Tropentag, September 10 - 12, 2025, Bonn "Reconciling land system changes with planetary health"

Influence of irrigation on land use intensity and specific revenue for small farms in Togo

¹GIZ Sun4Water, Cameroon
²GIZ, Sun4Water
³GIZ, Sun4Water

Abstract

Planetary Health is a solutions-oriented, transdisciplinary field and social movement focused on analysing and addressing the impacts of human disruption to Earth’s natural systems, on human health and all life on Earth. One way of addressing this is balancing productivity and conservation. A key priority also highlighted in SDG12 focused on responsible consumption and production with a goal of ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns. Agriculture is key production areas in the world with mining and forestry using the three major resources affected by climate change: land, water and energy with an impact on millions of individuals worldwide.
Addressing the planetary health by improving efficiency in the use of land, water and energy is a working solution which can be implemented in agricultural systems to adapt to global challenges while ensuring sustainable use of those resources. Smart solar irrigation seems to be a practical translation of this solution as it is a key pillar of smart farming for better decision-making and resource efficiency geared towards enhancement of productivity with minimal environmental impact.
Indeed, smart solar irrigation contributes to land, agricultural and water productivity with intensification of farming systems. This paper seeks to analyse how irrigation in crop systems may enhance efficiency on land and water resources for food production. This is explored through three parameters: land use intensity, water productivity and revenue over small farms in west Africa (Togo). Data from 40 small farms in west Africa collected between December 2024 and february 2025 serve as a basis. Analysis addresses two key questions: how much land and water can we save with intensification of farm systems? for the same culture is there a difference in land intensity and revenue between farm systems using irrigated farming and those rainfed. The goal being to produce more food with less natural resources.

Keywords: Irrigation, land, planetary health, smallholder farms, water

Contact Address: STEPHANE LAKO MBOUENDEU, GIZ Sun4Water, Yaounde, Cameroon, e-mail: lakostefyahoo.com