Towards a shared vision: action plans for adapted advisory services in West Africa’s rice irrigation schemes
This briefing (PDF) by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) highlights how farmer organisations and government agencies managing large scale irrigation systems in West Africa need to collaborate to agree on a vision for agricultural services that increases scheme viability while meeting the needs of different types of farmers. Currently however, there is no institutional mechanism in place that enables different groups of actors – with different levels of power – to engage at a strategic level or to negotiate and take forward such a common position. The briefing describes a process piloted in three large scale irrigation schemes in the region and draws lessons from this for future investments in irrigation.
Find also this IIED report “Towards a shared vision: Advisory services that work for smallholders and government in West Africa’s large irrigation schemes“, which summarises three years of action research on the institutional and governance aspects of Agricultural Advisory Services (AAS) in three government-managed largescale irrigation schemes in West Africa – Niandouba/Confluent in Senegal, Sélingué in Mali and Bagré in Burkina Faso. The report offers practical recommendations on how improved services can better respond to farmers’ needs, and how the empowerment of farmer organisations is essential if they are to effectively represent the interests of their members.