate change support program, which aims to develop 1,000 ha in each of the eight member states and the Regional Multi-Use Hydraulic Development Program to achieve food security in the WAEMU area for a total amount of CFAF 39 billion (US$64 million). Public investment in irrigation infrastructure is often limited due to constrained national budgets. A significant portion of irrigation projects in the Sahel are funded by international donors and development agencies. However heavy reliance on external funding makes irrigation projects vulnerable to shifts in donor priorities and funding cycles. Progress and Lessons from Irrigation Development over the Past Decade 41 The private sector can bring in additional resources, technical and managerial expertise, and innovations. However, private sector investment in irrigation is minimal due to perceived risks and low returns, high upfront costs of irrigation technologies, and lack of access to finance due to underdeveloped rural financial markets. Investors often perceive the Sahel as a high-risk region due to political instability, climate variability, and weak infrastructure. One of the promising and growing areas is FLID. However, smallholder farmers often struggle to access financing for irrigation equipment, support services, and market linkages, limiting FLID expansion and the adoption of advanced technologies. Lesson 20: Governments in the region have limited fiscal capacity, and donor funding, while helpful, is often not sustainable in the long term. In addition, one of the major barriers to private sector investment in irrigation in the Sahel is the high level of risk associated with agricultural finance. This has led to a shift toward blended finance approaches, which combine public and private sector financing to mobilize larger amounts of capital. By leveraging concessional funding to derisk private investments, these models help attract commercial financiers who might otherwise be hesitant due to the perceived high risks of irrigation investments in the Sahel. Innovative risk- sharing mechanisms such as loan guarantees and insurance products are also important in attracting private sector investment. Despite the efforts by the governments, development partners and private sector, a substantial financing gap persists, hindering not only the 2013 Dakar Declaration targets but also the Sahel’s broader irrigation potential of 3–4 million ha using surface water sources. Given current investment levels and trends, achieving more than 10 percent of this potential in the near future appears unlikely. Realizing the full target would require between 100 percent and 2,200 percent of the annual agricultural budgets in the relevant countries, underscoring the urgent need for increased funding and more efficient resource allocation. Moreover, high per-hectare investment costs and limited financing for operation and maintenance pose additional obstacles to irrigation development. As such, it is critical to call for increased commitments and actions from both public and private sectors to create enabling conditions to leverage limited public resources and concessional financing to maximize private sector participation and private capital mobilization. Lesson 21: Controlling irrigation investment costs is key to maximizing the efficiency and sustainability of irrigation projects in the Sahel. Recent analysis confirms that investment costs in the region are significantly higher than the global average. A study of 636 irrigation projects—573 new and 42 Sahel Irrigation Strategy Table 2.7.  Average Unit Cost of Irrigation Projects in the Sahel All projects New projects Rehabilitation projects Region Irrigation Irrigation Irrigation Total Ratio Total Ratio Total Ratio infrastructure infrastructure infrastructure Sahel 12,895 9,919 76.9% 13,138 11,965 91.1% 10,244 9,939 97.0% SSA 20,108 13,920 69.2% 24,574 17,804 72.5% 13,996 8,600 61.4% Non-SSA 6,599 5,411 82.0% 11,203 9,318 83.25 3,876 3,101 80.0% Source: Oudra and Benli 2024. Note: Unit cost expressed in US$ per ha (updated to 2022 value). 63 rehabilitation contracts—found an average cost of US$12,900 per ha in the Sahel, compared to US$6,600 per ha in non-SSA countries (table 2.7) (Oudra and Benli 2024). Cost overruns are increasingly common in SSA irrigation projects, limiting infrastructure delivery within existing funding commitments. Multiple factors contribute to this trend, including rising oil prices, tight construction markets, weak tender competition, and frequent project delays (1–2 years), which exacerbate cost inflation. Key cost drivers identified in the SIIP project include: • Technical and design choices (for example, water source, pumping depth, and on-farm infrastructure)13 • High baseline costs and lack of standardized unit cost data • Lack of economies of scale due to small, dispersed investments (World Bank 2022) • Remote locations and logistical challenges • Subsidies, market distortions,14 and poor-quality management • Governance issues (rent-seeking, weak transparency, and accountability). Additionally, security concerns in the Sahel—marked by political instability, military coups, and armed conflicts—have led to project suspensions, cancellations, and relocations, further escalating costs and disrupting irrigation development. 13 Live hedges and windbreaks, seeds, fertilizers and pesticides, thematic training on site, training in organizational management, exchange trips, bathrooms, administrative and agronomic buildings, and so on. 14 For example, in a recent FAO and World Bank mission (FY2023) to prepare FLID investment projects in Ethiopia, the drip system was found to be infeasible since most, if not all, imported equipment is sold at double the cost when compared with, say, what it might cost in Kenya, since the traders are importing the equipment using foreign currencies acquired from the black market (at double the World Bank rate). Progress and Lessons from Irrigation Development over the Past Decade 43 To address these high expenditures, the SIIP introduced a cost-control mechanism. Under this approach, average cost ceilings were established and validated for different irrigation types to guide future investments. This arrangement allows project implementation units to select and execute projects within each irrigation type, provided the average cost remains within the country-specific ceiling agreed upon and documented at the Mid-Term Review. Lesson 22: Balancing big programs and small irrigation systems leads to economies of scale. The analysis also confirmed that irrigation programs benefit from economies of scale where those that involve larger acreages generally outperform smaller programs due to reduced unit costs per ha, engineering, and management efficiency gains (Inocencio et al. 2005). However, this narrative shifts when comparing clusters of SSI systems with large-scale schemes covering similar areas. Small systems with simpler infrastructure have significantly lower capital costs per ha. Thus, major irrigation investment programs that prioritize establishing numerous SSI systems can deliver three to four times the economic return on investment compared with a smaller number of large-scale schemes. Supporting evidence from Inocencio et al. (2007), You et al. (2010)—showing an 8 percent versus 28 percent return on investment, the FLID Guide (Izzi et al. 2021), and World Bank investment data analyzed for this study underscores this conclusion. This dual finding suggests that while larger projects offer advantages under certain conditions, clustering small-scale systems within a region can provide cost-effective and impactful alternatives. Balancing these approaches allows for both the efficiency of large schemes and the adaptability and inclusiveness of smaller systems. Lesson 23: Adhering to high quality standards is crucial for improving irrigation system performance and ensuring the sustainability of investments, with governments playing a key role in enforcement and oversight. Weak appraisal, feasibility studies, and supervision contribute to poor construction quality, leading to unsustainable irrigation investments. Many projects proceed based on cursory assessments, particularly in emergency situations where urgency takes precedence over thorough planning. Monitoring and supervision are inadequate as regulations exist but lack enforcement due to limited capacity and commitment among governments and donors. Often, companies demonstrate financial capacity at the time of bid submission that does not match the realities encountered on the ground, significantly delaying project implementation. Poor identification and planning processes significantly impact project performance, yet they remain overlooked. Multiple stakeholders—donors, ministries, local authorities, contractors, and communities—face challenges 44 Sahel Irrigation Strategy that drive cost overruns, delays, and project failures. A comparative analysis of small reservoirs in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Ethiopia, and Zambia (Venot et al. 2012) found that donor incentives prioritize project volume over long-term outcomes, leading to recurrent failures in small reservoir investments. Poor planning, design flaws, and contractor inexperience have resulted in reservoirs becoming unusable or requiring multiple rehabilitations within a decade. In some cases, communities, having been excluded from initial planning, later modify projects to meet their own priorities. Quality control is further challenged by the prevalence of counterfeit and substandard construction materials in SSA. In response, several African countries have been working on establishing and enforcing standards by creating regulatory