Microsystems Irrigation in Niger, West Africa

Small‐scale irrigation plays a crucial role in agricultural production in Niger, West Africa. Despite the prevalence of traditional irrigation microsystems (average size of about 0.1 ha), not much is known about water‐management practices. This paper examines, over a range of lifting heads, the water‐lifting and water‐use characteristics of 84 manual lift microsystems and intensively investigates two manual systems and two motorized lift systems. An adaptation of the Thornthwaite‐Mather procedure to predict recharge is used to model the soil moisture budget. Because of the size of microsystems, irrigation efficiency tends to be high. While pumps offer a significant labor‐saving advantage over manual lifting devices, many pumps are not well matched to lifting head. This paper concludes that both manual and motorized lift technologies should continue to be employed in Niger, but that pumps must be better matched to lifting heads and to the particular labor constraints for field water distribution.