Impact of small-holder irrigation on the agricultural production, food supply and economic prosperity of a representative village beside the Senegal River, Mauritania

A considerable effort to rehabilitate and extend degraded irrigation schemes is taking place along the Mauritanian side in the Senegal River Valley. To increase understanding of the effects of these activities on the population, a model was used to analyse how the irrigated agriculture production interacts with other production systems, human food supply, and economic prosperity in a representative village in the Middle Valley. Using a generated weather series, the model evaluates the fodder supply for livestock on the shrubland, the productivity of grain and stubble for human and animal consumption, respectively, together with the human labour, and fertilizer and fuel requirements to maintain optional production scenarios. A financial sector calculates cash balance.