Low cost drip irrigation in Burkina Faso : unravelling actors, networks and practices

Title: Low cost drip irrigation in Burkina Faso: Unravelling Actors, Networks and Practices

In Burkina Faso, there is a lot of enthusiasm about Low Cost Drip Irrigation (LCDI) as a tool to irrigate vegetables, and thus improve food security, solve water scarcity and reduce poverty. Already for more than ten years, development cooperation donors, policy makers, and kit designers have invested in the technology, funded its dissemination, and encouraged farmers to adopt it. Yet, there are only very few farmers who are using the technology in their fields. This study shows that this is because the funds for paying the technology mostly do not come from them, but from external donors. For LCDI promoters and disseminators, LCDI is also importantly a tool to survive or make profits. For this, they need to continuously re-assert the success of the technology through reports and stories. Farmers agree to play this game, as they hope and do receive other benefits by associating themselves with LCDI projects.