African Water Development Report 2006 - United Nations Economic ...

African Water Development Report 2006SubregionNorthernTable 8.18: Subregional Distribution of Main Irrigated Crops in Africa (partial information)Sudano-SahelianGulf ofGuineaCentralEasternIslands(I.O.)SouthernTotalSource: FAO, 1995.Rice Other cereals Vegetables Fodder Industrial crops Arboriculture Total‘000 ha ‘000 ha ‘000 ha ‘000 ha ‘000 ha ‘000 ha ‘000 ha538 2221 423 1207 80459 4928(11%) (45%) (9%) (24%) (2%)(9%) (100%)384 839 61 4 4711 1760(22%) (48%) (3%) (-) (27%)(-) (100%)993 52 168 -216 1240(80%) (4%) (14%) (-) (2%)(-) (100%)21 -4 -424 71(29%) (-) (6%) (-) (59%) (6%) (100%)173 80 158 -338 452(38%) (18%) (35%) (-) (7)(2%) (100%)880 -- -31- 911(97%) (-)(-) (-) (3)(-) (100%)147 358 42 353 19832 1130(13%) (32%) (4%) (31%) (17%) (3%) (100%)3136 3550 856 1564 876510 10 492(30%) (34%) (8%) (15%) (8%)(5%) (100%)Vegetables (in the table, root and tuber cropshave been included in this category) are presentin all regions and almost every single country. Onthe whole, they represent about 8 per cent of thecultivated areas under water management in Africa.In Algeria, Mauritania, Kenya, Burundi andRwanda, they are in fact the most widespreadcrops under water management. Arboriculture,which represents 5 per cent of the total, is concentratedalmost uniquely in the northern regionand is mostly composed of citrus. Industrialcrops are located mostly in the Sudan and in thecountries of the Southern region (mostly cottonand oilseed crops). In this category, also featuressugarcane, coffee, cocoa, oil and date palm, banana,tobacco and cut flowers. Apart from sugarcane,present in all regions except the northern,the other crops are generally concentrated in alimited number of countries. Finally, the categorygrouping fodder crops and irrigated pastures,although it concerns only a very limited numberof countries (concentrated in the northern andthe southern regions), represents an importantpart of the crops under water management (15per cent). Berseem, cultivated almost exclusivelyin Egypt, represents the most widespread irrigatedcrop in that country (1 million hectares).Other fodder crops or irrigated pasture are foundprincipally in Morocco (table 8.19) and SouthAfrica, with the latter having most of the irrigatedland (220,000 hectares). One of the mostfrequently used indicators to assess the rate ofintensification of irrigated land is the croppingintensity, or the ratio between irrigated crops(including double and triple cropping) and areasequipped for irrigation. An example of the relationshipbetween equipped non-irrigated andeffectively irrigated areas in Morocco is shown infigure 8.9. The survey showed, however, that thisfigure was hardly available or not reliable enoughat the country level. Another possible indicatoris the rate of use of land equipped for irrigation,which is the part of the equipped areas actuallyused for production at least once in the year.210