Flood Recession Agriculture Research Articles

Assessing flood risks and exploring opportunities for flood-based farming in the dry lowlands of Ethiopia

Food grown in the rainfed system in Ethiopia is frequently insufficient to meet household food needs due to recurrent drought, which causes severe food insecurity. Ethiopia’s drylands have also been hit by an increase in torrential floods. As a result, the ability to adapt to shocks and risks decreases. Despite the opportunity of highland-to-lowland to lowland connectivity, the opportunities for flood-recession farming are poorly understood. This study maps flood recession opportunities incorporating national flood occurrence information, flood images, and SMAP surface soil moisture from Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) images in Omo Gibe basin and Mile sub-basin. The analysis demonstrates that during the past three decades, there have been substantial flood incidents in the country’s eastern, south-eastern, and southern regions. Notably, floods that happened in 1996, 2005, 2006, 2013, and 2018 affected 90, 91, 74, 74, and 69 locations, respectively. In 2020, flooding affected a considerable area (274 locations), which demonstrates the rise in flood hazards. Based on multi-criteria suitability analysis, about 32 million hectares of lowlands are highly suitable (61%) and moderately suitable (39%) for flood-based farming. In the Omo-Gibe and the Mile sub-basin, flood-recession zone mapping using a change detection approach revealed that Omo-Gibe basin has 107,359 ha and 29,550 ha of flood zones suitable for flood recession farming and Mile sub-basin of 8,048 ha and 88 ha, during the major and short rainy seasons, respectively. Our results highlight the extent of flood-prone areas and their suitability for flood farming and provide evidence of alternative strategies for managing flood risks. Consequently, identifying potential flood-prone areas using remote sensing technology aids decision-makers and subject-matter experts in introducing and demonstrating various types of flood-based farming. Further research is recommended to identify and validate appropriate flood farming practices under different biophysical and socio-economic contexts and explore complementary opportunities as well as support informed decision-making on flood risk management and recession flood strategies in the dry lowlands of Ethiopia.

Irrigation Technology Interventions as Potential Options to Improve Water Security in India and Africa: A Comparative Review

Water is an essential resource for the realization of the United Nations’ 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. The increasing global food insecurity, hunger, human population, and uneconomical extraction and use of non-renewable resources require, among other things, a substantial intensification of agricultural production. In this context, there has been a need to adopt irrigation technologies, especially in developing countries where agriculture and its allied sectors employ more than 50% of the total population but account for up to 90% of the total freshwater consumptive use. India and Africa are at the crux of this conundrum, where there is an urgent need to build resilience with the already excessively allotted water resources. Innovative and water-efficient irrigation technologies could be one of the windows of opportunity to overcome water scarcity and enhance food security in these regions. This review sought to comparatively explore how irrigation technological interventions could help overcome water security challenges in India and Africa. Literature retrieved from multidisciplinary electronic databases indicated that, as part of the global south, both India and Africa have untapped irrigation potential due to the adoption of individual-centric irrigation. The irrigation approaches that possess the capacity to increase water and food security as well as reduce poverty levels in India and Africa are broadly grouped into micro-irrigation technologies, renewable energy-powered irrigation technologies, flood recession agriculture, and underground transfer of surface flood water for irrigation. Unlike in India, where overexploitation or extraction is the primary driver of water scarcity (physical scarcity), water insecurity in Africa results from poor management (economic scarcity). The adoption of the foregoing interventions is challenged by existing cultural and land tenure issues, limited access to efficient irrigation technologies and credit services, as well as an overreliance on national governments for support. Despite these challenges, opportunities exist for smallholder irrigation expansion. This study indicates that both Indian and African governments ought to offer stimulus packages that encourage holistic farmer-centric irrigation technologies to improve food and water security.

