The document discusses the performance issues facing large-scale irrigation schemes like Sudan's Gezira scheme. It summarizes that the infrastructure, processes, and outputs of the Gezira scheme have deteriorated over time. Specifically, increased sedimentation has reduced the relative irrigation supply below optimal levels, while water use efficiency is much lower than global averages. As a result, land productivity and crop yields for cotton and other crops are well below attainable international levels. The document advocates for comprehensive performance management and irrigation governance reforms to improve schemes and achieve higher agricultural productivity and livelihoods.

1. SOURCES
1
WWDR6 (2015)
2
WWAP (2016)
3
WWDR4 (2012)
WE HAVE A GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY PROBLEM
IRRIGATED AGRICULTURE has a higher potential than RAINFED AGRICULTURE
WE NEED TO INCREASE AGRICULTURAL OUTPUT
by 2050food demand will increase by100%due to: 1
This leaves us with two options:
WHY?
OR
population growth
use more land
irrigated land has 2.7
times higher productivity
than rainfed agriculture 3
irrigated agriculture is
less vulnerable to rainfed-
shortages and climate
variabliity
irrigation agriculture helps
farmers gain more income due
to larger harvest and lower
risk of crop failure
improve productivity of
available land
better markets and trade meaning
plenty of accesable food
changing lifestyles with higher income:
people eat more
you can produce more
with less land
irrigated
rain
fed
irrigation agriculture is
more resilient than rain-fed
agricultureof cultivated land
from irrigation produces
! 20%
40%of global
food 2
IRRIGATION
IS THE
SOLUTION
1

2. SOURCES
1
FAO (2012)
2
Siebert et al. (2013)
Global Economy
over 1 billion people are
employed in world agriculture
1 in 3 of all
workers
Agriculture is very important for least
developed countries
in Sub-saharan Africa
over 60% of the
entire workforce are
involved in agriculture
Developing Countries
Least Developed Countries
Central African Republic
Chad
Ethiopia
Kenya
AGRICULTURE IS IMPORTANT FOR DEVELOPMENT AND EMPLOYMENT
While agriculture is not so significant for developed countries, it contributes a great deal to
the economy of the least developed countries: 1
3%
10%
60%
53%
42%
30%
!
200,000,000
150,000,000
100,000,000
50,000,000
AFRICA AMERICA ASIA EUROPE OCEANIA
AREAS EQUIPPED WITH
AGRICULTURE BY CONTINENT 2
total area equipped for irrigation
with ground water
with surface water
area actually irrigated
2

3. WHERE AND HOW IS IRRIGATION IMPORTANT
The map below shows major river-based irrigation
schemes around the world
NILE DELTA, Egypt
3.4 million ha of cropped land
85% is irrigated
Wheat, rice, clover, maize
Main agricultural area of Egypt
EUPHRATES-TIGRIS, Iraq
Covers 879,790 km2
Wheat, Barley, other Feed Grains
6.5–7 million ha equipped for
irrigation
MISSISSIPPI, USA
Covers 3.225 million km2
Rice, Corn, Soybeans, Cotton, Fish
About 2% of cropped acres are
irrigated in the Upper Mississipi
River Basi
ACONCAGUA RIVER, Central Chile
The Basin covers 7.200 km2
Grapes, Avocado, Horticulture,
Pasture
Precipitation has decreased in the
last century; rainfall is predicted to
decline 25%-35% by 2040–2070
INDUS Irrigation System, Pakistan
15 million ha
Wheat, Cotton, Rice, Fruits
Contributes to a large portion of
employment and export earnings
GANGES, India, Nepal, Bangladesh
Covers 1,087,300 km2
Sugarcane, cotton and oilseeds
34.1 million ha are irrigated
HUANG HE (Yellow River), China
5,463 km long (2nd
longest in China)
Grains, Cotton, Oil
4,5 million ha of irrigated annual crops
5 million ha of irrigated land
MISSOURI, USA
Covers 820,700 km2
Corn, Soybeans, Wheat and
other small Grain Crop
About 14 % of cropped acres
are irrigated
PO RIVER, Italy
652 km long
1.1 million ha of irrigated area
2.7 mil ha UAA Forage & arboreal crops
The predominant irrigation system is
surface irrigation (almost 50%)
YANGTZE RIVER, China
Cover1.5 million km2
&
6,380 km long
13,5 million ha of irrigated land
DANUBE RIVER BASIN, Europe
Covers 800,000 km2
& flows 2,850 km
Agricultural uses vary with the
climate & different topology
The main irrigated areas are in
Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia, and
Bulgaria
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
3

4. Based on FAO (1985)
WHAT IS AN IRRIGATION SCHEME?
WATER CONTROL
CONVEYANCE
SYSTEM
DIVERSION AND
DISTRIBUTION
DRAINAGE
SYSTEM
FIELD APPLICATION
SYSTEM
Weir schemes
Pump schemes
Resevoir schemes
Dam
Major Canal
M
inorCanal
Minor Canal
PERFORMANCE MONITORING IN IRRIGATION SCHEMES
INFRASTRUCTURE PROCESS OUTPUT
Maintainance,
Status of structure and
Control effectiveness
Cropping area,
Water use,
Scheme developement
Productivity,
Yield
The three dimensions of performance monitoring in irrigation schemes are::
4

5. SOURCE
Government statistics
THE GEZIRA IRRIGATION SCHEME
0 100 km
Main crops include cotton, wheat,
groundnuts, sorghun and vegtables
The scheme is managed by the Sudan
Gezira Board
Around 7000 government employees
support the scheme
The scheme comsumes 35% of Nile‘s
water in Sudan and produces half of
the country‘s agricultural output
In 2005, participatory irrigation
management was introduced by the
Gezira Act, introducing Water User
Associations and the freedom to
choose crops
There are four different types of
farmers: Landowners, sharecroppers,
renters and croppers
144000 tennant families
0.5 - 1 million causal workers
With 1 million hectare, the Gezira
Scheme is the largest irrigation scheme
under one management in the world
!
Roseires Dam
Sennar Dam
White Nile
Rahad River
Gunaid Scheme
GEZIRA SCHEME
Rahad Scheme
Essuki
Scheme
Dinder River
Blue Nile
River Nile
GEZIRA TIMELINE
Construction of
the Gezira scheme
by the British
Expansion of the Gezira
scheme under the
independent Sudan
Gezira scheme contributes to
one third of the economy and
much of foreign exports
Continuous deteoriation
of the Gezira scheme
Gezira Reform Act
Water User Associations
abolished
Open future
of the scheme
1914 - 1925 late 60s and early 70s 2005 Today
1958 - 1966 late 70s until early 2000s 2014
5

6. SOURCE
1,2,3
Al Zayed et al. (2015)
4
Bushara (2010)
PERFORMANCE OF THE GEZIRA SCHEME
INFRASTRUCTURE
PROCESS
OUTPUT
The performance of the scheme has been deteroriating in all three categories:
Reasons why: Result:
Increased sedimentation
in the canals is a major
problem
Relative Irrigation
Supply (RIS)
1.4 is the highest level
in surface irrigation
allowed
*The same for Relative Water Supply (how much water
altogether, irrigation and precipitation is allocated to the crops)
(RWS) has deteriorated from 1.7 to 2.6 in the same period.
Water Use Efficiency (WUE)
is much less than the global
average 2
Increased erosion in the Blue Nile
catchment in Ethopia
Use of water during the rainy season
(July - August)
Diversion of too much water
Reduced trapping of the Roseires
and Sennar resevoirs
Between 1970
and 1994, the RIS
in Gezira was 1.4
Between 1994
and 2010 the RIS
was 2.23
The quantity of silt
removed from the canals
has been declining since
the mid 1990s
Land productivity Productivity of Cotton
Max RIS 1.4
The average yield of main crops
Gezira is much less than the
attainable yield internationally 3
The productivity of cotton at
country level is no exception.
It is only...4
Too much water is applied!* 1
0.6 to 1.7
kg/m3
3.3 - 4.1
t/ha 35 % of
Australian
47 % of
China
53 % of
Egypt
61 % of
Pakistan
Gezira
scheme
Mean yield of
Gezira scheme
Global
WUE
Attainable
yields
0.26 kg/m3
1.3 t/ha
0.4 kg/m3
1.6 t/ha
wheat
wheat
sorghum
sorghum
0.3 to 2.2
kg/m3
3.8 - 5.7
t/ha
6

7. Al Zayed , I. S., Elagib , N. A. , Ribbe, L. , Heinrich, J. (2015). Spatio-temporal
performance of large-scale Gezira Irrigation Scheme, Sudan, Agricultural
Systems, Vol. 133, pp. 131–142.
Bushara, M.O., Barakat, H.E., (2010). Decomposing total factor productivity change
of cotton cultivars in the Gezira Scheme (1991– 2007) Sudan, in 2010 AAAE
Third Conference/AEASA 48th Conference, September 19–23, 2010, South
Africa, African Association of Agricultural Economists (AAAE) & Agricultural
Economics Association of South Africa (AEASA).
Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) (2012), Statistical
Year Book 2012, Food and Agricultural Organisation document repository, FAO.
Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) (1985), Irrigation
Water Management: Training Manual No. 1 - Introduction to Irrigation, FAO.
Siebert, S., Henrich, V., Frenken, K., Burke, J. (2013): Update of the Global Map of
Irrigation Areas to version 5. Project report. Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO), University of Bonn.
World Water Development Report (WWDR6) (2015). Water for a Sustainable World,
UN Water, United Nations (UN).
World Water Development Report (WWDR4) (2012). Managing Water under
Uncertainty and Risk, UN Water, United Nations (UN).
World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) (2016). Facts and Figures 24:
Irrigated Land, UNESCO, United Nations (UN).
COPYRIGHTS AND ACKNOWLDEGEMENTS
Design and implementation by Antonia Fedlmeier | afedlmeier@gmail.com
Scientific development by Dr. Mohammad Al-Saidi | alsaidi20@yahoo.com
For third-party contents, sources are indicated.
Citation Format for the Info-graphics:
Al-Saidi, Mohammad, Fedlmeier, Antonia (2016): Info-graphics on Performance
Management of Large-Scales Irrigation Schemes in Developing Countries with
the Example of the Gezira Scheme, Nexus Research Focus, TH Köln – University
of Applied Sciences.
Thanks for the contributions and the support of the following people: Anna
Goelnizt, Farah Taleb, Amna Omar, Mohammad Ibrahim, Dr. Nadir Elagib, Aline
Bussmann, Dr. Islam Al Zayed, Claudia Raquel Aguilera Verga
Special thanks to the support of the Water Research Center of the Khartoum
University, Director Prof. Dr. Gamaleldin Mortada Abdo Abdrabo
Contact and Project Leader: Prof. Dr. Lars Ribbe | lars.ribbe@th-koeln.de
Institute for Technology in the Tropics and Subtropics (ITT),
TH-Köln (University of Applied Sciences)
Betzdorfer Straße 2, 50679 Köln
Technology
Arts Sciences
TH Köln
CHALLENGES OF IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT
REFERENCES
LOW PERFORMANCE TRAP
IRRIGATION GOVERNANCE
AND REGULATION
HIGH PERFORMANCE PATHWAY
Low irrigation
productivity and
efficiency
Design equitable
land ownership
regulations
Achieve farmers‘
and civil society‘s
participation
Make sustainable
irrigation management
a political priority
Increase
transparency and
law enforcement
Ensure coordination &
collaboration among
different state and
private institutions
Promote access to local
and international food
markets
Low cost
production &
high yield
Poor
livelihoods
of farmers &
stakeholder
(conflict)
Regional growth
& income
generation
Low collection
rate & scheme
income
Lack of
investment &
maintenance
Poor irrigation
infrastructure
& scheme
management
Optimal
cropping &
water use
system
Investment
in irrigation
infrastructure
& monitoring
system
Technology
transfers, modern
infrastructure,
good data
7
The performance of large-scale irrigation schemes like the Gezira scheme is determined by many interdependent
factors. A comprehensive approach of performance management is essential while irrigation governance and
regulation reforms determine performance success.