Savoirs

The following study was designed by IFAD in order to contribute to the knowledge about the relationship between gender, water investment and time saving. It is also intended to contribute to gender mainstreaming in IFAD’s water projects. The focus of the study is to see how much time women and men gain when they have improved access to sources of water and to establish what individuals, particularly women, do with the time they save by not having to walk long distances in search of water. The study further aims to discover to what extent the projects/investments contribute to reducing drudgery and to achieving equitable workloads between men and women. The survey targeted ongoing projects from the five regions in which IFAD operates that were either in their second phase or a mature stage of operation. In each project, one community was covered and 24 households were targeted. The survey successfully covered seven communities and 140 households and was mainly conducted through project officers facilitated by country programme managers or country programme officers.

Water lies at the heart of sustainable development and is essential for economic growth, poverty reduction and environmental sustainability. It is the basis of human and environmental health, energy security, sustainable urbanization and the ability of rural women and men in developing countries to pursue productive activities. 

But one billion people still lack access to safe water and even more lack access to basic sanitation. Around three quarters of the world’s poorest and hungriest people live in rural areas, often forgotten and bypassed by economic growth and development programmes. The majority of rural people depend on agriculture for their livelihoods, but face numerous barriers in accessing services and securing vital resources, including water.

Dans le cadre du Programme de développement durable des oasis (PDDO), le Gouvernement mauritanien, le Fonds international de développement agricole (FIDA) et le Fonds pour l’environnement mondial (FEM) ont introduit et testé le pompage à énergie solaire de l’eau à usage agricole dans les oasis. 

L'eau revêt une importance cruciale pour le développement humain, l'environnement et l'économie. L’accès à l'eau et la sécurité hydrique sont des facteurs déterminants pour améliorer la sécurité alimentaire, accroître les revenus et renforcer les moyens d’existence des communautés rurales. L’accès fiable aux ressources hydriques constitue encore aujourd’hui un enjeu majeur pour des millions de paysans pauvres, principalement dans les zones de culture pluviale, mais aussi pour ceux qui pratiquent une agriculture irriguée. Le changement climatique et l’évolution du régime des pluies qui en résulte représentent une menace pour bien d'autres agriculteurs, qui risquent de perdre leurs acquis en termes de sécurité hydrique et de retomber ainsi dans le piège de la pauvreté. On ne soulignera donc jamais assez la nécessité de renforcer la capacité des communautés à adopter et diffuser les techniques de gestion de l'eau à usage agricole.

The primary objective of the project was to promote innovative approaches and ICT-based technologies for timely transfer of weather, water-and crop related information and advice to relevant end users in Africa for informed decision-making and enhanced negotiation capacity with water and farm-related service providers.