Cofie et al. (2026) Why water matters for Africa's food systems: A Call to Action for irrigation investment

⚠️ Warning: This summary was generated from the abstract only, as the full text was not available.

Identification

• Journal: CGSPace A Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research)
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-09-02
• Authors: Olufunke Cofie, Claudia Ringler, Mure Agbonlahor, Tilahun Amede, Mikayla Czajkowski, Vincent Kabuti, Ephantus Kimotho, Mark Smith
• DOI: None

Research Groups

• International Water Management Institute (IWMI)
• African Union Commission

Short Summary

This study highlights the importance of irrigation in Africa's agriculture, emphasizing its potential to enhance food security, economic growth, and livelihoods. Despite considerable irrigation potential, realizing it sustainably requires aligning national investment decisions with underlying basin and aquifer conditions.

Objective

• Investigate the role of irrigation in African agriculture and identify key factors influencing its adoption and sustainability

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Continental (Africa-wide)
• Temporal Scale: Long-term (strategic planning)

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Not specified
• Data sources: Literature review, existing reports and frameworks (e.g., IDAWM)

Main Results

• Irrigation is crucial for agricultural intensification in Africa, enabling year-round production and increasing farmer incomes.
• Realizing irrigation potential requires aligning national investment decisions with basin and aquifer conditions, agro-ecological zones, competing water demands, and infrastructure possibilities.

Contributions

• This study highlights the importance of considering underlying conditions when investing in irrigation development, contributing to more sustainable agricultural water management practices in Africa.

Funding

• Not specified

Citation

@article{Cofie2026Why,
  author = {Cofie, Olufunke and Ringler, Claudia and Agbonlahor, Mure and Amede, Tilahun and Czajkowski, Mikayla and Kabuti, Vincent and Kimotho, Ephantus and Smith, Mark},
  title = {Why water matters for Africa's food systems: A Call to Action for irrigation investment},
  journal = {CGSPace A Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research)},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://openalex.org/W7207960072}
}