Adaptation to perennial flooding and food insecurity in the Sudan savannah agroecological zone of Ghana

Flooding is one of the most destructive climatic hazards which has affected agricultural activities in the world, especially Sub-Saharan Africa. This article investigated the impact of the recurrent annual floods on food production and how subsistent farmers have adapted to resultant food insecurity in the Sudan Savannah agroecological zone of Ghana. The specific objectives of the study were to understand the nature of flooding (frequency, period and extent of coverage of flood water), how the perennial floods contribute to food insecurity, how farmers adapt to it to contribute towards policy development on flood control and improve food security. Primary data were collected using questionnaires, interviews, focus group discussions and field observation. Secondary data were obtained from documents and reports from NADMO and MOFA. The questionnaires were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science and the focus group discussions, interviews, and fieldwork were analyzed manually using content analysis. The findings show that the study areas experience floods every year. Between 2007 and 2018, eleven floods event occurred in the study communities. The floods usually occur around August and September when rainfall is torrential coupled with overflow from the spillage of the Bagre dam upstream. The flooding has resulted in a decline in food production among subsistent farmers. As a result, households in study communities are food insecure. Farmers have learned to cope with floods/food insecurity by engaging in alternative livelihoods such as flood recession farming, dry season farming, petty trading. They have also employed other means such as rationings of food and social networks cope with food insecurity. In all these strategies, women play a critical role as they are largely in charge of food preparation and dishing. The study recommends strengthening of the alternative livelihoods, introduction of short maturing crop varieties, sensitisation of women on the preparation of healthy meals.

Farmer Participatory Evaluation of Sorghum Varieties in Flood Recession Agriculture Systems in North-Western Mali

Flood recession farming is an important cropping system for ensuring food security in western Mali. The present study identified sorghum varieties adapted to this farming system. In the first year, numerous varieties were tested in the fields of 12 farmers. The 22 best-performing varieties, based on farmers’ scores using a preference index (PI), were further studied the following year. In the third year, the four varieties with the highest PI scores were tested against the local variety, Samé. The best-performing varieties were given the names Yélimané 1, Yélimané 2, Yélimané 3, and Yélimané 4. Across the three years, the best-performing variety, Yélimané 1, showed a 60.2% and 55.3% greater grain and stover yield, respectively, compared to the local Samé variety. The four improved varieties also reached maturity 30 days sooner than the local variety. A survey involving 101 farmers showed that the improved varieties, combined with higher plant density, seed priming and microdosing of mineral fertilizer, reduced the number of food-insecure months by 3.59 months. These varieties combined with improved agronomic practices have the potential to improve food security in flood recession areas in West Africa.

Inventory and drivers of the adoption of flood‐based farming systems in South‐Eastern Africa: Insights from Malawi*

AbstractRainfed agriculture, which is dominant in sub‐Saharan Africa, remains vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. In this framework, flood‐based farming systems (FBFS) enable the use of floodwater as an opportunity for crop production. FBFS have received much attention recently; however, there is limited guidance on how they can be promoted effectively in rural areas. To do so and to support the adoption of appropriate systems, it is important to understand the current practice of FBFS. This study focuses on the Balaka District (Malawi) and the types of FBFS in use, the extent of practice, and the factors behind their adoption. A sample size of 398 farmers was considered, using questionnaires, observations, focus group discussions, and key informant interviews to collect primary data. The results showed flood recession agriculture (FRA), depression agriculture, spate irrigation, and inundation canals and dugouts among the FBFS used and that FRA was the dominantly adopted method (54%). Lack of capital investment and level of farmer awareness were the factors most associated with FBFS adoption with p = .00003 and p = .004, respectively. Capital investment and actions to increase farmers' awareness should therefore be considered to realize the full benefits of FBFS.

