Eastern Nile Irrigation System Performance Assessment and Options for Improvements Regional Report

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.