Eastern Nile Irrigation Systems Performance Assessment

Improvement of irrigation performance -The pressure to produce more food with fewer resources requires that performance in terms of both water and land utilization taut improves. To achieve this, irrigation managers, whether at national, system or farm level, need to work together and harder to meet the challenge of the future. In light of this scenario it is perhaps surprising that few irrigation institutions include rewards for high performance as an incentive for staff to try to improve productivity: most irrigation agencies have not adapted to the management challenge following their establishment and growth as design and construction agencies. At the same time, there are few clear and comprehensive guidelines available to agencies or managers that can help them in the institutional and technical transformations that are prerequisites for achieving high performance.

The principal objective of the study is to establish a knowledge base for irrigation development in the Nile Basin that can be used to guide national and regional water resources development planning. In line with this it presents a comprehensive picture of the current situation regarding the irrigated areas, their water use and the irrigation technology currently used in the Eastern Nile. Accordingly the study, presents an inventory of existing and planned irrigation projects, data on the planned schemes, and estimate of existing and planned water use. It also identifies factors that contribute to the current level of crop and water productivity, and an over view of the socio-economic settings in which the projects operate. It also reviews the policy environment in which the irrigation projects are planned, constructed and operated, which encompass, policies, legal framework, institutional structure including the private sector. The study presents recommendations for improvement, based on the analysis conducted and establish data base that provide information on, planned, under implementation and existing irrigation schemes.

The primary objectives of the study are, firstly to guide national and regional water resources developments planning through the development of a comprehensive picture of the current situation and development of a knowledge base of the irrigated areas, their water uses and the irrigation technology, and secondly to conduct a preliminary performance assessment of existing irrigation systems. Purposes of the assessment are to establish the current level of water productivity and water use efficiency; to identify the root causes for the low performance and constraints to improvement and to identify any rooms and measures for better performance. This assessment is expected to initiate dialogue and guide efforts for improvement of the performance of existing irrigation developments, exchange experience between Eastern Nile countries and inform planners of future developments in the Eastern Nile region.

The principal objective of the study is to establish a knowledge base for irrigation development in the Nile Basin that can be used to guide national and regional water resources development planning. The study presents a comprehensive picture of the current situation regarding the irrigated areas. In spite of the role played by irrigation, and large amount of water committed to irrigation, it is widely believed that the performance of many irrigation systems in the Eastern Nile is below expectations, in terms of both water use efficiency and agricultural productivity. Irrigation developments are also generating mounting environmental and health concerns. The study was conducted by four individual consultants, one International Consultant and three National Consultants (one from each Ethiopia, South Sudan and Sudan). The International Consultant prepared an inventory of the existing and planned irrigation developments in Egypt from available sources. The four Consultants prepared an inventory of the existing and planned irrigation developments in each of the four Eastern Nile countries which included estimates of annual cropped areas, irrigation technology, crop mix, crop and water productivity, actual volume of irrigation water used and explained the institutional set-ups in which irrigation developments are operating including policies, legal frameworks, institutional structure, public/private role (including the role of farmers associations), human resources capacity, financing development and O&M. It also identifies factors that contribute to the current level of crop and water productivity, and which encompass, policies, legal framework, institutional structure including the private sector.