Improving Water Sustainability and Food Security through Increased Crop Water Productivity in Malawi

Abstract

Agriculture accounts for most of the renewable freshwater resource withdrawals in Malawi, yet food insecurity and water scarcity remain as major challenges. Despite Malawi's vast water resources, climate change, coupled with increasing population and urbanisation are contributing to increasing water scarcity. Improving crop water productivity has been identified as a possible solution to water and food insecurity, by producing more food with less water, that is, to produce "more crop per drop". This study evaluated crop water productivity from 2000 to 2013 by assessing crop evapotranspiration, crop production and agricultural gross domestic product (Ag GDP) contribution for Malawi. Improvements in crop water productivity were evidenced through improved crop production and productivity. These improvements were supported by increased irrigated area, along with improved agronomic practices. Crop water productivity increased by 33% overall from 2000 to 2013, resulting in an increase in maize production from 1.2 million metric tons to 3.6 million metric tons, translating to an average food surplus of 1.1 million metric tons. These developments have contributed to sustainable improved food and nutrition security in Malawi, which also avails more water for ecosystem functions and other competing economic sectors.

Spatial Pattern of Agricultural Productivity Trends in Malawi

“…Additionally, since the early 2000s, the Government of Malawi has invested in smallholder scale irrigation development, implemented through the Malawi Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Water Development with partners from international donor communities [23]. Two irrigation projects enhancing crop production in medium and small farming communities across Malawi are the Smallholder Irrigation and Value Addition Project (SIVAP) and the Shire River Basin Management Programme Project (SRBMP) [24].…”

“…Since early 2000, the government of Malawi has increased supplemental irrigation schemes for small scale farming [76]. Within the lakes and river catchments, ongoing, low-cost, community-led irrigation scheme projects promote sustainable intensification and allow small scale farmers to cultivate diverse crops such as rice, vegetables, or sugarcane through the dry season [23,77,78].…”

Sustainability Indicators and Indices for the Water-Energy-Food Nexus for Performance Assessment: WEF Nexus in Practice – South Africa Case Study

“…This indicator refers to a measure of output from an agricultural system in relation to the water it consumes, and thus called water productivity [48]. In this study we used the economic water productivity which is expressed in US$ per unit of water consumed [49]. iii.…”

Assessment of nutritional water productivity and improvement strategies for traditional vegetables in South Africa

“…Agronomic and irrigation research tends to focus on producing as much crop with minimum water as possible (i.e. improving crop water productivity) (Chibarabada et al, 2017;Mabhaudhi et al, 2016 a, b;Nhamo et al, 2016;Renault and Wallender, 2000). These three aspects (water use in agriculture, crop production, and nutritional requirements) cannot be assessed in isolation, because they interlink (Mabhaudhi et al, 2016b).…”