institutions. Governments’ role as enablers must be further strengthened by improving procurement processes, enhancing institutional capacity, and ensuring merit-based contract awards to increase efficiency, reduce costs, and improve quality. Transparent bid evaluations, robust oversight to prevent collusion, and ethical guidelines are essential for trust and accountability. Training public servants and contractors in compliance and governance can further reduce inefficiencies. Additionally, aligning site selection and beneficiary decisions with objective criteria ensures fair resource distribution. Finally, education and training are also vital components in the efforts to improve quality. In 2024, a research study conducted as part of the project titled “Irrigation Infrastructure Quality Management System Toolkit for Sub-Saharan Africa using Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda as a Case Study” (Hailu et al. 2024) developed a quality management system (QMS) toolkit for SSI project development in SSA countries. The toolkit includes guidelines, checklists, templates, and tools that can help irrigation agencies and stakeholders at all levels to implement and maintain an effective QMS. It was developed to provide guidance and support to establish a robust system that aligns with irrigated agriculture development best practices, standards, and regulatory requirements for all SSA countries. Lesson 24: Investing in high-cost irrigation projects can be justified when they deliver substantial benefits across multiple dimensions. The focus should be on maximizing agricultural productivity and profitability, enhancing food security, increasing rural incomes, creating jobs, reducing poverty, and building climate resilience. By prioritizing performance and outcomes, these investments can generate transformative impacts that outweigh their initial costs, making them a worthwhile endeavor for sustainable development. For these projects, commonly used economic indicators, such as internal rates of return—often used to justify the economic viability—should be complemented Progress and Lessons from Irrigation Development over the Past Decade 45 with other socioeconomic performance indicators, such as the income of different types of producers and the financing of infrastructure maintenance and management costs. The focus should be on farmers and the profitability of their operations in a changing economic landscape rather than on economic and financial measurement of profitability of investments. Lesson 25: A persistent flaw in irrigation finance is the neglect of maintenance budgets, which are often sidelined in favor of visible infrastructure investments. This “build and neglect” approach wastes resources and erodes community trust. To address this issue, the project feasibility study, design, and financing should take into account the project cost throughout the entire project cycle, including O&M. Additionally, it requires institutionalizing maintenance financing—for example, project contracts could mandate that a minimum level of project funds be reserved for repairs. Pay-for-service models where farmers contribute fees for system upkeep have shown promise in some cases but have also proven challenging during SIIP implementation. In SIIP sites, despite beneficiaries committing to establish or revitalize the water management committee and create a maintenance fund within their cooperative or group, these measures have often been only partially implemented. Some management bodies introduced fees to finance equipment upkeep, but these are not always systematically collected. Ensuring better oversight and enforcement of these provisions from the outset will be essential for future initiatives. 46 Sahel Irrigation Strategy Photo credit: skazar @ stock.adobe.com 48 Sahel Irrigation Strategy 3 Vision, Goals, and Expected Impacts 3.1. Vision Vision 2050 incorporates elements and broadens the scope of the 2013 Dakar vision: “By 2050, food sovereignty and socioeconomic development in the Sahel is strengthened through a diversity of sustainable, environmentally suited, competitive, and inclusive irrigation solutions.” The target is to attain 1 million ha of irrigation under total control by 2035. The current strategy places great emphasis on the sustainability, adaptability, and scalability of irrigation models, adopting a farmer-centric approach to develop integrated solutions. New opportunities for faster and lower-cost expansion of private SSI (Type 2, including FLID) and community schemes (Type 3) are elevated in priority to complement more typical and still important investments in public scheme modernization and expansion. For existing schemes, there is a stronger focus on performance improvement, particularly in O&M, based on outcome and service delivery indicators. Another key distinction of this strategy from previous approaches is its emphasis on developing shallow groundwater as a sustainable water source to expand irrigation access for smallholder farmers in remote, climate-vulnerable areas. 3.2. Strategic Goals and Impacts The high-level objective of the strategy is “to promote the integrated and sustainable development of irrigated agriculture for food and nutritional sovereignty of the population of the Sahel.” To achieve this objective, the strategy is articulated in three phases: short term (2035), medium term (2045), and long term (2055) horizons (table 3.1). Intermediate markers of success help in tracking progress, adjusting strategies as needed, and demonstrating incremental achievements toward the broader goals and impacts envisioned. They intend to help adapt the course of action as needed. Vision, Goals, and Expected Impacts 49 Table 3.1.  Short-, Medium-, and Long-Term Goals and Impacts of Irrigation Development in the Sahel Phases Goals Intermediate markers of success Impacts Short term • Catalyze the expansion of private small • Investments in equipment, technology, • Sustainable expansion of irrigation (2035) scale private irrigation (SSI), including and institutions support smallholder • Enhanced economic lifetime of existing FLID (farmer-led irrigation development). farmers sustainably. collective irrigation schemes • Improve reliability of small to medium • Progress in policy, regulation, and • Increased incomes from irrigated community managed and large-scale incentives for irrigation governance agriculture Farmer incomes could rise public schemes. and effective O&M. from US$300–US$600 per ha under rainfed • Expand the coverage of locally adapted • Collaborative frameworks established conditions to US$1,500–US$3,000 per ha and sustainable irrigation systems for among governments, farmers, civil society, under irrigated agriculture. year-round agriculture. the private sector, and development • Reduce infrastructure investment costs partners to address water management per hectare (ha). challenges and share expertise. • Improve operations and maintenance • Policies designed to enhance agricultural (O&M) in collective schemes. advisory services and seasonal credit access. • Enhance crop productivity, cropping intensity, and diversification. • Strengthened irrigation and drainage governance capacities at all levels. • Promote inclusion and equity in irrigation. • Market linkages improved, connecting • Develop value chains around specialized agro-industry, small and medium products, promote multistakeholder enterprises, exporters, and smallholders. approaches, regional cooperation, and knowledge exchange. • Producer organizations reinforced, enabling better collective action. • Policies or interventions developed to support women, youth, and individuals with disabilities. 50 Sahel Irrigation Strategy Phases Goals Intermediate markers of success Impacts Medium • Catalyze the expansion of private SSI, • Investments targeting smallholder farmers • Sustainable expansion of irrigation term including FLID. are reviewed, refined, and supported (1,000,000 ha actively irrigated under (2045) • Improve reliability of small to medium through equipment, technology, full control irrigation) community managed and large-scale and institutions. • Enhanced profitability and sustainability public schemes. • Cross-sectoral collaborations and of irrigated agricultural systems • Improve access to broader agricultural collaborative frameworks among • Increased capacity to mobilize private support, including sustainable financing key stakeholders are evaluated and capital mechanisms tailored to a diversity strengthened. • Increase in rural employment and income of producers. • O&M, water pricing, and cost recovery stability Between 1.5 and 2 million new • Expand the coverage of locally adapted mechanisms are operational and jobs could be created in farming, food and sustainable irrigation systems for evaluated to enhance sustainability. storage, processing, logistics, and trade, year-round agriculture. • Strengthened irrigation and drainage strengthening rural economies. • Promote multistakeholder approaches, governance capacities at all levels. • Improvement of food security and regional cooperation, and knowledge • Progress in irrigated area, crop sovereignty and resilience of rural exchange to address water management productivity, and cropping intensity communities to climate variability challenges and leverage regional is monitored and evaluated. and change expertise. • Agricultural advisory and seasonal credit • Mobilize transboundary and river or lake policies are reviewed and updated. basin water resources strategically. • Policies for women farmers, youth, and individuals with disabilities are reviewed and adjusted for inclusivity. Vision, Goals, and Expected Impacts 51 Phases Goals Intermediate markers of success Impacts Long term • Improve reliability of small to medium • Progress in terms of irrigated area, crop • Improvement of food security and (2055) community managed and large-scale productivity, and cropping intensity is resilience of rural communities to climate public schemes. monitored and evaluated. variability and change. Food production • Expand the coverage of locally adapted could increase by 10–15 million tons per and sustainable irrigation systems for year, particularly for rice, maize, sorghum, year-round agriculture. and vegetables. Increased agricultural output could enhance regional trade and reduce dependency on food imports, improving the balance of payments. • Reduction of poverty and improvement of living standards. Agricultural GDP could increase by US$1.5–US$3 billion annually through higher productivity and market expansion. • Reduction in national budget expenditures related to food imports (balance of payments). Source: World Bank 2025. 