There are 85 irrigation schemes in Niger that cover around 16,000 ha and are cultivated by 40,000 farmers. The informal status of these irrigation schemes, and their occupants, has created problems due to population growth and the increasing scarcity of natural resources. Holders of traditional land rights have challenged government decisions concerning land attributions and property rights within the schemes, and have occasionally prevented construction from proceeding.

La Charte du domaine irrigué de l’Anambé propose des règles de gestion pour un développement agricole efficient et durable. Élaborée par consensus entre les usagers du bassin et les autorités locales, le défi actuel est de la mettre en pratique. Cette fiche revient sur le processus d'élaboration de la Charte et met en lumière les opportunités et défis qui en découlent. 

This is the Final Communiqué from a regional workshop on the theme: “Towards security of tenure for farmers in large scale irrigated rice schemes in the Sahel” which was held on 2nd and 3rd June 2014 in Bamako, Mali.

For a dam to successfully contribute to the sustainable development of the society, the local populations should also benefit from it. This 5 minute video examines the challenges to obtaining an equitable compensation for the people affected by the construction of large dams and defines the various steps to make sure that the farmers who were disowned of their land can have secured access to new land.

Analysis of land allocation strategies in irrigated agriculture schemes in West Africa yields lessons which can guide the design and implementation of current and forthcoming projects. Allocation of insufficient land makes the main purposes of large dam projects – to combat poverty and to increase national cereal production – more difficult to achieve. Research by the Global Water Initiative (GWI) at three dam project sites in West Africa shows that the area of land allocated per family is usually about 1 hectare (ha).