Analyzing Food Security through Flood Recession Farming: A Case Study of the Upper East Region, Ghana

Analyzing Food Security through Flood Recession Farming: A Case Study of the Upper East Region, Ghana

Natural resource-use in the Lower Tana River Delta based on household surveys and remote sensing of land cover and land use patterns

Household survey data and spatially explicit Sentinel-2 satellite images of land cover and land use during the dry and wet seasons were used to investigate livelihood strategies in the Lower Tana River Delta in Kenya, where food security and economic activity rely almost exclusively on ecosystem goods and services. Land cover classification of satellite imagery successfully showed seasonal changes to estuary-related vegetation and habitats from which land use cycles could be inferred. Flood-recession agriculture and part-time fishing were the most common activities at Ozi village, some 10 km upstream from the estuary mouth, whereas full-time fishing dominated activities at Kipini town, where the Tana Estuary discharges into Ungwana Bay. Seasonality of fishing at Kipini depended on favourable sea conditions, arrival of migrant fishers and peaks in shrimp abundance. Seasonality of agriculture at Ozi depended on the freshwater flooding regime, visible in satellite images as an inverse relationship of areas covered by wetlands and cultivated lands. The predominance of fishing assets at Kipini indicated specialization, which underlies a socio-economic network of fish processing, marketing, distribution and logistical support services. In contrast, mixed farming assets and traditional fishing gear at Ozi reflected more diversified farmer-fisher livelihoods, as a risk avoidance strategy. Key outcomes of this study were that land cover and land use were strongly seasonal, that coastal and upstream communities in the Tana Estuary relied on different combinations of ecosystem goods and services, and that livelihood strategies at the two locations differed fundamentally. Combining social, spatial and ecological data to describe socio-ecological systems typical of the Tana Estuary provided a broad platform for shared resource management strategies.

Determinants of climate variability adaptation strategies: A case of Itang Special District, Gambella Region, Ethiopia

Ethiopia is vulnerable to climate variability and extremes due to its location and low adaptive capacity. It is, therefore, crucial to assess the determinants of various adaptation strategies of rural poor to minimize the effects of climate variability on their livelihood and national economy. The study thus, appraises determinant factors of farmers' adaptation strategies to climate variability in purposely selected from kir and Eliya kebeles in Itang Special district, Ethiopia. Data were collected from 188 randomly selected sample households using pretested questionnaire survey. The supplementary data were collected from purposely selected eight key informants, (xxxx) focus group participants. The rainfall and temperature data (1983–2016) were also collected from Ethiopia's National Meteorological Agency (NMA). The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The main climate variability adaptation responses were found to be changing farming calendar, collecting fruits and roots, flood recession farming, and growing short maturing crop varieties were widely implemented climate variability adaptation responses. The result shows that gender, age, family size, education level, livestock holding, access to extension, access to information and access to weather information have statistically significant (P < 0.01, 0.05, and 0.1) impact on the choice of adaptation responses. We recommend that climate variability and extremes risk could be reduced through strengthening the provision of extension and basic infrastructure services and facilitates.

Assessment of flood recession farming for livelihood provision, food security and environmental sustainability in the Ganga River Basin

Poverty, food insecurity and environmental degradation are the recurrent problems in the Ganga River Basin (GRB). The Ganga River enriches the fertility of floodplain through flooding every year. Farmers have been utilizing this fertility for growing crops by flood recession farming (FRF) since antiquity. In this practice, farmers use moisture and nutrient rich soil of the floodplains for growing crops after water levels recede and harvest them before flooding in the river. This ancient method of food production plays a pivotal role in human well-being and environmental conservation in the GRB. Using the data collected from the farmers living along the Ganga River in Varanasi, this study explores the potentials of FRF through the dimensions of livelihood provision, food security and environmental sustainability. Field visits, household surveys, and focus group discussions (FGDs) were used to collect data. Results indicated that various practices and methods of FRF system underpin not only the livelihood and food security of small and marginal farmers but also enrich the sustainability of the environment. Environmental sustainability was assessed in the context of agro-biodiversity conservation, water resource management, soil health maintenance, and climate change mitigation and adaptation. The study concludes that the full potentials of flood recession farming can be assessed through a comprehensive research about the different aspects of FRF and mainstreaming this practice in policy-making for sustainable food production.