52 Sahel Irrigation Strategy Photo credit: Rajesh @ stock.adobe.com 54 Sahel Irrigation Strategy 4 Principles of Engagement 4.1. Farmer-Centered Approaches The success of irrigation investments fundamentally depends on understanding and addressing the needs and opportunities of farmers. Key barriers such as limited access to financing mechanisms, insecure land tenure, inadequate agricultural and water management support services, and insufficient market linkages must be addressed through coordinated, cross-sectoral policies and regulations. Governments can play a pivotal role in fostering a conducive environment for productive and economically viable agricultural intensification. Achieving this requires meaningful reforms in policies, institutions, and regulations. These reforms should involve shedding outdated mandates and embracing enabling functions that actively remove barriers to farmer-led irrigation expansion. Additionally, existing studies highlight the need for solutions tailored to different types of producers, encompassing policies, technical standards, institutional settings, and incentives (tax exemptions, tariffs and so on). Tailored interventions require a comprehensive analysis of target groups, identifying the technical and economic challenges faced by diverse producer categories. These interventions should align project designs and land use planning with the socioeconomic conditions and capacities of farmers. Transitioning from subsistence to market-oriented farming is a challenging process that demands a deliberate and well-structured pathway. Prioritizing support for farmers who are willing to scale up and professionalize their operations but constrained is essential, while also fostering a distributional pathway that enables early adopters to influence broader adoption. This approach should focus on removing barriers to productive and profitable irrigated farming. In collective irrigation schemes, whether newly developed or rehabilitated, embedding farmer involvement in planning and design processes is essential for financial and technical sustainability. This participatory approach should be reinforced by training irrigation organizations and formalizing farmer agreements to ensure transparent and sustainable irrigation fees and sharing of costs recovery and responsibilities between actors. Rehabilitation efforts offer a critical opportunity to reimagine and Principles of Engagement 55 optimize technical, productive, organizational, and financial components in a way that fosters greater farmer ownership and operational efficiency. Aligning efforts in participatory design, professionalization of service delivery, and farmer-focused governance with complementary measures to support value chain development, diversification, and fertility management would benefit all farmers within irrigation schemes. Box 3.1 showcases how stakeholder engagement and participatory planning was implemented in the SIIP. Box 3.1. Participatory Planning of Irrigation Solutions in the SIIP Approximately 89,700 people were consulted to ensure citizen participation in planning, design, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation throughout the project. Local development planning support operators were established in each country to guide subproject planning and organizational capacity strengthening, taking into account water and land resources, production systems, market potential, and community demand. Agreements were then signed with irrigation solution operators who provided technical support for subprojects and ensured oversight and support and monitoring entities that focused on capacity building, beneficiary advisory services, monitoring and evaluation, communication, and knowledge management at the regional level. Knowledge management efforts relied on regional and national knowledge-sharing groups and multistakeholder platforms to involve all parties in codeveloping and implementing irrigation solutions. National steering committees were responsible for providing policy guidance and supervising project units, reviewing work plans at both the national and regional technical levels. Financing agreements were signed with beneficiary organizations—individual or private operators, agricultural cooperatives, and water-user associations— who, in turn, committed to achieving production, commercialization, and environmental objectives while contributing to investments and maintenance of infrastructure. Service contracts were also signed with service providers acting as project managers, and collaboration protocols were concluded with local councils. Finally, the Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS) served as the guarantor of this stakeholder-driven approach, ensuring the quality of the project’s processes and outcomes. 56 Sahel Irrigation Strategy 4.2. Sustainability Sustainable irrigation development requires an integrated approach that ensures ecological, financial, and operational sustainability while facilitating a transition to professional, market-driven, diversified agricultural systems. This paradigm shift is essential for making irrigation investments and infrastructure both viable and scalable in the medium to long term. • Ecological sustainability calls for interventions that are sensitive to the landscape context, ensuring water and land security for continued supply. This approach should align with river basin management targets to preserve and enhance ecosystem health while supporting agricultural productivity. • Social sustainability is an integral component of genuine sustainability in irrigation, demonstrating a deliberate commitment to social equity. This includes the recognition of the need to ensure equitable access to irrigation resources, services, and benefits and case-specific measures in projects for marginalized and vulnerable groups, including women, youth, and the landless. Addressing issues such as land tenure insecurity, poverty, and gender disparities is essential for fostering social cohesion and preventing irrigation projects from exacerbating existing inequalities. Sustainable irrigation development must prioritize the well-being and livelihoods of local communities. This includes respecting social structures and promoting conflict-sensitive approaches that mitigate the risk of water-related disputes. This would be in line with Agenda 2063 aspirations and address the observation in the Second Continental Progress Report on the Implementation of Agenda 2063 that acknowledges “the continent registered a slight increase in the proportion of women in the agricultural population who have ownership or secure rights over agricultural land.” • Financial sustainability hinges on the profitability of irrigation farming enterprises. For irrigation to succeed, farms must generate sufficient income to maintain and expand infrastructure over time. This is particularly critical in moving from cereal-based subsistence farming to high-value, market-oriented cropping systems. Strategic barriers—such as institutional, infrastructural, and market and production constraints— must be systematically addressed to boost agricultural productivity and profitability. Existing collective irrigation schemes, especially those rooted in subsistence agriculture or settlement projects, require a gradual transition to market-oriented farming. On the other hand, new investments Principles of Engagement 57 should target farmers who already demonstrate a market orientation and are ready to intensify and scale their operations. Encouraging subsistence farmers to adopt irrigation farming involves significant social, financial, technical, and business challenges, necessitating a tailored approach to ensure success. Expanding cash crop cultivation, such as horticulture and agroforestry, offers an opportunity to increase the profitability of irrigation schemes, particularly in transitioning away from traditional reliance on rice. However, these shifts should be carefully analyzed within the context of local production systems, market conditions, and farmers’ capacities to ensure feasibility and success. • Operational sustainability must be achieved by ensuring reliable water services through effective operations and asset management practices. This includes improving the quality of construction, maintaining infrastructure, managing water distribution efficiently, and fostering collaboration between stakeholders to secure long-term functionality. By addressing these interconnected dimensions to achieve ecological, social, financial, and operational sustainability, irrigation strategies in the Sahel can achieve sustainable agricultural development, improve farmer livelihoods, and foster adaptation to climate variability. Equally important is ensuring equitable access to resources, services, markets, and credit lines, particularly for disadvantaged segments of the population who often bear the brunt of inequality in complementary arrangements. These groups require targeted support to address systemic barriers and prevent existing inequities from perpetuating further disadvantages. Achieving all of this calls for the parallel development and implementation of locally suitable irrigation interventions that cater to a wide range of natural resource realities and farmer needs, maximizing their collective impact at scale. 