Most African countries have reached the Millennium Development Goals of reducing the percentage of populations who are in danger of starvation by improving their agricultural produce through irrigation schemes.

Agriculture is one of the biggest economic activity in many African countries

The continent has 60 percent of the world’s uncultivated land that is arable. Unpredictable weather conditions however pose a big challenge to the agricultural production. This has led to many countries adopting irrigation farming as a way of increasing food production

Some of the biggest irrigation schemes in Africa are;

Sources; Future Agricultures Consortium, WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM, Vaalharts.com, BBC, Japan International Corporation Agency,  AGRA, IRIN, the Namibian

Gezira Irrigation Schemes – Sudan

It is located in Al Jazirah State, Sudan. The irrigation scheme was started in 1925 by the British colonialists. It uses water from River Nile which is based on gravity irrigation. Gezira Irrigation Scheme covers an area of 0.88 million hectares which is about 50 percent of the irrigated land in Sudan. Cotton is the main crop grown there. Other crops include sorghum, wheat and vegetables. It is one of the biggest irrigation scheme in the world, with over 100,000 farmers.

Galana-Kulalu Food Security project – Kenya

It is found in Kilifi and Tana River Counties, Kenya. It is the largest irrigation project in the country covering 400,000 hectares. It is funded by the Kenyan and Israel governments. The irrigation scheme was launched in 2012 and has fish, livestock and crop production.

Vaalharts Irrigation Scheme – South Africa

It is found in the Northern Cape Province, South Africa. It was started in 1934. It is the largest irrigation scheme in the country, covering about 36,950 ha of land. It has 1,040 farmers. The irrigation scheme got is name from the Harts and Vaal Rivers, where it draws its water from.

Chokwe Irrigation Scheme – Mozambique

It is the largest irrigation scheme in Mozambique. It is located in Limpopo Valley, Chokwe District. The scheme draws water from the Massingir Dam. Chokwe Irrigation Scheme covers an area of 33, 000 hectares. The main crop grown there is rice. In early 2000, the scheme was hit by floods from the Limpopo Valley. It has struggled to recover since then.

Mwea Irrigation Scheme – Kenya

It is found in Kirinyaga County, Kenya. It was started in 1956, as a holding ground for former Mau Mau detainees who fought against the British colonialists. It covers 7,952 hectares. It gets water from the Nyamindi and Thiba Rivers. The main crop grown there is rice. It produces more than 60 percent of rice grown in the country.

Etunda Irrigation Scheme – Namibia

It is located in Omusati region, Namibia. It is the biggest irrigation scheme in the country, covering 1,064 hectares. It was started in 1993. Maize is the main crop grown. Etunda Irrigation Scheme caters for both commercial and small-scale farming. Other crops grown here are wheat, cabbages, melons and onions.

Middle Orange Irrigation Area – South Africa

The Middle Orange Irrigation Area comprises riparian irrigators from Hopetown to Boegoeberg Dam. The area irrigated from Marksdrift to Boegoeberg Weir amounts to approximately 15 434 ha. Irrigators in this area are not part of a formalized scheme with a common supply system. Irrigators abstract water directly from the Orange River individually basis and are supported with releases from Vanderkloof Dam.