Economic Opportunity Mailing List Archive

["Howarth, Simon E" <<address removed>>]

There is only a contradiction between the two points of view highlighted
by Martin Fowler if you take a rather narrow view of irrigation or water
management - they both seem correct to me. There are a whole range of
possibilities from large scale canal systems to runoff farming by
individuals - the most appropriate depends on the local situation and a
lot of different factors. I don't think we can decide which end of the
spectrum to concentrate on in the abstract.
 
Simon Howarth
 
 

        -----Original Message-----
        From: Martin Fowler [mailto:<address removed> 
        Sent: 29 April 2004 08:49
        To: <address removed>
        Subject: Water and agriculture
        
        
        Dear All,
         
        I have found the e-forum contributions most interesting and
useful.
         
        I was struck by the relevance to our work in Uganda of Michael
and Merle Lipton's plea for focus on Plan A.  If you have not yet read
it and want to prioritise those unread contributions currently
languishing in your In-Box, go straight to the Liptons' piece!
         
        However, whilst the Lipton's state, ".....especially since
absence of water control is the main obstacle to progress on small farms
in Africa", I was reminded of John Dixon's words in his contribution of
the preceding day, "However, there is increasing evidence of very
substantial food production dividends through better management of water
in non-irrigated areas, especially in Africa. There is considerable
evidence that runoff farming and other forms of rainwater harvesting not
only increase yields in many instances, but also minimise yield
reductions in dry years and enable, in some areas, diversification to
higher value crops...". 
         
        It is important that we know which statement is correct - and I
do appreciate that the answer will, to some extent, be country-specific
- if we are to design and implement the most effective Plan A.
         
        Regards,
         
        Martin Fowler
        Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, Entebbe
        Uganda