The spatio-temporal soil moisture variation along the major tributaries of Zambezi River in the Mbire District, Zimbabwe

This study uses the Surface Energy Balance System (SEBS) and the TOPographic driven MODEL (TOPMODEL) in estimating soil moisture for Mbire district in Zimbabwe and validates these estimates with ground based gravimetric measurements baseded on fifty-four soil moisture sampling sites. Five atmospherically corrected MODIS images for the period 2013were processed and used to estimate evapotransiration. The result of the relative evaporation from the SEBS algorithm was multiplied by the average of the porosity and the field capacity to get the spatial and temporal soil moisture estimates. The TOPMODEL rainfall-runoff model whose land surface inputs were obtained from remote sensing was calibrated with runoff data for the period ranging 2008−2013. After successful calibration the model was used to to simulate spatial and temporal soil moisture estimates and compare with insitu-measured soil moisture from the fifty-two sampling sites. An upscaling procedure to improve the comparison between soil moisture retrieval point measurements, remote sensing and TOPMODEL outputs was accomplished by the use of geostatistical tools. Land suitability analysis for flood recession farming was performed using soil moisture maps, distance from stream network, vertical channel distance, and land use/cover datasets. The model performance indicators for TOPMODEL simulations show an acceptable match with measured discharge, (NSE = 0.765 and 0.812 and PBIAS= -6.04 % and -10.5 % for Manyame and Angwa sub catchments respectively). Results show that the SEBS approach show spatial and temporal soil moisture variability across the Mbire district simulated. There is a strong relationship (R2 = 0.796) between upscaled insitu-based soil moisture measurements and SEBS based techniques for the period of March to July 2013. The study further revealed that there is a fair relationship (R2 = 0.60) between upscaled ground soil moisture measurements and hydrological modelling (TOPMODEL) for the same period. TOPMODEL soil moisture increases towards the Angwa and Manyame river tributaries. Results also show that approximately 22800 ha of Mbire district has suitable to moderately suitable flood recession farming area. The study concludes that the use of geostatistical approaches, remote sensing and hydrologic models is promising in planning and management of soil moisture and water resources in data scarce and water limited environments.

Water Constraints and Flood-Recession Agriculture in the Senegal River Valley

Flood recession farming practiced in flood-prone areas and on the banks of rivers and lakes in arid or semi-arid environments essentially depends on the soil water stock after the flood has receded. During these last few decades, this coveted agriculture is increasingly challenged by severe water constraints, due to increased hydrological hazards and development projects aimed at controlling floods. These challenges are difficult to anticipate, and are the subject of a great deal of uncertainty regarding the sustainability of development projects in the concerned areas. In this study, recent hydraulic data of the Senegal River were analyzed to understand the constraints related to the river management in flood-prone areas. Satellite imagery analysis techniques were used to estimate flooded areas and establish relationships with the river regime. Agricultural practices implemented by farmers were also analyzed to evaluate the resilience of this cropping system to the risk of water stress. The results confirmed many constraints of different importance related to the objectives assigned to the management of dams under multiple water use context. It clearly came out that the water resource management rules relegate flood-recession agriculture to the lowest priorities. In addition, there are safety issues related to unexpected effects of flooding on the water structures and in the nearby inhabited localities of flood-prone areas. Knowing some characteristics of the flooding and of the river’s levels and their relationships can be useful within the framework of an organized climate service that would help farmers and communities to better anticipate constraints.

