The water network for irrigating farms at kilometre 17 of the Rosso Road, some 205 km from Nouakchott in Mauritania, was commissioned on 12 September 2023. The ceremony was attended by the Regional President of Nouakchott, Fatimetou Abdelmaleck.
The irrigation network is located near Nouakchott’s drinking water supply project (AEP) from the Senegal river (Aftout Essahili), which is based on exploiting this watercourse to meet the water needs of the Mauritanian capital’s inhabitants until 2030. It is this raw water, which the Aftout Essahili drinking water system is currently struggling to treat, that will be pumped to supply the new modern irrigation canals.
According to Fatimetou Abdelmaleck, over ten kilometres of pipes have been laid at various levels, covering all the farms producing tuberous vegetables (potato, Jerusalem artichoke, sweet potato), pulses (broad bean, bean, pea), perennial vegetables (artichoke, asparagus, strawberry) and fruit vegetables (aubergine, cucumber and gherkin, pepper, tomato, squash, melon). “Fatimetou Abdelmaleck, Regional President of Nouakchott, emphasised when the irrigation system was brought back into service: “Every farmer can connect directly and free of charge to this new water network for irrigation purposes.
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In addition to improving the water supply, the irrigation project aims to improve the management of the resource through these modern irrigation systems (drip irrigation, etc.), in a context marked by water stress, a consequence of the drought.
Inès Magoum