摘要：This paper analyzes how water resources development and water policy reform can bedeployed to address the twin problems of food insecurity and water scarcity in Africa and, inparticular, Sub-Saharan Africa. The paper reviews the current status of water supply anddemand, and the existing and potential irrigated land base in Africa; reviews the performanceof existing irrigation systems and assesses the magnitude of the potential contribution andcost-effectiveness of new irrigation development to future food production in Africa; andexplores the potential for water conservation through demand management. Meeting thechallenges of food security and water scarcity in Africa will require both selectivedevelopment and exploitation of new water supplies and comprehensive policy reform thatencourages efficient use of existing supplies. The most significant reforms will involvechanging the institutional and legal environment in which water is supplied to one thatempowers water users to make their own decisions regarding the resource. Irrigationdevelopment will not be the main source of food production growth in Africa, but increasedinvestment in irrigation could have an important role in reducing projected cereal importdemands. Rehabilitation and improvement of existing irrigation systems can be an attractiveoption, but projects must be selected carefully.
