Farmer-led Irrigation Development (FLID)

This session is dedicated to sharing information on key lessons on Farmer Led Irrigation Development (FLID) and discussing potential investment opportunities for its broader implementation. Over the years, FLID has been part of the farming system among smallholders by providing low-cost solutions for improving food production, alleviating poverty, and stimulating rural entrepreneurship and innovations. Despite its slow progress, FLID has attracted increased attention from government institutions, donors, and development organizations. The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) has been leading the work on FLID in partnership with public and private organizations in many African countries to create effective pathways for scaling. Catalyzing FLID through private sector engagement and scaling it up, making it a faster, more sustainable, and inclusive process requires collective effort among stakeholders. Hence in the FLID session, key knowledge outcomes on sustainable and inclusive strategies and the collective effort required to tap into investment opportunities will be shared and discussed. The session also discusses results-based financing and mechanisms of sustainably and inclusively boosting irrigation for high-value crops and other farming systems. Participants of the session will deliberate upon the transformative scaling of FLID from subsidy dependence to market participation. The session includes presentations, an interactive plenary, and a panel discussion.

Target audience: Government and non-governmental actors, development partners, private sector partners, farmer-based organizations, and researchers supporting Farmer-Led Irrigation Development in Africa.

Keywords: FLID, sustainability, results-based financing, smallholder farmers, Africa

Session Lead: Birhanu Zemadim Birhanu; Z.Birhanu@cgiar.org