Reliable irrigation improves crop yields, makes multi - cropping possible, enables smallholders to cultivate high - value crops and provides year - round farm employment. Yet , less than 5% of the land area in Africa is irrigated and this mostly occurs in just three countries (Madagascar, South Africa and Sudan) and on commercial farms. Smallholders mostly depend on rainfed agriculture. A switch to irrigated agriculture could have huge implications for these smallholder farmers, who can triple their food production by pumping their own water. This would introduce the stability they need to settle in one place, allowing them to earn a reliable inco me, feed their families and educate their children. The Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program me (CAADP) of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) has identified land and water management as a priority , and intends to extend the area under sustainable land management and reliable water control systems to 20 million hectares (Mha) by 2015, which is an increase from its current 7 Mha . In order to transform rainfed landscapes into profitable and sustainable irrigation systems in drought - prone areas, we need to generate scientific knowledge, policy tools and technical options which will help governments to invest wisely in irrigation schemes. Therefore, the CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE) , led by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), organized a stakeholder workshop on ‘Revitalizing irrigation in sub - Saharan Africa’ to assess the research needs to enhance the success of irrigation in sub - Saharan Africa (SSA). The wor kshop was held on the campus of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia , on February 4 - 6, 2013 . The primary objective of the workshop was to ‘Identify technical, policy and institutional research needs to enhance succes s of irrigated a griculture in SSA’. A wide range of stakeholders were invited to help define research needs and better formulate research teams. The workshop was attended by approximately 50 participants from more than 10 different countries.