Community Management of Irrigation Infrastructure in Burkina Faso: A Diagnostic Study of Six Dam-Adjacent Irrigation Areas

Cyrille Bassolo Baki (), Amadou Keïta, Sié Palé, Farid Traoré, Apolline Bambara, Alexandre Ragnagué Moyenga, Joost Wellens, Bakary Djaby and Bernard Tychon
Additional contact information
Cyrille Bassolo Baki: SPHERES Research Unit, University of Liège 185, Avenue de Longwy, 6700 Arlon, Belgium
Amadou Keïta: Water, Hydro-Systems and Agriculture Laboratory (LEHSA), International Institute for Water and Environmental Engineering (2iE), Ouagadougou 01 BP 594, Burkina Faso
Sié Palé: Institute of Environmental Sciences and Rural Development, University of Daniel-Ouezzin Coulibaly, Dédougou 01 BP 176, Burkina Faso
Farid Traoré: Institute of Environment and Agricultural Research, Guisga Street, Ouagadougou 04 BP 8645, Burkina Faso
Apolline Bambara: Sahara and Sahel Observatory, BP 31, Carthage 1080, Tunisia
Alexandre Ragnagué Moyenga: Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation Development, Ouagadougou 03 BP 7005, Burkina Faso
Joost Wellens: SPHERES Research Unit, University of Liège 185, Avenue de Longwy, 6700 Arlon, Belgium
Bakary Djaby: SPHERES Research Unit, University of Liège 185, Avenue de Longwy, 6700 Arlon, Belgium
Bernard Tychon: SPHERES Research Unit, University of Liège 185, Avenue de Longwy, 6700 Arlon, Belgium

Agriculture, 2025, vol. 15, issue 5, 1-26

Abstract: In Burkina Faso, small-scale, community-managed irrigation systems play a crucial role in stabilizing agricultural production and improving food security. Over the past three decades, the state has transferred the management of these irrigation systems to local farmer organizations in the hope of improving efficiency and sustainability. This study assesses the long-term performance of six irrigation perimeters Dakiri, Gorgo, Itenga, Mogtedo, Savili, and Wedbila through an in-depth analysis of governance models, infrastructure conditions, and financial sustainability. Performance indicators such as relative water supply (RWS), gross production per unit of irrigation water (PbIr), and water charge recovery rates were used to assess the effectiveness of farmer-led irrigation management. The results reveal persistent governance and financial challenges as well as issues such as water wastage and low yield persisting, despite decades of implementation of farmer-led management. The degradation of irrigation infrastructure, coupled with declining water fee collection rates, threatens the sustainability of these systems. A comparative analysis of international cases suggests that a hybrid governance model, in which the state provides technical and financial support while strengthening accountability mechanisms, could improve the performance of these irrigation systems. This study recommends a shift towards greater state intervention, improved financial mechanisms, and the adoption of digital monitoring tools to ensure a more efficient and sustainable management framework.

Keywords: community-managed irrigation; hydraulic infrastructure maintenance; irrigation fee recovery; performance assessment; sustainability of irrigated systems; water use efficiency (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/5/477/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/5/477/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jagris:v:15:y:2025:i:5:p:477-:d:1597425

Access Statistics for this article

Agriculture is currently edited by Ms. Leda Xuan

More articles in Agriculture from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().