ABSTRACT
Research and development efforts concerning drip irrigation have traditionally been oriented toward intensive commercial farming in developed economies, focusing on ways to improve efficiencies and productivities. From the mid-1990s onward, an increasing number of research institutes and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have engaged in efforts to make drip irrigation also accessible to smallholder farmers in developing countries. These publications reflected a shared eagerness to test and promote low-cost drip irrigation system in developing countries among research institutes, development agencies, NGOs, and national governments alike, who widely advertised the successful dissemination of thousands of drip kits to smallholders in sub-Saharan Africa. Burkina Faso is no exception to this trend and from 2004 to 2015, there were no less than eight projects aimed at promoting smallholder drip irrigation in the country. At present, the drip irrigation coalition counts 'international players' that give a global resonance to drip irrigation projects implemented in Burkina Faso.
