Solar-powered drip irrigation enhances food security in the Sudano–Sahel

Burney, J and Woltering, L and Burke, M and Naylor, R and Pasternak, D (2010) Solar-powered drip irrigation enhances food security in the Sudano–Sahel. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS), 107 (5). pp. 1848-1853.

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Abstract

Meeting the food needs of Africa’s growing population over the next half-century will require technologies that significantly improve rural livelihoods at minimal environmental cost. These technologies will likely be distinct from those of the Green Revolution, which had relatively little impact in sub-Saharan Africa; consequently, few such interventions have been rigorously evaluated. This paper analyzes solar-powered drip irrigation as a strategy for enhancing food security in the rural Sudano–Sahel region of West Africa. Using a matched-pair comparison of villages in northern Benin (two treatment villages, two comparison villages), and household survey and field-level data through the first year of harvest in those villages, we find that solar-powered drip irrigation significantly augments both household income and nutritional intake, particularly during the dry season, and is cost effective compared to alternative technologies.

Item Type: Article
Divisions: UNSPECIFIED
CRP: UNSPECIFIED
Subjects: Others > Agriculture-Farming, Production, Technology, Economics
Depositing User: Library ICRISAT
Date Deposited: 11 Oct 2011 19:43
Last Modified: 14 Sep 2013 11:54
URI: http://oar.icrisat.org/id/eprint/2273
Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0909678107
Projects: UNSPECIFIED
Funders: UNSPECIFIED
Acknowledgement: UNSPECIFIED
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