Water and Food: African realities

Globally, around 70% (and up to 95% in some developing countries) of freshwater withdrawals are used for the purpose of agriculture ( FAO, 2017 ) – the chief driver of water stress. Studies show that 57% of global freshwater use for crop production is unsustainable ( Mekonnen and Hoekstra, 2020 ). This highlights the significance of employing appropriate methods of irrigation to sustain efficacy of food production during periods of hydrological variability. Countries of tropical (broadly sub-Saharan) Africa, reportedly, irrigate only around 5% of cropland, predominantly on a small scale basis. This is due to dependence on rain-fed agriculture ( Xie et al., 2021 ). Rainfall is plentiful in tropical Africa, particularly in the ITCZ, but climate change makes the rainfall patterns erratic and leaves those regions vulnerable to drought.             (top and bottom image) Entoto Hill, Ethiopia. Source : Trip.com  There exist risk-averse strategies for rain-fed agriculture which focus on pra

Food production is intrinsically linked to water – when agricultural water supply or access dwindle, or dip suddenly, food security follows the trend soon after ( World Bank, 2020 ).  Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2, focusing on expanding global food security, has brought about intensive initiatives, which demonstrate the critical need for irrigation for food production globally. Agriculture across Africa is dominated by smallholder farmers, which make up some 60% of Sub-Saharan population and even more in other regions. Implementing SDG2 will require as much as 65 billion dollars in irrigation alone ( Goedde et al., 2019 ).              Colocynth fruit growing in the Sahara;  Source : Britannica.  African realities  will draw on case studies from across the nations of the continent and report the figurative good, the bad and the ugly of water, as it pertains to food production. Africa is well suited for exploration of this topic, spanning a wide range of climatic conditions, fro