Opportunities for Agricultural Water Management interventions in the Nariarlé watershed in Burkina Faso

This policy brief examines Agricultural Water Management (AWM) interventions in the Nariarlé watershed of Burkina Faso to alleviate food insecurity and poverty. It evaluates various scenarios—including improved rainfed agriculture, expanded irrigation, and increased reservoir storage—analyzing their impacts on crop yields, water resources, and local livelihoods. The document emphasizes that while AWMs can significantly increase production, their sustainability depends on strengthening the existing, largely informal, institutional networks and coordinating activities across the watershed.

• Livelihoods in the Nariarlé watershed are heavily reliant on low-yielding rainfed agriculture, making in-situ AWM improvements the most effective way to benefit the largest number of stakeholders.
• Improving soil and nutrient management for rainfed crops could substantially increase yields and reduce year-to-year variation with minimal impact on water flows. Specifically, maize yields could rise from 2 t ha-1 to between 4.7 and 5.5 t ha-1, and millet yields could increase from 2 t ha-1 (or 2.3 t ha-1) to approximately 3 t ha-1 (or 2.8 t ha-1).
• Expanding irrigation into 20% of rainfed agricultural land using pumps and canals could double maize yields to 5.5 t ha-1 and triple millet yields to 2.8 t ha-1 without altering surface or groundwater flows.
• Intensifying existing irrigated land (which covers less than 0.5% of the watershed) by adding a post-rainy season vegetable crop could increase annual vegetable production by 30%, though it may reduce surface flows by 10% and overall watershed outflow by 15%.
• Small reservoirs are critical for irrigation, but siltation is reducing their capacity. Increasing storage by 50% to 200% would reduce watershed outflow by 19% to 26%, respectively.
• The institutional landscape is characterized by localized, informal arrangements around reservoirs, such as maintenance and user committees, but lacks a single coordinating organization for the entire watershed.
• Urban expansion of the capital, Ouagadougou, as outlined in the "Schéma d’aménagement de Grand Ouaga", may discourage smallholder farmers from investing in AWM technologies due to uncertainty regarding future land and water access.

APA

de Bruin, A., Cambridge, H., Stein, C., Ouattara, K., & Paré, S. (2011). Opportunities for Agricultural Water Management interventions in the Nariarlé watershed in Burkina Faso. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-Policy-Brief-Cinderby-awm-in-nariarle-burkinafaso.pdf

Chicago

de Bruin, Annemarieke, Howard Cambridge, Christian Stein, Korodjouma Ouattara, and Souleymane Paré. Opportunities for Agricultural Water Management interventions in the Nariarlé watershed in Burkina Faso. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2011. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-Policy-Brief-Cinderby-awm-in-nariarle-burkinafaso.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{debruin2011opportunities, author = {de Bruin, Annemarieke and Cambridge, Howard and Stein, Christian and Ouattara, Korodjouma and Paré, Souleymane}, title = {{Opportunities for Agricultural Water Management interventions in the Nariarlé watershed in Burkina Faso}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2011}, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-Policy-Brief-Cinderby-awm-in-nariarle-burkinafaso.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }