Irrigation Systems for Fruit Trees in Africa

Thank you so much for support this cause that will help bring irrigation to countless communities across the Kingdom of Morocco and change so many lives forever. Thanks to your help, we have assisted many communities to irrigate their land which will lead to unprecedented levels of both human and economic development. The other week, we were fortunate to have an internationally renowned irrigation engineer visit our projects. He looked at current projects of ours, and also assessed the potential future projects that we can help communities initiate with help of world changes like yourself. Please take a look at what he had to say about the work you are permitting us to do below – The High Atlas Foundation Team

Planting Seeds

My image of Morocco was dry, a desert, and not a place of agricultural growth.  I was surprised by the vast olive groves and orchards of fruit trees often visible from the window of my train as I travelled from Marrakech, through Casablanca and Rabat, to Fez.  Unfortunately, not all Moroccans experience the financial benefits that such trees can provide.

Most rural Moroccans are subsistence farmers who survive by growing corn and barley – the low market value staple crops that are planted on 70% of Morocco’s agricultural land, but account for only 10-15% of the country’s agricultural revenue.  This way of life is no longer sustainable, and the High Atlas Foundation (HAF) has taken on the challenge of breaking the cycle of poverty that entraps those who depend upon agricultural production.

HAF has developed nurseries across the country to grow fruit and nut trees including pomegranate, fig, olive, almond and walnut.  After a couple of years these trees are mature enough to be given to individuals in rural communities to help them increase their agricultural revenue.  The trees are also distributed to schools, providing the opportunity to teach the next generation of Moroccans how to plant and care for trees.  And the planting of trees brings additional environmental benefits: soil erosion prevention, deforestation reversal, and climate change mitigation.

Over the last two weeks, I visited many of these nurseries on a Farmer-to-Farmer assignment funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).  My job was to assess existing drip irrigation systems and to design irrigation systems for future nursery sites.

One of these sites is located in Fes, at the Center for the Protection of Children – Abdelaziz Ben Driss, a welfare institution that serves children in vulnerable situations, those with legal problems, and/or minors in detention.  The Center provides vocational training in carpentry, ironwork, IT, literacy, and gardening.  On my visit to the Center I saw a large garden plot (approximately 800m2) already tilled and partially planted with aromatic and medicinal herbs.  All that was lacking was an irrigation system.  The design for this nursery includes two plots totaling nearly 3,000m2, with a drip irrigation system that will water the garden plot as well.  The opportunity to help install and maintain this irrigation system and the day to day care of plants will help engage the minds and bodies of the young people who live at the Center.

I visited nurseries at the Collège Housseine Bin Ali in Moulay Yacoub (Fes region), and the Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane, which are models for future nurseries at the Universitè Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah – Appied Sciences campus in Fes and at the Salam School in Ifrane.  These nurseries will provide opportunities for children and young adults to learn about improved irrigation practices, caring for plants, and to spread their knowledge across Morocco.  But the skills obtained from working directly with these nurseries can be much greater – including critical thinking, problem solving, engineering and design, communication, mentorship, and community service.

There is no disputing the positive effects of HAF’s nurseries – from educational, to environmental, to financial.  But in reality, how much good can a few trees do?  It’s all a question of scale.  HAF has already planted over two million fruit and nut trees in Morocco.  While this is a significant number, it’s only a fraction of Morocco’s national goal of planting one billion trees to overcome the inherent problems of subsistence agriculture.  Consider that number: one billion.  It seems impossible.  How do you grow a project from one million trees to one billion trees?  It all starts with the next nursery, the next seed.  Another seed planted in the ground.  Another seed planted in the mind of a child.

Rural small farmers are beset by generational poverty.  They make up a third of the country’s population and 80% of the rural households earn less than the national average (World Bank, 2014).  The combination of population growth and the low market value of traditional staple crops (corn and barley), from which most rural households derive their income, has made subsistence agriculture unsustainable.  These traditional crops are planted on more than 70% of Moroccan agricultural land, yet they account for only 10-15% of agricultural revenue.  

The farmers face inconsistent water availability:  excess water resulting in flooding that erodes soil and that washes away canals during the winter, and the dry summers that dry up irrigation canals and the result is low production.  Some villages have seasonal river water, while others do not.  Other communities have a well with insufficient water, and others may be adjacent to a seasonal river fed by mountain snow melt.  Most of these villages are in a fragile mountain environment, with soil erosion, deforestation, and damaged vegetation cover.

Traditional flood irrigation is very inefficient on sloped land using water from earthen canals and basins that incur significant loss of water.  Communities of the High Atlas Mountains always rank irrigation the top priority (only supplanted by clean drinking water projects – the two project types are can be technically and infrastructurally integrated). The cost of just the materials for irrigation projects, even that communities are always willing to provide labor, make them nearly impossible for the great majority of villages to implement without external support and partnership.  

One way to improve the livelihoods of rural farm communities is to implement highly efficient drip irrigation to grow higher value crops.  Work by the High Atlas Foundation over many years has shown that incomes can increase by more than 50% by growing tree crops such as olive, pomegranate, and fig. A community orchard adjacent to each village will provide a long-term income source to upgrade and maintain local facilities such as schools, health care, and other local needs.   

Achieving a consistent and reliable water supply requires the installation of a groundwater well near the village.  Not only will the well allow irrigation with a modern drip irrigation system, it will provide a source of good quality water for domestic use in the village.  A model water supply and irrigation system has been designed for an orchard with 5000 trees (8 ha).  The optimum location for the project would be adjacent to the village where electrical power is available.  In addition, proximity to the village means  reduced cost for the domestic water supply portion of the project.  

The design is modular in nature and  can be adapted and replicated and readily implemented in many villages once a thorough assessment is completed.  The cost to construct a system that will typically benefit villagers will be approximately $25,000 USD.  This investment will help alleviate poverty, support schooling of village children, and result in positive benefits to the local population for years to come.

- Brian Boman

Farmer-to-Farmer / HAF Volunteer