Rice and irrigation in West Africa: achieving food security with agricultural water management strategies

West Africa's rice imports currently satisfy 70% of the soaring local demand, worsening the food vulnerability of an increasingly urbanized population. Despite considerable rice-growing potential, lack of water control systems, access to improved seeds, agrochemicals and appropriate mechanization ha...

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Main Authors: Katic, Pamela G., Namara, Regassa E., Hope, Lesley, Owusu, E., Fujii, H.
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Elsevier 2013
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/40272
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author Katic, Pamela G.
Namara, Regassa E.
Hope, Lesley
Owusu, E.
Fujii, H.
author_browse Fujii, H.
Hope, Lesley
Katic, Pamela G.
Namara, Regassa E.
Owusu, E.
author_facet Katic, Pamela G.
Namara, Regassa E.
Hope, Lesley
Owusu, E.
Fujii, H.
author_sort Katic, Pamela G.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description West Africa's rice imports currently satisfy 70% of the soaring local demand, worsening the food vulnerability of an increasingly urbanized population. Despite considerable rice-growing potential, lack of water control systems, access to improved seeds, agrochemicals and appropriate mechanization have resulted in modest production growth rates, unable to alter the region's dependency on imported rice. Governments aim to boost production with import duties and input subsidies. However, questions remain as to whether these policies enable the rice sector to respond to changing consumers preferences for high grade rice and to contribute to national economic growth. We present the results from a Policy Analysis Matrix (PAM) on rice production in Ghana, Burkina Faso and Niger and under three water management systems: irrigation (public scheme), supplemented rain-fed (rainfall aided by autonomously-sourced water supplies) and purely rain-fed. Our results show that policy interventions in these West African countries (i.e., input subsidies and import taxes) did not significantly enhance the profitability of rice production to farmers due to the effect of market failures (limited capital access and non-competitive market for rice) and the low quality of local milled rice. The PAM results point strongly to the importance of improving rice quality and yields through more efficient water management and post-harvest handling/processing and targeted breeding to match consumers' preferences.
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spelling CGSpace402722025-06-17T08:24:05Z Rice and irrigation in West Africa: achieving food security with agricultural water management strategies Katic, Pamela G. Namara, Regassa E. Hope, Lesley Owusu, E. Fujii, H. water management rice yields profitability food security irrigated farming irrigation schemes economic growth policy indicators costs farmers West Africa's rice imports currently satisfy 70% of the soaring local demand, worsening the food vulnerability of an increasingly urbanized population. Despite considerable rice-growing potential, lack of water control systems, access to improved seeds, agrochemicals and appropriate mechanization have resulted in modest production growth rates, unable to alter the region's dependency on imported rice. Governments aim to boost production with import duties and input subsidies. However, questions remain as to whether these policies enable the rice sector to respond to changing consumers preferences for high grade rice and to contribute to national economic growth. We present the results from a Policy Analysis Matrix (PAM) on rice production in Ghana, Burkina Faso and Niger and under three water management systems: irrigation (public scheme), supplemented rain-fed (rainfall aided by autonomously-sourced water supplies) and purely rain-fed. Our results show that policy interventions in these West African countries (i.e., input subsidies and import taxes) did not significantly enhance the profitability of rice production to farmers due to the effect of market failures (limited capital access and non-competitive market for rice) and the low quality of local milled rice. The PAM results point strongly to the importance of improving rice quality and yields through more efficient water management and post-harvest handling/processing and targeted breeding to match consumers' preferences. 2013-01 2014-06-13T14:47:17Z 2014-06-13T14:47:17Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/40272 en Limited Access Elsevier Katic, Pamela G.; Namara, Regassa E.; Hope, Lesley; Owusu, E.; Fujii, H. 2013. Rice and irrigation in West Africa: achieving food security with agricultural water management strategies. Water Resources and Economics, 1:75-92. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wre.2013.03.001
spellingShingle water management
rice
yields
profitability
food security
irrigated farming
irrigation schemes
economic growth
policy
indicators
costs
farmers
Katic, Pamela G.
Namara, Regassa E.
Hope, Lesley
Owusu, E.
Fujii, H.
Rice and irrigation in West Africa: achieving food security with agricultural water management strategies
title Rice and irrigation in West Africa: achieving food security with agricultural water management strategies
title_full Rice and irrigation in West Africa: achieving food security with agricultural water management strategies
title_fullStr Rice and irrigation in West Africa: achieving food security with agricultural water management strategies
title_full_unstemmed Rice and irrigation in West Africa: achieving food security with agricultural water management strategies
title_short Rice and irrigation in West Africa: achieving food security with agricultural water management strategies
title_sort rice and irrigation in west africa achieving food security with agricultural water management strategies
topic water management
rice
yields
profitability
food security
irrigated farming
irrigation schemes
economic growth
policy
indicators
costs
farmers
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/40272
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