Analysis of the Physical State and Operation of Hydraulic Infrastructure in the Konni Irrigated Area before Rehabilitation

In Niger, irrigated agriculture constitutes the main alternative for meeting family needs. It is within this framework that the state and its partners have adopted strategies to promote irrigated production sites. This study was carried out on the Konni irrigated perimeter, the objective of which is to analyze the physical state of hydraulic infrastructures and their operation before the rehabilitation of the said perimeter. The methodology adopted consisted, first of all, of documentary research focused on data relating to this scope and our theme to properly guide the collection of data in the field. The field phase was then followed with an observation of hydraulic infrastructures one by one in order to assess their condition. Thus, the collected data was processed and analyzed. The results of this study show a notable deterioration of hydraulic infrastructure which affected the operating yield of the study area, with the development of barely 700 ha out of 1226 ha planned by the basic study for off-season production (57%). Bathymetric measurements showed that the volume of sediment that accumulated in the Zongo Dam is 1.2 million m³, which reduces its initial capacity from 12 million m³ to 10.8 million m³ after 43 years of service. The expansion joints of the feed canal are all in poor condition. 90% of the total length of the tertiary canals are degraded, 82.32% of the panels of the main canal C are degraded and 17.68% are cracked. All crossing structures are blocked between the RN1 and the Zongo dam. Based on this critical situation, it would be essential to consider rehabilitation work on all infrastructure in order to restore the hydraulic and even agronomic performance of the Konni irrigated area.