A business case to reduce rural poverty through targeted

investments in water in sub-Saharan Africa

WWF5 Session 2.3.2. How can food market measures boost rural development and poverty

– can the current crisis benefit poor smallholder farmers or not ? Jean-Marc Faurès

Guiding questions

• Where and how should investments in water-related interventions be done to effectively boost livelihoods and reduce poverty in rural areas ?

• What is the link between access to water and rural livlihood ?

• Where is water a constraint to agricultural production and a priority for sustainable rural livelihoods ?

• Who are the target beneficiaries and where are they?

Approach: Livelihood zoning

• Common key biophysical determinants

• Climate

• Resource endowment

• Agroecological conditions

• Common key socioeconomic determinants:

• Population structure and dynamics

• Household livelihood strategies and constraints

• Main sources of food and income

• Institutions

Areas where people share similar livelihood patterns:

Regional study:

sub-Saharan Africa

Main livelihood zones in SSA

• Poverty incidence: • absolute number and percentage of rural poor

• Water as limiting factor for livelihoods:• Inter-annual variability of water (prevalence of droughts)• Water is entry point for main livelihood activities

• Potential for water control development: • availability of additional water for agriculture and other

usages

Criteria adopted to assess poverty reduction potential

Where are the rural poor in SSA ?

Vulnerability to climate variability

Burkina Faso: rainfall and cereal production

Poverty reduction potential across livelihood zones

Poverty reduction potential across livelihood zones

Water interventions in support

to rural livelihoods

A necessary focus on smallholder farmers

Adapting approaches to smallholder’s conditions

•Operational simplicity

•Reduced number of users

•No need for external support for operation

•Low maintenance requirements

•Limited physical and financial capital requirements

•Not always low cost or best B/C ratioSmall, divisible, farmer controlled water supply

systems

A typology of investment options

1.Manage soil moisture in rainfed areas

2.Invest in small scale water harvesting infrastructure

3.Promote small-scale community-based irrigation

4.Improve existing irrigation systems

5.Improve water control for peri-urban producers

6.Invest in water for livestock production

7.Facilitate multiple use of water

Planning: assessing the potential of interventions

Applying the three criteria:

• Potential for development (physical)

• Water as limiting factor for livelihoods

• Poverty incidence

Potential and costs of interventions

In summary

Number of potential beneficiaries

245 million 58 % of rural population

Cost 85 billion US$ 350 US$/person

Essential conditions for success

Essential conditions for success

1.Ensuring enabling governance and policies• Strengthening local institutions, conducive rural policies legal

framework

2.Securing access to markets • incl. information on prices

3.Providing complementary physical infrastructure • Roads, market places, storage, refrigeration

4.Securing access to land and water5.Preventing soil degradation and restoring fertility 6.Providing targeted subsidies and adapted financial

packages • Including crop insurances

7.Investing in human capital• Access to knowledge, training, gender considerations.

Adapting agricultural support strategies

Adapting financial services

“Propositions”(specifically for sub-Saharan Africa)

i. When planning water interventions in SSA, consider different target groups and different objectives:

i. Filling food production gap, contributing to economic growth: emerging farmers possibly with good connections to markets

ii. Rural poverty reduction: focus on traditional smallholders farmers, fishers and herders with little connection to markets. Interventions in water primarily focusing on increased resilience of rural farmers and reduce their vulnerability to climate variability

ii. Context-specificity: water-related interventions must be adapted to livelihood situations and contexts, must consider basic needs and all productive uses of water.

iii.Conducive policy environment necessary, including: food chain approach for major staple commodities (rice, maize); adapted financial packages; land tenure

iv. Combine water control and soil fertility management