NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Irrigation can play a key role in developing the agricultural sector in Sub-Saharan Africa by addressing barriers, gaps, and risks at the production stage of food systems, especially for small-scale producers (SSP). Despite this promise, just ~3-6% of total cropland in the region is irrigated, lagging far behind the global average of ~20%. The potential to expand irrigation in places with sufficient water availability could amount to an additional 19 million hectares of irrigated croplands (~7% of total), impacting an estimated 20-30 million SSP households across the region. Limited existing adoption is due to barriers in knowledge, technology, finance, and policy/legal dimensions. Fortunately, innovative business models and technologies are emerging that address some of these constraints in an effort to scale irrigation for small-scale producers across the region. ISF Advisors and Hystra are pleased to announce a new report exploring the current state and future potential of the small-scale irrigation market in Africa. The research articulates the investment and activities needed to help scale irrigation technology for small-scale producers and identifies opportunities for donors and investors to catalyze further investment in this sector. During this live conversation, we’ll discuss key findings from the report and hear from market practitioners (representatives from Bonergie and Stable Foods) on the topics of: – Impacts of irrigation for small-scale producers and overall market potential – Barriers at the customer, company, and country levels that are preventing irrigation potential from being realized – Emerging private sector solutions that could scale irrigation usage – Pathways for future collaboration between key actors in the space