4.3. Adaptability An effective irrigation strategy embraces the diversity of farmers and selectively supports a variety of fit-for-purpose irrigation typologies tailored to local contexts. This includes combining surface and groundwater as well as diverse scales and management models, ranging from small- to medium-scale schemes to individual, cooperative, or private sector participation models. This integrated approach should consider the interactions between livestock as well as rainfed and irrigated farming systems, enabling them to work in tandem to enhance resilience and productivity. 58 Sahel Irrigation Strategy In the context of fragility, conflict, and violence (FCV), interventions must be designed to be lightweight, rapidly deployable, and adaptable to evolving security dynamics. The FCV context is characterized by harsh environments and challenges of community cohesion, security, and limited state influence, requiring unique solutions, particularly those that can be implemented quickly given the smaller temporal window of opportunity that is inherent in unstable areas. Priority should be given to robust, low-technology solutions that require minimal maintenance and operational oversight as these are better suited to the constraints of the context compared with high-efficiency systems that demand significant upkeep and governance (Bonzanigo et al. 2021). Mobile equipment has a distinct advantage, not only in relation to short establishment time, but also responds to site security uncertainties (theft) and minimizes land-tenure challenges. However, women usually find mobile equipment more burdensome to handle than fixed as some commonly used mobile solutions can still be too heavy for them to handle. Moreover, all irrigation initiatives must be designed with climate adaptability in mind, ensuring they contribute to building resilience against the increasing variability and extremes of the Sahelian climate. Such a comprehensive, inclusive, and adaptive approach will be key to driving sustainable agricultural development and improving livelihoods across the region. Irrigation is a key adaptation measure that should benefit from climate finance, particularly if coupled with mitigation interventions such as shifting to more perennial farming systems, adopting greenhouse gas–reducing farming practices or deploying renewable energy–based technologies (such as solar-powered pumps) for groundwater abstraction. Adopting these mitigation measures supports the six Sahelian countries achieving their respective Nationally Determined Contributions. 4.4. Scalability Achieving scalability in irrigation development requires a strategic focus on typologies and the related interventions that can self-replicate, such as typologies that are driven by the private sector or PPPs (like Type 2 and Type 5), or be implemented quickly due to the smaller and simpler infrastructure investments that are required (like Type 3). Central to a scaling-up approach is leveraging private and self-investment to complement limited public funding, thus amplifying the overall reach and effectiveness of irrigation programs. Principles of Engagement 59 A robust and straightforward delivery mechanism is essential for scalability. This means developing systems that are not overly complex but flexible enough to self-adjust as needed. This is particularly important in an FCV context. Government institutions must be realigned and be fully equipped to implement these systems, eliminating unnecessary procedures and bottlenecks. Access to finance, often the largest bottleneck, must be a priority. FLID farmers face an additional challenge as the ticket size for financing individual irrigation technology is too large for typical savings and loans groups and too small for the formal banking sector. Policies and programs should enable farmers and private stakeholders to secure funding for irrigation initiatives, removing barriers to investment. Equally important is establishing a transparent and robust accountability mechanism, enshrined in policy and regulations, with clear checks and balances to incentivize performance and integrity. By focusing on these characteristics, irrigation development can contribute massively to the scale that is needed to deliver transformative impacts on agricultural productivity, livelihoods, and resource sustainability. 60 Sahel Irrigation Strategy Photo credit: Elenathewise @ stock.adobe.com 62 Sahel Irrigation Strategy 5 Strategic Actions and Priority Investment Lines The selected strategic pathways align with the principles of scalability, adaptability, sustainability, and farmer-centered approaches. Each pathway identifies key levers for change, including policy and governance, financing, technology, and innovation. Ultimately, the priority investment directions (strategies) are designed to effectively achieve the high-level impacts identified in Vision 2050. 5.1. Comprehensive National Irrigation Programs Supported by a Regional Approach National irrigation programs should be designed to transition from isolated projects to comprehensive, cohesive frameworks that promote alignment, effective monitoring, budget transparency, and strategic coordination. These programs must be tailored to the specific contexts of each country, providing detailed recommendations on policies, institutions, and regulations to address unique challenges and opportunities. Within this framework, clear priority investment lines should be identified, along with a dedicated focus on industry and market development to support sustainable irrigated agricultural intensification. The programs should aim to identify phased timelines and related targets for a suite of complementary investment lines that combine to achieve high-level goals. Interventions that achieve the wanted results fastest and with the least government investments while mobilizing the most private sector and farmer cofinancing should be afforded the highest priority to maximize impact. Political momentum for reform is essential to implement necessary institutional changes and improve economic efficiency across value chains. Ensuring that sectoral policies and strategies are in place is crucial for a well-performing irrigation sector. A regional approach enables coordinated investment planning, taking into account regional market capacity and transboundary natural resources potential. This helps avoid duplication of efforts and ensures that investments are strategically placed to maximize impact. To ensure regional coordination and effective implementation, these national programs could be overseen by an international or regional organization (for example, the AU, ECOWAS, Strategic Actions and Priority Investment Lines 63 WAEMU, CILSS, or AES) to harmonize efforts across the Sahel. Establishing a forum for stakeholders to address common issues related to irrigation service delivery, foster knowledge exchange, and develop best practices can enhance the effectiveness of investments. 5.2. Optimizing Performance on Collective Schemes Collective schemes, including small to medium (Type 3) and large public schemes (Type 4) generally underperform in terms of their resource availability and agro-climatic potential. They present a unique opportunity for rapid gains in infrastructure use and water and land productivity with small investments per ha by driving an optimization and modernization intervention. The intervention is rooted in a service-oriented approach that prioritizes performance improvement across all levels—from farm to scheme to operational performance—and improving agricultural and environmental outcomes. While expansion of large-scale public schemes will remain important, the immediate opportunity for the greatest and fastest gains is to drive performance improvement on existing schemes, while concurrently planning new large-scale public schemes. Collective schemes, whether small-, medium- or large-scale, play a critical role in ensuring food security, adapting to climate change, and fostering socioeconomic development. However, the extended implementation timelines of large irrigation schemes, their limited expansion potential compared with small-scale projects, and the environmental, social, and technical challenges associated with their development call for a fundamental paradigm change in their planning, design, implementation, and management. For this purpose, the World Bank’s analytical work on governance in irrigation (Waalewijn et al. 2020) provides a framework for self-diagnosis, action, and improvements under the Irrigation Operator of the Future (iOF) Toolkit (Waalewijn et al. 2022). The iOF framework and engagement process enables national agencies and local- level scheme operators with their client farmers and other stakeholders to develop actionable short and medium-term plans to turn around irrigation service delivery. Actions include infrastructure assessments and investments, organizational and institutional capability development, asset management improvements, modernization of technical and administration systems, communication and outreach to farmers, and monitoring responses. 