Assessing Models of Public-Private Partnerships for Irrigation Development in Africa (AMPPPIDA)

Although irrigation offers the potential to increase productivity and provide resilience to climate shocks, the high cost of irrigation and the fiscal constraints faced by many African governments constrain the development of irrigation. Public-private partnerships (PPPs) offer a potential institutional arrangement to mobilize additional resources-including financial, technical, and managerial-from the private sector for critical investments in irrigation (Chimhowu 2013; G-20 Toronto Declaration; Fan 2010). But there are few cases of PPP for irrigation, and previous experiences in other sectors with PPPs highlight the difficulty in managing and distributing the costs and benefits among stakeholders, with women and those with insecure tenure often losing out. Many African ministers and irrigation officials are now raising the need for evidence and guidance on how to engage in the PPP process for irrigation development as they explore ways to overcome the financing gap for necessary irrigation investments in order to meet domestic and international agriculture and food security related growth targets. This research responds to requests from African irrigation authorities for help in identifying suitable PPP strategies that voiced during a SSA-wide stakeholder workshop on irrigation development in Ethiopia, February 4-6, 2013.

This research aims to provide guidance to these SSA countries and irrigation officials on developing and implementing PPPs that are beneficial to the countries, private investors, and, ultimately, the end-users of these irrigation projects. This objective will be addressed through research to understand the factors that influence the outcomes of PPP processes and outreach to raise awareness and build capacity for policy makers on how to engage in PPP processes. We will assess different types of irrigation arrangements across SSA and implement in-depth case study work in Tanzania and Ghana, based on key informant interviews and focus groups, that highlight, among other factors, the different ways that men and women participate in and benefit from different irrigation arrangements, including PPPs. In addition, workshops with country stakeholders will employ participatory Netmapping techniques to identify relationships and networks critical for engaging in effective and equitable PPP arrangements. Both local universities and government stakeholders from irrigation ministries will be key partners in the process, along with an international policy research organization with considerable expertise on institutional arrangements for irrigation development.

The research will contribute to the successful implementation of Tanzania's and Ghana's policies of encouraging private sector investment in the irrigation sector. However, our lessons will be more broadly applicable to other SSA countries facing similar challenges and difficulties and will be useful in encouraging private sector investment that can bring benefits for investors, irrigation users, and national governments in terms of meeting food security and nutrition goals. The framework, methods, and results of this research will be assembled in a toolkit and shared broadly through IFPRI's networks, reaching a wide and diverse audience of civil society, governments, donors, private sector, and actors. Ultimately, we anticipate that this project will raise awareness about the potential and the limitations for PPP to contribute to irrigation development and will help SSA governments in drafting PPP arrangements that help balance the competing needs of investors, nations, and communities while providing socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable results.

An indicator of success will be that within three years governments (irrigation development authorities) in two countries apply the toolkit to ensure more sustainable PPPs that meet food security needs.

PPPs are an increasingly important player in the landscape of irrigation finance. However, previous experience with PPPs suggests that some countries may not have the capacity to negotiate PPP contracts equitably and fairly. As this research is being conducted in response to demand expressed by irrigation agencies in 8 countries in SSA, including Tanzania and Ghana, for assistance in negotiating and establishing PPPs and being conducted with representatives of irrigation agencies in Tanzania and Ghana as co-investigators, we see a strong link to impact being through the policy circles. Both countries have mandates in their legislation to expand the role of private sector in irrigation; this research and the toolkit developed will help these irrigation agencies be better able to negotiate and implement PPP arrangements that are environmental, socially, and economically sustainable, contribute towards meeting national food security and nutrition goals, and bring benefits to both end-users of irrigation and to investors. Moreover, our research plan seeks the early and active involvement of all key stakeholders through research and workshops, thus contributing to the legitimacy, salience, and credibility of the final products (Cash et al. 2003). This builds on IFPRI's long-standing work in SSA, including its country support strategy program in Ghana. We are aware that Ghana is not classified as a LIC for the purposes of the call, but the need for help on the topic came most strongly from the head of Ghana's Irrigation Development Authority, who is confronted with several PPP proposals and plans; and proposed as a collaborator for this proposal. We also believe that other LICs have much to learn from the ongoing Ghana experience in irrigation development, and this will be highlighted by the dialogue between Tanzania and Ghana under the project.

We will work to inform and strengthen capacity of other countries in SSA by developing a toolkit for identifying a range of PPP approaches and how to evaluate alternatives in terms of their likely sharing of costs and benefits among various stakeholders, and the likely impact on food security and environmental, economic, and social sustainability. IFPRI's long established network and presence in agricultural research and policy in SSA, including country support strategy programs in Ethiopia, Uganda, Senegal, Malawi, and the DRC, will make it possible to facilitate the wide distribution of the framework and toolkit and encourage its incorporation into country-level decision-making processes. We will also publicize this toolkit through the IFPRI website, the blog of the CGIAR program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE), and presentation at a number of regional and international meetings, such as the African Ministers' Council on Water, WLE meetings, the Global Water Partnership, and World Water Forum, as well as two academic articles.

Because of the strong interest in so-called "land grabs" and "water grabs", we can also reach out to the international media and forums such as the International Land Coalition's initiative on Commercial Pressures on Land and the World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty. Linking to these forums will enable us to address civil society and the major donor organizations as well, to raise awareness of the potential and limitations of PPPs for irrigation development and what can be done to make any such arrangements more equitable as well as sustainable.

In addition, by partnering with local institutions and local government agencies, we will build the capacity of these institutions to collaborate, to identify policy-relevant research questions, and develop and apply rigorous qualitative methods to answer and address these questions.

An indicator of success will be that within three years governments (irrigation development authorities) in two countries apply the toolkit to ensure more sustainable PPPs that meet food security needs.