The role of irrigation in agriculture, food security and poverty reduction
Chiza, C.K. / 2005

Irrigation has a multi-facetted role in contributing to food security, self sufficiency, food production and exports. In order to achieve good returns to investment, effort must be made to change from subsistence to commercial farming. In smallholder farms, irrigation assists with both food production and cash crops enabling farmers to benefit directly and indirectly from crops produced. In large scale commercial farms it enables crop production for local and export markets with significant impacts on the country’s economy. There is therefore need to expand land under irrigation while intensifying crop production. These efforts, coupled with good market arrangements will result into increased profits from farm produce and thereby reducing poverty at both household and national levels.