Large-scale irrigation projects along the Sénégal River that date from the 1980s have greatly heightened competition for agricultural lands in that region, known as the Chemama.
The chief rivers are the Lerma, which drains into Lake Chapala in the northwest, and the Balsas and Tepalcatepec, which merge at the southern frontier; the flows of all have been depleted by large-scale irrigation projects.
A separate report from the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) said the best way for countries to protect millions of farmers from food insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia was to help them invest in small pumps and simple technology, rather than to develop expensive, large-scale irrigation projects.
Findings reveal also that damming and considerable water diversion to large-scale irrigation projects in the upstream state are the main regulations affecting the management of shared water resources in the downstream country.
In their own words, [d]espite considerable investment by government, pastoralism is consistently more profitable than either cotton or sugarcane farming while avoiding many of the environmental costs associated with large-scale irrigation projects.
[d]espite considerable investment by government, pastoralism is consistently more profitable than either cotton or sugarcane farming while avoiding many of the environmental costs associated with large-scale irrigation projects.
Nationwide geo-spatial data for rivers (current), small- and large-scale irrigation projects (historical and planned), and crop diversity (average number of crops grown; 1997) and intensity (percent land under cultivation; 1997) were collected from the World Resources Institute (WRI), the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), and Kenya's National Irrigation Board [32 34].
Notable shifts in Santa River water use including major expansions in hydroelectricity generation, large-scale irrigation projects, and other land and resource-use practices did not necessarily stem from changing glacier runoff or hydrologic shifts, but rather from these human variables.
And after a critical evaluation of the experience with large-scale irrigation projects, the director of the Bank's Agriculture Department warned in 2006 that the institution would only support such projects in Africa again "over his dead body".
The Guardian points out that a separate report by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) said that investing in small pumps and simple technology in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia will go far to help keep millions of farmers fed, rather than developing expensive, large-scale irrigation projects.
