Does small-irrigation boost smallholder farming? Evidence from Niger

In Niger, an important objective of the agricultural policy consists in promoting the development of small irrigation infrastructures in order to diversify agricultural production, extend the cropping season, raise land productivity and secure farmers' revenue. Small irrigation infrastructures...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inIDEAS Working Paper Series from RePEc
Main Authors Tillie, P, Louhichi, K, Gomez Y Paloma, S
Format Paper
LanguageEnglish
Published St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 01.01.2018
Subjects
Agricultural production
Farmers
Irrigation
Niger
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Summary:In Niger, an important objective of the agricultural policy consists in promoting the development of small irrigation infrastructures in order to diversify agricultural production, extend the cropping season, raise land productivity and secure farmers' revenue. Small irrigation infrastructures are regarded as a possible alternative to large irrigation infrastructure since they are cheaper to implement and maintain and easier to manage. This paper attempts to explore the impacts of a program of small irrigation development in Niger on land allocation, agricultural production and income generation using the farm-level model FSSIM-Dev (Farm System Simulator for Developing Economies) and data from a nationally representative sample of farm households. FSSIM-Dev, a static positive programming model, was applied to every individual farm household included in sample to capture the full heterogeneity of impacts across farm households. Results show the large potential impact of small irrigation on agriculture production and income generation, especially during the dry season and in regions of Niger with high potential irrigable land. Farm income would increase by around 7 % at country level if small irrigation was made available to all farmers. Small irrigation infrastructure would also contribute the reduction of income inequality. Acknowledgement :