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Benchmarking for performance assessment of small and large irrigation schemes along the Senegal Valley in Mauritania

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  • Borgia, Cecilia
  • García-Bolaños, Mariana
  • Li, Tao
  • Gómez-Macpherson, Helena
  • Comas, Jordi
  • Connor, David
  • Mateos, Luciano

Abstract

Degradation of irrigation schemes, low and variable land productivity, and inefficient use of production inputs are major concerns in Mauritania. That prompted this benchmarking analysis of 17 small and 3 large irrigation schemes located along the River Senegal. The objectives were to establish benchmarks for both productivity and performance of irrigation schemes along the valley, and to inquire whether small schemes function better than large schemes. Cluster and data envelopment analyses enabled, respectively, grouping and ranking of irrigation schemes according to a set of pre-determined performance indicators: viz. energy costs, relative irrigation supply, irrigation intensity related to irrigable and equipped area, adequacy, and land productivity. Land productivity, which was highly variable, was compared to simulated land productivity for non-limiting conditions in order to determine yield gap variations. Few early sown crops were close to the simulated yield frontier of 10.6tha−1 and the mean yield was similar for large and small schemes (3.50tha−1 and 3.77tha−1, respectively). The analysis of the indicators revealed that, on average, large schemes performed similarly to small-scale schemes, but small schemes were more variable, particularly in input-use efficiency. Analysis of clusters identified three groups of irrigation schemes: viz. consuming and productive, precarious, and productive and economic. According to data envelopment analysis, four irrigation schemes were identified as technically efficient. Their average land productivity was relatively high (4.75tha−1) and energy costs were contained (59€ha−1). Data envelopment analysis also identified the particular efficient schemes that should be taken as reference for improvement of each inefficient scheme.

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  • Borgia, Cecilia & García-Bolaños, Mariana & Li, Tao & Gómez-Macpherson, Helena & Comas, Jordi & Connor, David & Mateos, Luciano, 2013. "Benchmarking for performance assessment of small and large irrigation schemes along the Senegal Valley in Mauritania," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 19-26.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:121:y:2013:i:c:p:19-26
    DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2013.01.002
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    6. Martínez-Alvarez, V. & García-Bastida, P.A. & Martin-Gorriz, B. & Soto-García, M., 2014. "Adaptive strategies of on-farm water management under water supply constraints in south-eastern Spain," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 59-67.
    7. Elodie Blanc & Aurelia Lepine & Eric Strobl, 2014. "Determinants of crop yield and profit of family farms: Evidence from the Senegal River Valley," Working Papers 2014-596, Department of Research, Ipag Business School.
    8. Faith M. Muema & Patrick G. Home & James M. Raude, 2018. "Application of Benchmarking and Principal Component Analysis in Measuring Performance of Public Irrigation Schemes in Kenya," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 8(10), pages 1-20, October.
    9. Loureiro, Dália & Beceiro, Paula & Moreira, Madalena & Arranja, Carina & Cordeiro, Diana & Alegre, Helena, 2023. "A comprehensive performance assessment system for diagnosis and decision-support to improve water and energy efficiency and its demonstration in Portuguese collective irrigation systems," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 275(C).
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    11. Mateos, Luciano & Araus, José L., 2016. "Hydrological, engineering, agronomical, breeding and physiological pathways for the effective and efficient use of water in agriculture," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 164(P1), pages 190-196.
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    13. Alexander Kaune & Patricia López & Anouk Gevaert & Ted Veldkamp & Micha Werner & Charlotte Fraiture, 2020. "The Benefit of Using an Ensemble of Global Hydrological Models in Surface Water Availability for Irrigation Area Planning," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 34(7), pages 2221-2240, May.
    14. Zema, Demetrio Antonio & Nicotra, Angelo & Mateos, Luciano & Zimbone, Santo Marcello, 2018. "Improvement of the irrigation performance in Water Users Associations integrating data envelopment analysis and multi-regression models," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 205(C), pages 38-49.
    15. dos Santos Almeida, Alexsandro Claudio & Mamédio, Mário Roberto & Goelzer, Ademar & Rodrigues, Lucas Araujo & Mateos, Luciano, 2023. "Shared centre pivot. An experience of smallholder irrigation in Midwest Brazil," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 275(C).

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