Modeling the impact of climate change on the environmental flow indicators over Omo-Gibe basin, Ethiopia

The study focuses on climate change impacts on the environmental flow indicators from hydrologic method point of view using IWMI’s Global Environmental Flow Calculator and Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration. It also discusses how the changes in flow magnitude and duration of annual extreme conditions, timing of annual extreme water condition, frequency and duration of high and low pulses, rate and frequency of water condition changes will affect the ecosystem. Climate change disturbs the ecology by directly affecting the functions of individual organisms (growth and behavior), modifying the population (size and age structure), and altering the ecosystem structure, functioning (e.g., decomposition, nutrient cycling, water flows, and species composition and species interactions) and its distribution within landscapes (Gitay et al., 2002). Ecosystem regime shifts can occur naturally and by anthropogenic factors (Muenich et al. in Ecol Model 340:116–125, 2016). Climate change effects on flow regime are expressed by different indicators such as mean annual runoff, mean river discharge, low and high flows, mean seasonal discharge, and changes from permanent to intermittent flow or vice versa. Understanding of changes in flow regimes is important for the well-being of humans and freshwater-dependent biota with respect to water and habitat availability (Doll and Schmied in Environ Res Lett 7(1):14037, 2012). Even though the basin is rich in fish species, peoples living in lower Omo-Gibe basin and Turkana region are undertaking a traditional fishing culture. Wildlife in the parks, pastoralist communities using the flood recession farming and livestock farming are dependent on the river. The environmental flow that sustains these activities is inevitably necessary for the survival of the biodiversity. Understanding of the flow variability helps to protect the freshwater biodiversity and maintenance of goods and services that the river provides.

Intensification of Sorghum Production in Flood Recession Agriculture in Yelimane, Western Mali

Flood recession farming is as an important supplement to rainfed agriculture in West Africa. Every year, large areas are flooded along riverbanks and temporary lakes. When water recedes from the flooded areas, farmers plant crops. This study describes the flood recession farming in the Yelimane district of Kayes region in Mali and assesses different ways to intensify the system. The use of external inputs in this system is minimal. Field experiments were undertaken over two years to test crop establishment methods, soil tillage, increasing plant density, use of organic and mineral fertilizer, and improved varieties. These technologies increased sorghum yield as compared to the control in the following descending order: Seed priming + fertilizer (77.1%), NPK + organic fertilizer (74%), seedling transplantation + micro fertilization (61.3%), improved varieties (49%), mounding (34%), and urea application (24.9%). The technology seed priming in combination with mineral fertilizers was promising because of the high yield and the low labor demand. Nitrogen fertilizer is needed in flood recession agriculture as the soils and the deposited sediments are low in nitrogen. Farmers’ choice of technology will depend on the yield level, net return per hectare, labor use, and access to inputs.

Reservoir Operation Optimized for Hydropower Production Reduces Conflict with Traditional Water Uses in the Senegal River

AbstractManantali is a dam located on the Senegal River and is mainly used for hydropower production. Before the dam’s construction, the annual river flood alimented the flood recession agriculture...

Assessment of flood recession agriculture for food security in Northern Ghana: An optimization modelling approach

Food insecurity is a recurrent problem in northern Ghana. Food grown during the rainy season is often insufficient to meet household food needs, with some households experiencing severe food insecurity for up to five months in a year. Flood recession agriculture (FRA) – an agricultural practice that relies on residual soil moisture and nutrients left by receding flood water – is ordinarily practiced by farmers along the floodplains of the White Volta River in northern Ghana under low-input low-output conditions. Opportunities abound to promote highly productive FRA as a means of extending the growing season beyond the short rainy season (from May to September) into the dry season and thereby increase household income and food security of smallholder farmers. This study uses an optimization modelling approach to explore this potential by analyzing the crop mix and agricultural water management options that will maximize household income and enhance food security. Results indicate that growing cowpea, groundnut and melon under residual-moisture based FRA and high value crops (onion, pepper, and tomato) under supplementary irrigation FRA maximize household income and food security. The cash income from the sale of FRA crops was sufficient to purchase food items that ensure consumption smoothing during the food-insecure months. The study concludes that the full potential of FRA will be realized through a careful selection of crop mixtures and by enhancing access of farmers to improved seeds, integrated pest management and credit and mainstreaming FRA through targeted policy interventions and institutional support.