64 Sahel Irrigation Strategy Policy and Governance A problem-based approach is encouraged for performance improvement that emphasizes nuanced, context-specific responses to address only truly nonfunctional elements. This approach prioritizes best-fit solutions over replicating “best practices” from other contexts, avoiding blueprint strategies. Key policy measures include improving transparency in outcomes and financing, unbundling service delivery from policy and regulatory functions, setting benchmarks and standards for service delivery and transparent water pricing, and regulations on enforcement. This approach is also reflected in organizational reforms in irrigation and drainage, which should focus on enhancing functionality rather than simply redesigning or adding organizational structures or systems based on form (Waalewijn et al. 2020). Ensuring an effective governance reform would need a comprehensive devolution strategy, surpassing the mere establishment of WUAs. New legislation and regulations for long-term legal transformation should be developed, shifting the role of the irrigation and drainage agency from full operator to a bulk water services provider, focusing on dams, supply, and main canals while supporting the WUAs in their sector-level responsibilities (Denison 2024). Wherever in place, arrangements between the state, irrigation water authorities, and water users should be reviewed to ensure roles and ownership are clearly defined and enforced. In the absence of such agreements, participatory processes can help establish them. Similarly, the agreements between irrigation development authorities and WUAs should be evaluated to reflect the unique conditions of irrigation schemes, incorporating private sector participation where viable for specific services. Another area for improvement is to strengthen WUAs by empowering farmer-led association to take over the O&M of irrigation schemes and providing them with financial training to manage irrigation revenues. Moreover, reforms should address policy and legislation to enable effective operation of the WUAs and irrigation operators. Measures could include compulsory membership in irrigation organizations, securing the right to use public infrastructure, and retaining irrigation service fees to ensure proper O&M, use rights, and ownership of assets. O&M is a critical performance indicator in existing collective irrigation schemes, and improving it is essential for delivering high-quality services and ensuring long-term sustainability. A results-oriented approach to improving O&M can involve performance-based contracts between irrigation Strategic Actions and Priority Investment Lines 65 authorities or WUAs and service providers, with clear targets for timely water delivery, equitable distribution, and efficient resource utilization.15 Financial sustainability is promoted by linking user fees to service levels, while involving irrigation WUAs in management to foster accountability. Given that effective O&M is a major challenge for most collective irrigation schemes and central to irrigation performance and agricultural outcomes, it deserves to be the subject of a subsectoral strategy. Moreover, irrigation authorities, WUAs, and service providers should develop risk, resilience, and emergency response plans to secure long-term water service resilience. This remains an overlooked area despite the importance of irrigated agriculture in climate adaptation. Strengthening the technical, managerial, financial, and strategic capabilities of irrigation managers is essential for improving performance at all levels. The performance of key stakeholders—primarily water utilities and users’ associations—should be reviewed with a view to identifying and addressing potential bottlenecks, from institutional and regulatory issues to financial and technical performance. Capacity strengthening must be geared toward improving fundamental indicators for service delivery, such as reliability, adequacy, equity, and affordability. Rehabilitation and modernization efforts have to be integrated with governance reforms and follow an incremental approach. Rehabilitation efforts should be seen as opportunities to redesign technical, institutional, production, and financial systems to align with evolving paradigms. Priority should be given to schemes with favorable conditions and strong commitments to improvement. Any rehabilitation and modernization must be closely aligned with necessary institutional and policy reforms rather than conducted in isolation. Recognizing the low success rate of major rehabilitation projects that overlook governance and operational challenges, these efforts should adopt an incremental approach, synchronized with gradual reforms over time. This approach enables testing, learning, and continuous improvement to boost service delivery capacity and achieve the desired irrigation service levels. A baseline level of operability is crucial, integrating measurement devices, water level control structures, in-system storage, digital advisory tools, energy transition measures, and other innovations. 15 Performance-based contracts are a form of subcontracting that have three primary features: the remuneration of the contractor is paid against achievement of outcomes rather than inputs (and therefore, contractors bear the risk on the downside of not achieving the targets); given the remuneration structure, the contractor will need to decide how the outcomes will be achieved, including the organization of teams and technology; and ideally, contractors have a stake in the upside of exceeding the outcomes targets. 66 Sahel Irrigation Strategy New irrigation projects should only proceed within robust frameworks that ensure technical and financial viability particularly when large-scale investments are required. This includes aligning with expressed demand, clarifying financing, enforcing quality assurance and cost management standards, and achieving economies of scale. Farmer participation in planning and design should be embedded in all phases of new and rehabilitation projects as a necessary (but not sufficient) condition to ensure financial and technical sustainability. For large scale investments, the public at large should be consulted, notably herders. Productivity and Profitability Transitioning farmers from subsistence agriculture to diversified, market-driven cropping systems is vital for long-term profitability and infrastructure sustainability. However, targeting subsistence farmers to switch to irrigation is a big leap in social, financial, technology, and business dimensions. This needs to be supported by enabling policy reforms, secured land tenure, access to plots of profitable size, reliable irrigation supply, applied research, and field testing into diversified cropping systems, including cash crops and agroforestry, value-chain development, and agribusiness linkages. Tailored capacity building and learning systems are essential to support change and innovation among farmers. Programs should focus on agricultural water management, soil-water conservation, crop diversification, postharvest treatment, and marketing. Experience from the implementation of the SIIP highlights the importance of tailoring marketing strategies to parameters such as distance to market, crop type, seasonal price variations, shelf-life, and storage options. Moreover, there is a need to strengthen technical and organizational capacities (in community sites), establish assembly and sorting centers, build storage and preservation facilities and/or processing units to add value at the local level, and construct roads for transporting products from production areas. Technology and Innovation The adoption of advanced technologies for irrigation management and O&M can significantly enhance efficiency and sustainability. This includes some priority opportunities to quickly shift capability for MOM at low cost. These include: initiating fit-for-purpose digital georeferenced asset management registers, including the type and status of infrastructure and the routine and period maintenance needs and related costs (in their simplest form, these can be mapped on Google Earth and listed in a Strategic Actions and Priority Investment Lines 67 Microsoft Excel database, or more sophisticated industry-specific Geographic Information System–based software may be appropriate) updating billing systems and modernizing technical and organizational practices geared toward service delivery with a customer focus rather than one of being the controller of water; developing targeted knowledge and training programs that focus on innovative systems and technology to enhance productivity and build resilience; and tactically deploying permanent flow measurement instrumentation at key nodes in the system, such as intakes, offtakes to blocks supplying WUAs, tail-end outlets, and related monitoring and decision-making protocols, to enable more formalized agreements with users and better- managed water service delivery. Financing OPEX requirements should be carefully matched to users’ willingness and ability to pay. Key considerations include how O&M costs are calculated, what expenses are included, how these costs are shared among users, how water tariffs are determined and adjusted, and the mechanisms for collecting and allocating water charges. These processes must prioritize equity and transparency to optimize water management and ensure long-term investment sustainability. For infrastructure with significant public investment, appropriate OPEX mechanisms must be designed to accommodate users who connect later through private investments (for example, hors casier in the OdN). As mentioned earlier, institutionalizing maintenance financing through contractual clauses and community-managed fee systems is important to reverse the “build and neglect” cycle. Establish dedicated funds to ensure irrigation infrastructure remains functional long-term. It can be funded through user fees (farmers contribute 5–10 percent of harvest income to maintenance pools) or through revolving funds where profits from irrigated crops replenish repair budgets, with clearly defined management responsibilities assigned to WUAs, irrigation development authorities, or a combination of both. Governments may also choose to subsidize irrigation O&M costs, particularly in multipurpose dam projects where nonagricultural revenue streams, such as electricity production, can offset farmer contributions. Such subsidies can be justified when producers affected by infrastructure development face significant disadvantages (Skinner et al. 2009). 