Trade-offs of Water Use for Hydropower Generation and Biofuel Production in the Zambezi Basin in Mozambique

In the Zambezi basin in Mozambique, hydropower production is an important economic resource, with substantial development envisaged for the next decades. Irrigated agriculture currently plays a minor role, but irrigation development has a large potential and is an important government policy goal, especially aiming at the cultivation of biofuel crops. This contribution assesses interrelations and trade-offs between these two water-dependent development options. Scenario simulations under different climate and development assumptions show that adverse impacts of irrigation withdrawal on hydropower are low. Consequently, the use of water for irrigated agriculture can generate higher economic benefits than the use for hydropower production.