In Burkina Faso, more than two-thirds of the population relies on rain-fed agriculture for food and income. However, scarce and insufficient water or irregular rainfall frequently puts farmers at risk of losing their crops. Climate change is making already variable rainfall less reliable. Yet all kinds of water users—farmers, fishers, livestock herders, domestic users, city dwellers, emerging industries–and ecosystems depend on access to water of the right quality, in the right quantity, and at the right time.

First published 2017

The report analyzes the changing tripartite constellations between South African black smallholders, the pre- and post-apartheid state, and the country’s large-scale agribusiness and irrigation industry. A recent mode of farming is the ‘joint venture’, in which smallholders hand over land and share in the net profits, while a strategic partner manages the cultivation with own inputs and equipment, and markets the output.

This literature review was commissioned by Project “G3 - Water Governance and Community-based Management”, one of several projects funded by the Challenge Programme on Water and Food (CPWF) in the Ganges Basin. The project seeks to understand the different modes and outcomes of water governance in selected polders and the role that communities play in such governance.

This Atlas summarizes recent advances in interdisciplinary approaches and research to address the different components of West African urban food systems, including urban and peri-urban agriculture. It thereby draws on the results of several major collaborative research projects and stakeholder consultations conducted in West Africa over the past two decades, and in particular on the UrbanFoodPlus project in Ghana and Burkina Faso (www.urbanfoodplus.org). The publication targets with its innovative design a broad range of stakeholders.

Land degradation is a major challenge limiting crop production in Ethiopia. Integrated soil and water conservation is widely applied as a means to reverse the trend and increase productivity. This study investigated the effects of such integrated approaches at two sites, Jeldu and Diga, in Western Ethiopia. A split plot design with physical soil and water conservation in the main plots and agronomic practices in the sub plots was employed.