Impact of Climate Change on Water Resources in the Kilombero Catchment in Tanzania

This article illustrates the impact of potential future climate scenarios on water quantity in time and space for an East African floodplain catchment surrounded by mountainous areas. In East Africa, agricultural intensification is shifting from upland cultivation into the wetlands due to year-round water availability and fertile soils. These advantageous agricultural conditions might be hampered through climate change impacts. Additionally, water-related risks, like droughts and flooding events, are likely to increase. Hence, this study investigates future climate patterns and their impact on water resources in one production cluster in Tanzania. To account for these changes, a regional climate model ensemble of the Coordinated Regional Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX) Africa project was analyzed to investigate changes in climatic patterns until 2060, according to the RCP4.5 (representative concentration pathways) and RCP8.5 scenarios. The semi-distributed Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was utilized to analyze the impacts on water resources according to all scenarios. Modeling results indicate increasing temperatures, especially in the hot dry season, intensifying the distinctive features of the dry and rainy season. This consequently aggravates hydrological extremes, such as more-pronounced flooding and decreasing low flows. Overall, annual averages of water yield and surface runoff increase up to 61.6% and 67.8%, respectively, within the bias-corrected scenario simulations, compared to the historical simulations. However, changes in precipitation among the analyzed scenarios vary between −8.3% and +22.5% of the annual averages. Hydrological modeling results also show heterogeneous spatial patterns inside the catchment. These spatio-temporal patterns indicate the possibility of an aggravation for severe floods in wet seasons, as well as an increasing drought risk in dry seasons across the scenario simulations. Apart from that, the discharge peak, which is crucial for the flood recession agriculture in the floodplain, is likely to shift from April to May from the 2020s onwards.

Adaptation strategies to environmental and policy change in semi-arid pastoral landscapes: Evidence from Ngamiland, Botswana

Semi-arid rangeland pastoral areas have been affected by diverse pressures; livestock diseases, human-wildlife conflicts, droughts and resource scarcity as a result of fragmented landscapes that constrain pastoral livelihoods. In Botswana, pastoralists' adaptations remain insufficiently documented. Adaptation strategies are responses to livelihood constraints and if mainstreamed into development programmes can counter negative impacts arising from ecosystem deterioration. Using iterative participatory rural appraisal methods, this study examines adaptation strategies that pastoral societies in Ngamiland, Botswana have used to cope with pressures in their pastoral socio-ecological system. Findings show a move towards mixed and spatially varied livelihood strategies. Mixed agro-pastoral farming, intensification of flood recession farming, fishing and a network of self-help groups have developed over the last few decades of significant policy and environmental change. Pastoralists have become more sedentary with increases in petty trade and higher dependency on social welfare programmes. As the ability to adapt has positive attributes for livelihood sustainability and resilience, there is a need for practical initiatives that improve pastoralists' adaptive capacity, such as reforming pastoralists' institutions and expanding infrastructural development in pastoral areas so as to enable access to markets. These also include the need to share insights more widely across the district, nationally and regionally.

Analysing drivers of vulnerability to flooding: a systems approach

ABSTRACTVulnerability to disasters is both dynamic and context-specific. Understanding the construction of vulnerability to disasters is important because the survival of communities is threatened. However, many vulnerability drivers are often hidden and remote from the triggering events; as such, they need to be analysed using approaches that unpack the non-linear interactions. A systems-thinking approach to examine the construction of vulnerability to flood disasters in Muzarabani district, Zimbabwe is used. Data was gathered from interviews, workshops, field observations and the 2012 census report. Biophysical vulnerability is driven by interacting factors including proximity to low-lying floodplain, interfluves and cyclonic path; flood recession agriculture; heavy erosion and siltation; and use of poor quality materials. Social vulnerability to flooding is propelled by a bundle of demographic and poor socio-economic conditions of the community that make the smallholder farmers succumb to flood impacts. None of those variables make the community vulnerable on its own. Rather, they are mutually inclusive, with each one reinforcing the other(s). Vulnerability to flooding in Muzarabani is thus not solely a function of changes in the rainfall pattern to which communities respond. Rather, it is a result of multiple interdependent physical and poor socio-economic variables involving non-linear relationships.