68 Sahel Irrigation Strategy 5.3. Enabling Farmer-Led Irrigation Development Investment in FLID offers a dynamic and technically adaptable approach that enables farmers in diverse physical and production realities to adopt or expand irrigation farming relatively quickly. Spontaneous irrigation expansion by farmers—including new developments and adaptations of existing infrastructures—is long known in the Sahel, but it needs to be enabled and catalyzed through appropriate policies, institutions, financing, and technology. The fastest and lowest-cost locations will be where surface water is close to fields (river terraces and floodplains) and where there is shallow groundwater potential less than 10 m where manual well construction is easily achieved (groundwater resource potential in the Sahel less than 7 m is estimated at 1 million ha, excluding Burkina Faso). Thus, enabling FLID will fast-track irrigation expansion within relatively short timeframes, and expansion and production goals can be achieved at much lower capital costs compared with other irrigation establishment options. Equipment is relatively simple, standalone, and often mobile. With its lightweight technology, rapid implementation timelines, and flexible management models, FLID is also particularly well-suited to situations of instability and insecurity. Results-based financing (RBF) mechanisms with delivery-based incentives for suppliers, coupled with prequalification of suppliers, aggregation platforms for linking suppliers with farmers, defined technical standards, and financing for lending liquidity and for first-loss risk reduction interventions, can rapidly escalate irrigation growth. Private sector suppliers and financing institutions are key implementation drivers, and once the process is enabled, incentivized, and mobilized, momentum accelerates, driven by market forces with reducing government support. Enabling FLID has the distinct advantage of significant private capital mobilization from farmers. They generally pay a larger portion of the total capital cost themselves, and supplier incentives or partial subsidies can be contributed by the government to accelerate uptake and ensure market penetration into underserved areas. Private capital mobilization is driven by the fact that farmers end up with full ownership of the equipment, and further, they carry the full MOM responsibility and cost, which, in public schemes, tend to rest heavily on the state while strengthening resilience, improving food security, and reducing poverty. Strategic Actions and Priority Investment Lines 69 While FLID is often associated with smallholder farmers, its collective impact is substantial. Although individual farms are small, their sheer numbers contribute significantly to food production, economic growth, and the transformation of surrounding landscapes. Its flexibility and scalability make it suitable for parallel implementation with other locally appropriate irrigation strategies. Nevertheless, barriers—which include the poor quality of wells and boreholes, lack of access to adequate pumping technology and credit, difficulties in optimizing abstraction costs, challenges related to knowledge of the resource and managing its sustainable use, among others— must be removed for the development of groundwater-based small irrigation schemes (Bonzanigo et al. 2021). Policy and Governance The role of government must shift from one of ‘implementer’ leading design and construction, to one of ‘facilitator’ which involves removing the barriers to progress through a range of technical, knowledge and financial interventions. The transition to scalable FLID requires a supportive policy framework that prioritizes market-oriented farmers willing to scale up operations, first targeting early adopters to influence broader uptake. These interventions require policy measures to enable private sector financing by promoting the smallholder business case, reducing lending risks through partial guarantees, and providing liquidity assistance; incentivizing suppliers to drive technological innovation and achieve a wider reach of service provision; reducing the transaction costs of equipment suppliers and financial service providers by aggregating farmer information; and establishing active digital linkages and networks for knowledge expansion. Policy changes can also aid and prioritize the private sector in accessing land and water rights to enable irrigation-as-a-service models, or to expand mobile irrigation solutions and support value chain development. Effective collaboration between public and private actors can ensure quality equipment, innovative financing, and streamlined service delivery, unlocking the full potential not only of FLID but also for small to medium collective schemes (for example, village schemes). Technology and Innovation The availability of shallow groundwater resources presents significant opportunities for sustainable small-scale, farmer-led irrigation expansion, particularly in remote areas far from rivers. However, barriers to accessing and adopting low-cost groundwater abstraction technologies must be addressed. Shallow groundwater potential is vital for climate adaptation 70 Sahel Irrigation Strategy and resilience while serving as a poverty reduction strategy. Tailored solutions should cater to diverse farmer groups, including women, youth, and individuals with disabilities, through participatory field testing, training, and ongoing support services. Technological advancements should prioritize improved design and construction of wells and boreholes to enhance productivity and climate resilience, as well as the promotion of locally produced and distributed surface and submersible solar pumps. Solar pumps are much less costly to operate and maintain than diesel or petrol pumps, but tend to require small, localized storage (10 to 20 m3 per ha) to enable flexibility in the time of day that irrigation activities take place. This flexibility is particularly important for women farmers who carry other inflexible household and childcare duties. Solar pump technology mitigates climate change drivers and aligns with climate finance initiatives, offering sustainable pathways for irrigation expansion while delivering climate co benefits. Financing Access to affordable financing mechanisms is the most critical factor in scaling FLID. Equipment loans, which are significantly larger and require longer repayment periods than crop production loans, demand a distinct financial approach. To improve access to finance, one of the priorities is to further develop rural financial markets, including community-based financing, improving local banks’ capacity to lend for irrigation through dedicated credit lines or risk-sharing mechanisms, and leveraging community contributions and crowdfunding platforms to finance SSI projects. Group lending through cooperatives can collectively guarantee loans, reducing default risks. It can use online platforms to raise funds for community-managed irrigation schemes and encourage local savings groups to pool resources for irrigation investments. Mechanisms such as microloans, RBF, and challenge funds can address these needs. Microfinance institutions can partner with commercial banks to create affordable lending products designed for smallholder farmers. This could include low-interest loans with flexible repayment terms, such as postharvest repayment options. RBF delivery mechanisms for FLID are being piloted by the World Bank in India, Nigeria, and Uganda. The Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes project in Nigeria is rolling out national RBF with a challenge fund to support equipment suppliers, market actors, and financing institutions to jointly reach remote areas with FLID. The Uttar Pradesh Micro-Irrigation Program (UP-MIP) and the Uganda Micro-Scale Irrigation Program (MSIP) illustrate the program delivery process for a demand-side partial subsidy streamlined through management information systems and digital applications, such as IrriTrack in Uganda. Strategic Actions and Priority Investment Lines 71 Blended finance approaches that combine public and private investments are essential to help fill the funding gap. Governments or donor agencies often provide subsidies for initial irrigation investments (for example, on the cost of irrigation pumps or technology). Governments can also establish cofinancing schemes where they contribute a certain percentage of the costs for irrigation infrastructure, lowering the burden on farmers like in Uganda. Combining government subsidies and concessional financing from development banks with private capital can derisk irrigation projects and make projects financially viable from private sector perspectives. This can be further applied