Water 'bout food in Africa?

  The state of African Agriculture There has been a long history of debate over the benefits of large-scale vs smallholder farms (Hall, Scoones and Tsikata, 2017). Agriculture is an economic activity, contributing to economic growth, attracting investment and driving a number of related industries (Pretty et al., 2014). But the efficiency of a farm is critical given the increasing population in Africa, global socio-economic development requiring higher living standards (wider range of food) and the loss of arable land to processes like desertification (Döös, 2002). The demand for food requires an effective use of land, and given what we have already covered in regard to limitations of water availability in regions across Africa (Gaye and Tindimugaya, 2019) , the management of land, for what and by whom is gaining renewed importance. The Case for small farms Over 60% of people in sub-Saharan Africa are smallholder farmers, contributing around 23% of GDP for the region. (Goedde,...

Egypt’s relationship with the river Nile is perceived by them to be of existential importance (Wheeler et al., 2018). 80% of the ater of the Nile however comes from Ethiopia, (Erikh, 2002; cited in Wheeler et al., 2018) and is responsible for the annual floods which bring water for drinking and irrigation, as well as rich silts that nourish the earth of the Nile River basin to the advancement of agricultural activity for the Egyptians. Whilst the UN watercourse convention (Savenjie and Van der Zaag, 2008) , seeks to ensure the rights to each riparian country to equitable shares of any benefits, some examples demonstrate potential challenges of achieving this in practice. Case Study One: The Nile Despite strong seasonal variability, Ethiopia’s wet highlands provide water to the comparatively barren sands of Egypt (World Bank, 2021). Amidst anticipation of an intensification of the hydrological cycle, means wet regions of Africa get wetter, and dry regions drier (Hegerl et al., 2019)...

  The Short-FALLS of African Rivers    Rivers are perhaps the clearest way of linking water and development. Rivers offer a source of water for irrigation, fishing grounds as well as a supply of nutrient-rich silts which are essential for agricultural activities (Bohannon, 2010).  The potential of rivers for development in Africa is demonstrated in the history books, through the development of "hydraulic civilisations" (Wittfogel 1957) such as the ancient Egyptians. Rivers in Africa share the main benefit of rivers everywhere- they take water from places with a lot of water to places where there is less. However, one difference with Africa’s rivers unlike others elsewhere, such as the Rhine, is that many of Africa’s comprise of huge waterfalls and unnavigable rapids. This not only prevented historic contact between regions and subsequently stunted the trade of goods (i.e. food), but a less tangible ramification of this was that it prevented the exchang...

A less obvious link between water and food development  The reason for this post, and its temporary divergence from food development, is to demonstrate the huge problems within Africa with safe water provision and sanitation. The significance of this issue in relation to food is based on the overwhelming percentages of the population working in the agricultural sector. According to World Bank statistics, 53% of workers in Sub-Saharan Africa fell under this category. Of note were countries like Burundi, where the figure stood at 86% in the same year, and Somalia with 80% (data.worldbank.org, 2021). The simple explanation for this recognition is that water plays a far greater part in food provision than solely irrigation practices in the lives of farmers. The safety of water and sanitation services also impacts the health of large parts of the national workforce, in a sector that, if disrupted, can have national ramifications. It is no wonder that the Organisation for Economic Co-ope...

The Basic food-water Link The Water Stress Index (WSI) was originally developed by Falkenmark and Lindh (1974) as a warning system ahead of potential food shortages in relation to disruptions to water availability (Damkjaer and Taylor, 2017). The WSI defines water scarcity by the number of people that compete for sustenance from one single flow unit of water (106m3/year), or in simpler terms the “hydraulic density of population” (Damkjaer and Taylor, 2017). The WSI’s existence also informs us of the regional disparity in water availability, and thus introduces one of the foundational challenges facing water and food development in Africa historically. Most of the inhabitants of Africa live in semi-arid areas that are prone to extreme seasonal variation in freshwater availability and pose the risk of large-scale water shortages, subsequent famine and the potential for the emigration of environmental refugees (Falkenmark, 1989). Drought proved rampant in 2019 particular...

Introduction What about food in Africa? What does  water  have to do about  food in Africa?  In short, near enough everything. The focus of this blog is to try to understand the relationship between water and food development in Africa. This extends far beyond the struggles of access to water and food, which are ubiquitous on this planet but seem disproportionately concentrated in Africa.   A Moment of Reflection Figure One: Ed Sheeran (singer) visits an African Village  (EdSheeran.com, 2017) Before divulging any issues in detail, it is important to first pause and clarify my own position as a blog writer. “Africa” covers almost  twelve million square kilometres between its longitudinal poles of  Al-Ghīrān Point in the North and Cape Agulhas in the South (Robert K.A. Gardiner and John F.M. Middleton, 2018). Between them lies fifty-six countries, thousands of languages and a sundry of lives each uniquely shaped through distinctive experiences of ge...