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Irrigated agriculture is important for poverty alleviation and improving food security in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) but has often failed. At the same time, strong population growth continues to increase demand for water for urban and other non-agricultural users. To achieve redistribution without reducing food production requires a significant increase in irrigation water productivity. We use the water market readiness assessment framework to assess whether conditions exist to establish markets in Mozambique, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. We conclude that formal water markets are not currently feasible. While there is some sound governance capacity for surface waters, this is largely absent for groundwater resources. Where there is agricultural water efficiency the drivers are pull factors, namely labour and energy savings. Examining three sub-national case studies, we find that increasing competition between sectors may create opportunities for limited, formal and informal water trades. This could be a catalyst for future development of water markets.

Non-PR, IFPRI5; CRP2; CRP5; Scaling up experiential learning tools; 5 Strengthening Institutions and Governance; G Cross-cutting gender theme, EPTD; PIM, CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM); CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE), It remains a critical challenge for researchers and practitioners to combine innovations and interventions in system changes to help achieve sustainable development goals. Ideally, theories of change establish this link by working backward from the outcomes to identify all of the conditions that must be in place for the desired change to occur. In practice, theories of change are often developed looking forward by formulating a story about the way an intervention that is considered effective based upon a plausible claim, leads to outcomes. In either case, theories of change are based upon assumptions that are in many ways implicit and not transparent. For instance, assumptions about why and which actors need to change which behavior and what drives their behavioral changes are critical. This highlights the importance of reflecting on the steps taken when creating outputs to achieve outcomes. This guide intends to help intervention and process designers and decision makers develop robust, fair, effective, efficient, and sustainable theories of change.

Small-scale communal irrigation schemes in Africa have not realised returns on investment. Critical to this failure is that funders, designers and managers of these schemes have not recognized them as complex socio-ecological systems with a diversity of constraints. These schemes are often under-performing and characterized by a subsistence orientation, which is compounded by poor market integration, low capacity to invest in crop production, low yields, difficulties paying for water, or lack of willingness to participate in system maintenance. The end result is unsustainable utilisation of resources, failed infrastructure, inefficient use of water and land and increased conflict over access to these resources. Conventional irrigation scheme development has focused on ‘hard’ technologies to improve the functionality and efficiency of infrastructure and/or irrigation application technologies. However, hard technology improvements on their own have failed to deliver sustainable schemes and improve the livelihoods of irrigation farmers (Inocencio et al., 2007): broken and decaying infrastructure is just one element of an underperforming system. While technologies that are more efficient may help improve yield, they will not necessarily improve profitability. A great many irrigation schemes are trapped in a negative cycle of infrastructure provision, unprofitable farming, lack of investment in maintenance, infrastructure degradation leading to donors subsidizing infrastructure rehabilitation (Pittock & Stirzaker, 2014; Bjornlund et al., 2017). Transitioning these complex systems into profitable, equitable and economically sustainable schemes requires investment not only in smart technologies but also in the farmers, institutions and building the value-chain network. The project features a two-pronged approach consisting of two complementary entry points to transition small-scale irrigation schemes towards long-term sustainability. Smart water management (SWM) technologi

