Agricultural managers from the Sahel visit Spanish irrigation systems

Spanish Cooperation, within the framework of the APIA Programme (a programme to support inclusive policies in Sub-Saharan Africa) of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) and the International and Ibero-American Foundation for Administration and Public Policies (FIIAPP), organised a study visit and experience exchange between Spanish institutions and a group of managers from the Ministries of Agriculture of the Sahel countries on agricultural production and irrigation.

The purpose of the visit was to primarily learn about Spanish policies on the subject, share good practices and export those that might be applicable to the design and implementation of public policies on irrigation in the Sahel.

The participants learnt about Spanish public policies for modernisation and consolidation of irrigation, promoting distribution infrastructures and the application of irrigation water to rationalise resource use; technological instruments and developments for management of irrigation systems; and the incorporation of environmental criteria in the management of irrigation zones, among others.

During the visit, which the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment and the TRAGSA Group helped organise, the participants visited irrigable areas of the Valencian Community and the province of Córdoba — examples of traditional irrigation systems that are efficient and sustainable from a technological standpoint — as well as modernised irrigation systems that ensure efficient use of water or reuse of irrigation water. The African delegation also visited the VISA project, which is being developed by the Córdoba office of the  Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and implemented in Mauritania, as an example of good practices in efficient water use.