through a result-based or performance-based finance model or risk-sharing facilities where the concessional fund may be provided as viability gap funding or first loss guarantee. The integration of financial technology (fintech) solutions, such as mobile money and Global System for Mobile Communications–enabled solar-powered pumps, offers transformative opportunities to overcome historical financial barriers. Fintech enables affordable, user-friendly financial services for farmers in remote areas, allowing for pay-as-you-go models and hire purchase agreements. These solutions can extend beyond irrigation to include land preparation, postharvest processing, and other agri-tech services, facilitating a broader leap in agricultural productivity. The pay-as-you-go model is another appropriate financing option for smallholder farmers—engaged in private or community-based irrigation— as it removes the need for large upfront payments. Under this approach, the irrigation system provider covers the capital costs and charges individual farmers an irrigation service fee based on the water provided. The model has shown promising results in Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Kenya,16 and India, where guaranteed credit mechanisms were established to transfer part of the risk to the public sector, thereby attracting private sector participation. Value chain financing by linking irrigation loans to market access ensures farmers can sell harvests at profitable prices, derisking loans. For example, buyers such as agribusinesses prepurchase crops, using off-take agreements as collateral, or farmers store harvests in certified warehouses, using warehouse receipts to secure loans. 16 Solar irrigation in Kenya: Pay-as-you-go models have enabled smallholder farmers to access solar-powered irrigation systems, with companies like M-KOPA and SunCulture leading these efforts. 72 Sahel Irrigation Strategy 5.4. Closing the Investment Gap and Addressing Cost Challenges and Quality Standards to Enhance Irrigation Project Viability Addressing the investment gap and overcoming cost challenges are critical to enhancing the viability of irrigation projects. This section outlines a comprehensive approach to mobilizing resources and ensuring sustainable project implementation. By leveraging innovative financing mechanisms, blended finance, and strategic donor support, we can attract additional investments, reduce risks, and improve the overall quality and efficiency of irrigation projects. These efforts are essential to achieving long-term agricultural productivity and food security in the region. To fill the investment gap for irrigation finance in Sahel countries, major changes will be needed in a number of areas, including: Innovative Financing Mechanisms • Employing a blend of equity, in-kind contributions, targeted (smart) subsidies, credit, and guarantees can help bridge the financing gap. Piloting and scaling up innovative financing arrangements can attract additional investment and ensure project sustainability. • PPPs could mobilize additional resources and harness the private sector’s efficiency and expertise. PPPs need effective performance-based arrangements supported by adequate capacity and effective monitoring and accountability mechanisms. • Other innovative financing mechanisms can be leveraged, such as expanding microcredit programs and digital lending platforms to support farmers to invest in irrigation equipment, increased use of credit guarantees and risk sharing facilities, climate finance, agriculture policy banks, government-funded or community-based revolving funds to support SSI. Blended Finance and Donor Support • Blended finance can reduce investment risks and attract private sector participation. Blended financing combines concessional donor funding with commercial finance. Strategic Actions and Priority Investment Lines 73 • Donor support can be strategically sequenced to prioritize certain countries. Priorities can be based on high benefit-cost ratios or acute food security challenges, maximizing impact and resource efficiency. Rigorous Feasibility Studies, Monitoring, Evaluation, and Knowledge Sharing • Conducting thorough feasibility and analytical studies from the outset is essential for sound project preparation. Ensuring realistic market sounding (suppliers and financing institutions for FLID), engineering design options (all types), cost forecasts, and effective project structuring lays a strong foundation for smooth implementation and operations. • Robust monitoring, evaluation, and communication efforts are needed to consolidate evidence. While the benefits triggered by irrigation development are well documented, it is not widely appreciated. There is need to continuously extend the evidence base to demonstrate the viability of irrigation solutions and generate momentum for further investment. • Establishing and using knowledge-sharing platforms fosters the dissemination of best practices. Networking and knowledge platforms enable enhanced experience transfer from other countries and regions, and better tracking of progress across the region. Reducing Investment Costs • Develop a multifaceted approach to addressing cost overruns in irrigation projects. Systemic solutions must be introduced, such as participatory unit cost benchmarking involving contractors and consultants, regulatory reforms that incentivize performance, and increased accountability to citizens through participatory decision-making processes. • Creating a comprehensive, standardized unit-cost database for various types of commonly financed irrigation infrastructure, based on bills of quantities. Such a database would serve as a critical reference for planners, enabling them to assess the validity of cost proposals and identify factors driving cost variations across projects. Lessons can be drawn from the roads sector, where initiatives like the World Bank’s Road Costs Knowledge System database have provided valuable benchmarks. The case of Niger demonstrates the feasibility of creating such a database in the irrigation sector. With the support of the World Bank and the International Fund for Agricultural Development, Niger has developed a register of unit costs for works, supplies, equipment, and services and a reference of prices of the main 74 Sahel Irrigation Strategy investments to provide transparent cost information at the national level, accounting for regional factors, such as remoteness (IFAD 2013). This initiative is part of a World Bank–supported project aimed at developing irrigated crops and intensifying animal production. The cost benchmark for key irrigation materials and equipment will guide project planning and execution, align partner financing, and enhance future actions. Once adopted, this benchmark will integrate into the national price reference system and serve as a standard for all irrigation-related projects (World Bank 2023). • Improving planning and implementation processes is another key to achieving positive outcomes. Transparency and open discussions about malpractices are vital, though challenging, due to the complex network of small lapses in integrity and oversight among actors in the planning and implementation chain. Tackling these issues is essential to reducing investment costs, improving construction quality, and maximizing the multiple benefits of irrigation projects in the Sahel. 5.5. Adopting an Integrated Territorial Approach in Irrigation Development An integrated territorial approach emphasizes that irrigation should be considered as one of many waters uses within a given territory, acknowledging its significant social and environmental impacts. Developing new water sources in fragile contexts, such as the Sahel, presents the challenge of avoiding the exacerbation of existing conflicts or creating new ones, particularly in areas with intercommunal or intracommunal tensions over scarce resources. While well-designed water security investments can enhance stability and mitigate conflict risks, evidence shows that large irrigation projects may also increase tensions, especially in resource-scarce and fragile settings. For instance, studies indicate higher conflict incidence in irrigated areas compared with non-irrigated areas, partly due to issues such as land redistribution and unequal access to benefits, which can make irrigated plots high-value conflict targets (Khan and Rodella 2021). To address these risks, investments must be grounded in thorough preparatory work to understand existing livelihoods, tenure systems, and local power dynamics. Anticipating changes in water usage and land control, such as new settlements or resource appropriation, is crucial. Ensuring equitable benefit distribution can move projects beyond a “do-no-harm” approach toward proactive peacebuilding, reducing exclusion, grievances, and conflict. The involvement of local communities, farmers, and civil society organizations from Strategic Actions and Priority Investment Lines 75 the design phase is crucial for ensuring inclusive governance and preventing the exclusion of vulnerable or marginalized groups. Additionally, integrating local traditional conflict resolution mechanisms into project design and management is vital for fostering stability and inclusion. Irrigation investments must be planned within a broader catchment perspective to balance the needs of upstream and downstream water users. Recognizing the interconnectedness of water systems, the strategy underscores the importance of considering hydraulic and hydrological connectivity, upstream-downstream dependencies, and the need for basin- scale management and transboundary cooperation. Altering access to shared water resources may require