The influence of cultivation frequency on weed species composition and diversity in flood recession farming in the Okavango Delta, Botswana

IntroductionFlood recession farming, locally known as molapo farming, is an important livelihood activity for the subsistence farming community around the Okavango Delta. The study was aimed at investigating the influence of cultivation frequency on non-crop species composition. It was carried out in the peripheral settlements of Shorobe, Makalamabedi and Lake Ngami.MethodsVegetation sampling was conducted from March to April 2016 in 36 fields of varying historical cultivation frequencies. The cultivation frequencies were 5, 10 and 15 years with an uncropped control site. Sampling was done in 1-m2 quadrats placed 10 m apart along a line transect. Shannon’s diversity and equitability indices were used to compare diversity for each cultivation frequency within and across the study sites. The Kruskal–Wallis test was used to investigate significant differences in diversity between cultivation frequencies. Rank of abundance was used to determine the association of weeds with the cultivation frequencies.ResultsCultivation frequency did not influence species diversity (p > 0.05) at either Lake Ngami or Shorobe. Species evenness was significantly different (p < 0.05) between the cultivation frequencies at Shorobe, but not at either Makalamabedi or Lake Ngami. There was a significant difference (p < 0.05) in diversity indexes across the four cultivation frequencies. The 5-year frequency recorded the highest median score (Md = 1.352) while the 15-year frequency recorded the lowest median score (Md = 1.035). Corchorus tridens was the most abundant non-crop species at the 5- and 15-year frequencies. Cynodon dactylon was most abundant in the 10-year frequency while Cyperus esculentus was most abundant in uncropped fields.ConclusionsCultivation frequency influenced weed species diversity and composition in flood recession farming. Flood recession farming fields were dominated by common weed species which are also troublesome in dryland arable farming. Uncropped sites were composed of wetland species that tolerate some dry periods or seasonal flood plains.

Using smart ICT to provide weather and water information to smallholders in Africa: The case of the Gash River Basin, Sudan

In the Gash Delta of Eastern Sudan, spate irrigation (flood-recession farming) contributes substantially to rural livelihoods by providing better yields than rainfed dryland farming. However, spate irrigation farmers are challenged by the unpredictability of flooding. In recent decades, the number of farmers practicing spate irrigation has decreased, due to varying rainfall intensity and frequency, insufficient infrastructure and farmers’ limited capacity to manage such variations. One solution that may help farmers face such challenges is for them to access real-time water-related information by using smart Information and Communication a Technology (ICT). This paper shows how integrating remote sensing, Geographical Information Systems (GIS), flood-forecasting models and communication platforms can, in near real time, alert smallholder farmers and relevant government departments about incoming floods, using the Gash basin of Sudan as an example. The Ministry of Water Resources of Sudan used the findings of this study to transform farmers’ responses to flood arrival from being ‘reactive’, to planning for the flood event. Intensive on-site and institutional efforts to build the capacity of farmers, farmer organizations, development departments and officers of the Ministry helped to develop the initiative from simply sending ‘emergency alerts’ to enabling stakeholders to visually see the flood event unfolding in the region and to plan accordingly for storing water, operating spate-irrigation systems and undertaking cropping activities. The research, initially conducted on a 60 × 60 km site, was later extended to the entire Gash basin. The paper outlines how to develop tools that can monitor plot-specific information from satellite measurements, and supply detailed and specific information on crops, rather than providing very general statements on crop growth. Farmers are able to use such tools to optimize their farm profits by providing water to their crops in the right place, at the right time and in the right quantity. Finally, the work demonstrates the high potential of combining technology, namely remote sensing data and simple a agro-meteorological model with limited parameters, for large-scale monitoring of spate irrigation systems and information sharing to advise farmers as to how to apply this information to their managerial decisions.