Nazoumou Y., Favreau Guillaume, Adamou M. M., Mainassara Ibrahim. (2016). La petite irrigation par les eaux souterraines, une solution durable contre la pauvreté et les crises alimentaires au Niger ?. Cahiers Agricultures, 25, 15003 [10 p.]. ISSN 1166-7699.
Titre du document
La petite irrigation par les eaux souterraines, une solution durable contre la pauvreté et les crises alimentaires au Niger ?
In Sahelian countries, the development of irrigated agriculture is one of the solutions to avoid repetitive food crises. Considering south-western Niger as a regional case study, this paper demonstrates that increasing low-cost groundwater irrigation represents a long-term solution, using shallow, unconfined perennial groundwater, widely distributed in this region. Groundwater resources and soil characteristics were described and localized in space, quantified in volume and/or surface area, and their long-term potential estimated as a function of updated datasets. Data analysis demonstrates that similar to 50,000 to 160,000 ha (3 to 9% of present-day cultivated areas) could be turned into small irrigated fields using accessible shallow groundwater (water table depth <= 20 m). This would double the regional capacity for irrigation.
