Demand for water innovation: evidence on wastewater technology adoption in thirteen African countries

This paper examines the adoption of wastewater technologies in Africa with the view that wastewater reuse is one solution to the persistent problem of water stress and scarcity. The continent is straddled by a rising population and dwindling water supplies, compounded by climate change whose effect on agriculture would be highly consequential. We argue that this effect can be minimized by increasing wastewater reuse in agriculture for irrigation, as well as other uses that together serve to reduce water stress. However, for this to be achieved, constraints to household adoption of wastewater technologies need to be addressed. In this paper, we evaluate the relative importance of some these constraints in African countries. Using a proxy for household adoption of wastewater technologies in an empirical fractional response regression model, we find that the capacity constraints on the part of utilities to provide distributed wastewater technologies are not a crucial factor. Rather, affordability of such technologies, income, and utility level service quality are major obstacles to expanding wastewater technology adoption in the region. In addition to elucidating the dynamics of water innovation on the demand side in Africa, our results have practical and policy implications: They highlight the crucial role of institutional agents in the water innovation chain and provide insights to policy makers in water-stressed countries concerned about water management, especially in relation to potential interventions that promote and enhance improvements in waste water management.