SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACT | |
Case studies of ten irrigation schemes SAFR/AGLW/DOC/002 |
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Sub-Regional Office for East and Southern Africa (SAFR)
Harare, 2000
The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations |
The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries |
ISBN 0-7974-2083-5
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© FAO SAFR 2000
Smallholder irrigation development has shown throughout the developing world that it can be used as a key drought mitigation measure and as a vehicle for the long-term agricultural and macro-economic development of a country. Successful smallholder irrigation schemes can result in increased productivity, improved incomes and nutrition, employment creation, food security and drought relief savings for the government. However, socio-economic evaluations of smallholder irrigation schemes are needed at regular intervals in order to be able to derive lessons from past experiences and also help policy makers in formulating sound policies for future development. This study, carried out in Zimbabwe, is an attempt to contribute to a better understanding of the smallholder irrigation sub-sector by evaluating the socio-economic impact of ten selected smallholder irrigation schemes. Five of the selected schemes were known as being successful and five as being problematic. This report summarizes the methodology and procedures used during the evaluation, the findings, conclusions and recommendations. The impact assessment and evaluation of the irrigation schemes was carried out through Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA), covering farmers, key institutions and local authorities. The study reveals that, whilst some smallholder irrigation schemes can perform well others can actually perform badly. Factors, which determine the performance, include planning, group cohesion, institutional support, strength of the Irrigation Management Committee (IMC), choice of crops, appropriateness of the technical design and commitment of the farmers. |
Current status of smallholder irrigation and potential for future development
Selection criteria for irrigation schemes studied
Location of the ten irrigation schemes studied
Water sources and irrigation technology types
Scheme sizes and number of beneficiaries
Planning of the irrigation schemes
Scheme ownership and inheritance
Management of the irrigation schemes
Incomes derived from the irrigation schemes
Financial and economic analysis of the irrigation schemes
Problems facing the irrigation schemes
Socio-economic impact of the irrigation schemes
Reasons for successes or failures of the irrigation schemes
1. Rainfall characteristics in the five natural regions of Zimbabwe
2. Current status of irrigation development in Zimbabwe
3. Government managed, farmer managed and jointly managed smallholder irrigation schemes in Zimbabwe
4. Selected irrigation schemes
5. Location of irrigation schemes studied
6. Water sources and irrigation technology types on the selected schemes
7. Scheme sizes and number of beneficiaries
8. Planning details of the irrigation schemes studies
9. Farmers' perceptions on irrigation scheme ownership
10. Management structures at the irrigation schemes
11. Performance of the Irrigation Management Committees
12. Crops grown at the different irrigation schemes
14. Role of the irrigation schemes in promoting local dealers
15. Incomes derived from the irrigation schemes during the 1997/1998 season
16. Results of the financial and economic analysis of the irrigation schemes
17. Problems facing the irrigation schemes
18. Monthly average income from irrigated plot and percentage of household heads working in towns
19. Reasons for irrigation schemes successes or failures
20. Average yields for different crops during the 1997 season at Chitora irrigation scheme
21. Fertilizer levels for different crops at Chitora irrigation scheme.
22. Discounted cash flow analysis for Chitora irrigation scheme.
23. Fertilizer levels applied at Longdale irrigation scheme during the 1993/94 season.
24. Discounted cash flow analysis for Longdale irrigation scheme.
25. Gender composition for the block committees at Mambanjeni irrigation scheme.
26. Cropping pattern on a 0.5 ha plot at Mambanjeni irrigation scheme.
27. Cropping pattern on a 0.3 ha plot at Mambanjeni irrigation scheme.
28. Discounted cash flow analysis for Mambanjeni irrigation scheme.
29. Average crop yields under irrigation for the 1997 season at Murara irrigation scheme.
30. Average incomes for different crops during the 1997 season at Murara irrigation scheme.
31. Discounted cash flow analysis for Murara irrigation scheme.
33. Summary of financial analysis for Mzinyathini irrigation scheme.
34. Summary of economic analysis for Mzinyathini irrigation scheme.
35. Discounted cash flow analysis for Oatlands irrigation scheme.
36. Average crop yields at Oatlands irrigation scheme.
37. Discounted cash flow analysis for Oatlands irrigation scheme.
38. Average crop yields at Principe irrigation scheme during the 1997/98 season.
39. Discounted cash flow analysis for Principe irrigation scheme.
40. A newspaper report on the refusal of Rozva irrigation scheme by farmers.
41. Discounted cash flow analysis for Rozva irrigation scheme.
42. Wenimbi irrigation scheme investment costs.
43. Cropping pattern for a 1.5 ha plot at Wenimbi irrigation scheme.
44. Irrigated crop yields for selected crops at Wenimbi irrigation scheme.
45. Average levels of inputs used at Wenimbi irrigation scheme.
46. Incomes from irrigated cropping at Wenimbi irrigation scheme during the 1997 season.
47. Discounted cash flow analysis for Wenimbi irrigation scheme.