complementary investments in governance, institutional frameworks, and social protection systems to support the poorest and most vulnerable populations affected by such changes. Moreover, robust land-use planning and inclusive land governance are essential for sustainable land and water management, equitable resource access—particularly for women and youth—and greater incentives to invest in irrigation. Awareness campaigns, community consultations, and participatory governance structures are crucial to ensuring the successful implementation of these reforms. While irrigation is a crucial entry point for securing water and food in the context of climate change, achieving long-term resilience and growth demands integration with other services (Bonzanigo et al. 2021). Adapting to climate impacts should be at the core of irrigation strategies. This involves integrating agroecological practices, optimizing water use efficiency, adopting climate-resilient crop varieties, and promoting nature-based solutions for sustainable water and land management. Solutions must stem from coordinated interdisciplinary planning and implementation, where investments across socioeconomic sectors complement and reinforce each other. The Sahel Alliance highlights the importance of an integrated territorial approach, which fosters collaboration among its members and encourages dialogue on water use and its impact on accessibility and quality. Focusing on planning within a specific territory allows for a coordinated response to all local needs, promoting more effective and inclusive governance. This approach also supports institutional reform by fostering cross-sectoral harmonization to address the diverse governance requirements associated with managing water resources sustainably. This strategy emphasizes the need to integrate targeted investments and advanced analytics to ensure sustainable and impactful outcomes. It prioritizes irrigation investments tailored to water availability and location, supported by tools such as remote sensing, hydronomic zoning, and shallow groundwater assessments. Digital platforms will play a key role in national and local planning, enabling the tracking of irrigation performance and expansion 76 Sahel Irrigation Strategy within a subbasin planning framework that ensures land and water security. Moreover, technological innovations should be further integrated to enhance water demand management. Deploying smart sensors, artificial intelligence, and early warning systems can significantly increase irrigation efficiency and reduce water losses. To support this, national and regional water and irrigation information systems should be upgraded by integrating field data with remote sensing and developing basin-scale hydrological models. These models will forecast the impacts of water withdrawals during wet and dry seasons, providing critical insights for sustainable water use. For instance, the Water and Irrigation Information Service, operational since 2023, is a free, open- source platform developed by the SIIP to ensure sustainability, compatibility, and interoperability with existing data formats and platforms. Hosted on the cloud with a physical backup at the AGRHYMET regional center, it continually integrates data on land use (including irrigable potential and irrigated areas), surface and groundwater resources, and hydrometeorology across CILSS and ECOWAS countries. It released a beta version in late 2024 with user feedback and is now exploring new information and communication technology–based applications for wider information dissemination. The strategy also calls for updating basin-wide development and management plans, such as the Niger Basin’s Masterplan to reflect current and future needs and impacts of climate change. Moreover, impact monitoring and evaluation should be strengthened by using precise indicators to effectively measure investment outcomes related to irrigation data, productivity and profitability, food security, conflict mitigation, and the sustainability of water resources. Additionally, projects must remain flexible enough to adapt to evolving local needs and environmental conditions. Finally, complementary actions involve the strategic prioritization of investments in landscape interventions and the advancement of agricultural water management in rainfed areas. These interventions might focus on rangelands, aquifer recharge, flood recession farming, and erosion control, incorporating knowledge-based solutions such as rainwater harvesting and infiltration maximization. While these landscape interventions are essential, they carry the risk of absorbing significant investments, particularly if expanded to include water storage projects at small or medium scales for water security. Nevertheless, such investments are critical for co-investment in catchment-based interventions. These interventions ensure responsible irrigation planning, sustain irrigation water supply, support groundwater recharge, and justify their inclusion as a dedicated investment line or strategy, complete with monitoring mechanisms to assess their impact. Strategic Actions and Priority Investment Lines 77 In conclusion, an integrated territorial approach to irrigation requires participatory governance, sustainable investment, technological innovation, and proactive adaptation to climate challenges. Decision-makers and partners must collaborate closely to ensure inclusive and efficient management of water resources, thereby enhancing food security, social stability, and the resilience of Sahelian populations. 5.6. Concluding Note The Sahel Irrigation Strategy summarizes the key lessons learned from the past decade of irrigation development. It provides a roadmap to expand irrigation to accelerate from the current functionally equipped area (which has large uncertainty but is likely in the region of 500,000 ha to 600,000 ha) to a target of 1 million ha. This expansion aims to achieve a priority set of goals, including increased agricultural production and productivity, more food availability, export substitution, jobs, and economic growth. Water resource availability is significant with less than 15 percent of the available resource utilized for irrigation. Groundwater potential in shallow wells less than 7 m is a major opportunity. The most opportune interventions that are identified include: • Driving a programmatic approach – Irrigation programs should be designed to transition from isolated projects to comprehensive, cohesive frameworks that promote alignment, effective monitoring, budget transparency, and strategic coordination. This shift ensures longer-term strategic continuity within countries and regional alignment. It enables more coherent financial resource allocation from the national fiscus and provides a stronger motivation for financing from development partners. • Optimizing performance on public and community schemes – Elevating the benefits from existing costly infrastructure resources presents a unique opportunity for rapid gains in water and land productivity, farming profitability, and increased resilience to unreliable rainfall. Investments per ha are fractional in comparison with new scheme development, and returns are high and within short timelines. The interventions strive for a shift to a service delivery approach and include capability development of organizations (actors); upgrading of institutions (regulations and rules); optimization of MOM systems; infrastructure modernization, including flow measurement; and performance monitoring. 78 Sahel Irrigation Strategy • Enabling FLID – FLID offers a dynamic and technically adaptable approach that supports farmers in diverse physical and production realities to quickly adopt or expand irrigation farming. Investment in FLID requires a paradigm shift where governments take on a facilitation role and incentivize private sector suppliers and financing institutions to accelerate irrigation uptake, mostly by individuals or small groups of farmers. Results-based financing, pay-as-you-go initiatives, and solar technology are key features of innovative programs. These prompt private sector and farmer action with market-driven activity to meet climate-mitigation imperatives while maximizing returns for farmers. • Closing the investment gap – Investment costs for fixed, large infrastructure in the Sahel are more than double the cost in non-SSA countries. Reducing capital costs is crucial for improving the viability of irrigation projects in the Sahel. The strategy proposes a multifaceted approach, including unit-cost benchmarking and a comprehensive cost database, regulatory reforms to incentivize construction performance, more accurate feasibility study assessments, and detailed design cost estimates to lock down runaway costs from variations. In relation to individual microequipment (solar pumps and irrigation technologies), the introduction of supplier certifications, robust quality standards, and knowledge on best options for varied site conditions can aid cost reduction. • Adopting a territorial approach – Irrigation water use must be considered as one of many water uses within a given territory, with investments planned strategically within a broader catchment perspective. The approach elevates the importance of the interconnectedness of water systems, upstream-downstream dependencies, and the need for basin-scale management and transboundary cooperation. Hydrological and agroecological zoning based on improved basin-scale hydrological models are prioritized to identify the localized status and categorization of water availability relative to source, water balance, and abstraction status. 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