Irrigation infrastructure and satellite-measured land cultivation impacts: Evidence from the Senegal river valley

Abdoulaye Cisse, Alain de Janvry, Joel Ferguson, Marco Gonzalez-Navarro, Samba Mbaye, Elisabeth Sadoulet and Mame Mor Anta Syll

Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics, UC Berkeley, Working Paper Series from Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics, UC Berkeley

Abstract: Expanding irrigation in sub-Saharan Africa is widely viewed as a promising strategy for closing yield gaps and enhancing resilience to climate change. Drawing on more than 3,000 satellite images over a 30-year period, we examine the impact of irrigation infrastructure development in the Senegal River Valley. We find that cultivation rates increase substantially following irrigation project completion. Cultivation rates are remarkably stable at around 25 percentage points above pre-irrigation levels for the first 20 years, and trend even higher from years 20 to 25. Moreover, we show that crops cultivated on irrigated land are significantly less sensitive to both positive and negative temperature shocks, underscoring the role of irrigation in climate adaptation. Despite these aggregate gains, we document considerable heterogeneity in project outcomes, with intermittent land use remaining widespread. To shed light on these patterns, we complement the satellite analysis with farmer survey data, which point to persistent water access constraints as a key barrier to continuous cultivation—constraints that cannot be resolved solely through individual farmer action.

Keywords: 4404 Development Studies (for-2020); 44 Human Society (for-2020); Clinical Research (rcdc); 13 Climate Action (sdg); 15 Life on Land (sdg); 1402 Applied Economics (for); Development Studies (science-metrix); 3801 Applied economics (for-2020); 4404 Development studies (for-2020) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-02-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-agr, nep-dev and nep-env
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Journal Article: Irrigation infrastructure and satellite-measured land cultivation impacts: Evidence from the Senegal river valley (2026)
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