English: This study investigates the insect-plant interactions on citrus fruit and pecan nuts in South Africa. The aims of this study were to determine whether lepidopteran borer pests shuttled between adjacent citrus and pecan orchards, and to establish the cultivar preference of the most prevalent stink bug borer species in Vaalharts pecan orchards. Pheromone trap data indicated that there was a significant overlap between the populations of false codling moth (Thaumatotibia leucotreta) and carob moth (Ectomyelois ceratoniae) between adjacent citrus and pecan orchards. Both species of moth were found within the citrus and pecan orchards. Larval eclosions indicated that false codling moths shuttled between adjacent citrus and pecan orchards; however, the direction of the shuttling could not be established. An abundance of citrus fruit drew false codling moths from an adjacent pecan orchard, which increased infestation in the citrus orchard. No significant evidence of carob moth shuttling was found. Adult false codling moths were found to be active throughout the winter, albeit in decreased numbers. Adult carob moths were almost entirely absent during the winter months, although larvae were still present in pecan nuts and citrus fruit. Grey-brown stink bugs (Coenomorpha nervosa) were found to be the most prevalent hemipteran pest on pecan trees in the Vaalharts region. Coenomorpha nervosa demonstrated a significant preference for pecan trees of the Wichita cultivar. Adult and nymph grey-brown stink bugs preferred the Wichita cultivar to Choctaw, Barton, and Navaho cultivars. The investigation could not find C. nervosa exploiting other viable food sources close to pecan orchards; even potential host plants that were not dead or defoliated during winter. Overall, the study indicates that adjacent citrus and pecan orchards will accommodate shuttling of false codling moths between orchards. Furthermore, grey-brown stink bugs were found to be the dominant hemipteran pest, Afrikaans: Hierdie studie het die insek-plant-interaksies op sitrusvrugte en pekanneute in Suid-Afrika ondersoek. Die hoofdoelwitte van hierdie studie was om te bepaal of lepidoptera-boorderpeste tussen aangrensende sitrus- en pekanboorde migreer; asook om die kultivarvoorkeur van die mees algemene stinkbesieboorderspesie in Vaalharts-pekanboorde te bevestig. Feromoonlokvaldata het daarop gedui dat ’n beduidende oorvleueling tussen die bevolkings van valskodlingmot (Thaumatotibia leucotreta) en karobmot (Ectomyelois ceratoniae) tussen aangrensende sitrus- en pekanboorde teenwoordig was. Albei motspesies is gevind in die sitrus- en pekanboorde. Die uitbroei data van larwes het aangedui dat valskodlingmotte tussen aangrensende sitrus- en pekanboorde migreer. Die rigting van die migrasie kon egter nie vasgestel word nie. Oortollige hoeveelhede sitrusvrugte lok valskodlingmotte van ’n aangrensende pekanboord, wat lei tot verhoogde besmetting in die sitrusboord. Geen beduidende bewyse van karobmotmigrasie na aangrensende boorde kon gevind word nie. Daar is gevind dat valskodlingmotvolwassenes aktief is in die winter, maar in verminderde getalle. Karobmotvolwassenes was byna heeltemal afwesig gedurende die wintermaande, alhoewel larwes in beide pekanneute en sitrusvrugte teenwoordig was. Grys-bruin stinkbesies (Coenomorpha nervosa) was die mees algemene besieplaag op pekanbome in die Vaalhartsstreek. ’n Beduidende voorkeur vir pekanbome van die Wichita-kultivar is deur C. nervosa gedemonstreer. Beide volwasse en nimf grys-bruin stinkbesies verkies die Wichita-kultivar bo Choctaw-, Barton-, en Navaho-kultivars. Dit kon nie bewys word dat C. nervosa voedselbronne naby pekanboorde gebruik nie, selfs potensiële gasheerplante wat nie in die winter ontbos of vrek nie. Die studie het getoon dat aangrensende sitrus- en pekanboorde migrasie van valskodlingmotte tussen boorde sal akkommodeer. Voorts is gevind dat grys-bruin stinkbesies die dominante besieplaag op pekanbome in die V

Monitoring of land degradation in remote rangelands, such as the Kalahari Duneveld, presents significant logistical challenges because of the need for systematic measurements of rangeland condition over time and space. The distinct vegetation dynamics and manifestation of degradation on dunes and interdunes in the Kalahari Duneveld, and their edaphic characteristics augment the difficulty with rangeland assessment. This study examined the effectiveness of using the local ecological knowledge (LEK) of livestock farmers in Mier and remotely sensed data to assess rangeland condition relative to fieldmeasured vegetation and ground cover with step-point walking transects. We used Landsat-7 ETMþ imagery to calculate the Normalized Differential Vegetation Index (NDVI), Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI), and tasseled cap greenness to characterize vegetation cover. The multivariate analysis of variance and analysis of variance showed that the farmers' assessment of rangeland condition explained the significant difference in the field-measured grass, shrub and bare ground cover. NDVI, SAVI and tasseled cap greenness all correlated poorly to the field-measured vegetation cover because of the excess spectral noise from the high iron oxide content in the soil. The farmers' LEK has potential to contribute toward monitoring of remote Kalahari Duneveld