Farmer-managed Irrigation Research Articles

Factors Affecting Design Review: A Case from Dang Valley, Nepal-Asia

Purpose: There seem some flaws during design by consultants because of time and cost constraints. To deal with this problem there is a need for a design review for those design parts to assess their compliance for implementation. The overall objective of the research is to analyze the causes of the design review of small farmer-managed surface irrigation schemes developed by the Community Irrigation Project (CIP) about Dang Valley. Design/Methodology/Approach: Based on selected fifteen surface irrigation schemes developed by CIP in Dang Valley, a Questionnaire survey, interviews, and observations were done along with the intensive study of Feasibility Assessment Report, project-related datasheets, and As-Built Drawings. These data have been analyzed using the Relative Importance Index (RII). Findings/Result: The study revealed that faulty survey, design, and change in local demand by users are the major reasons to change the design. The major four significant factors to cause design change in small surface irrigation schemes as obtained from the Relative Importance Index (RII) were survey leading to (1) the efficient system, (2) design with cost-effective and sustainable approach, (3) social issues, and (4) unforeseen site condition. It indicates that for the better construction and performance of FMIS there is a need for improvement in the survey, design, and other social issues like the mechanism of distributing equal water to all the beneficiary farmers. Originality/Value: The care against the influence of unnecessary political factors with due consideration of technical, social, environmental as well as the financial viability of schemes will be assured through the provision of a flexible Cost ceiling. Concept of design through extended team will be maintained. Paper Type: Action Research

English

Banana yield and quality in Malawi is low due to drought, low fertility and poor management practices. Therefore, a comparative researcher-managed and farmer-managed irriagated banana study was initiated in 2004/2005 to develop guidelines and promote banana irrigation optimisation for small-scale farmers. Specifically, the research aimed to determine and compare researcher-managed and farmer-managed optimum irrigation in respect to banana yield, quality, income and gross margins, and facilitate transfer of banana irrigation technology to farmers. Irrigation treatments ranged from 0, 50 and 100% evapotranspiration (ET) of estimated banana ET, laid out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with four replicates. Irrigation was scheduled using the soil moisture balance system. The results of banana production and gross margin analysis for both researcher-managed and farmer-managed experiments showed that average yield and quality increased linearly with increasing irrigation. Highly significant differences (P < 0.001) were observed between amounts of applied water in average bunch weight, average hand weight and average finger weight per hectare both under researcher-managed and farmer-managed fields, respectively. The gross margin analysis showed negative gross margin under non-irrigated banana enterprise and positive gross margin at 100% ET for both researcher-and farmer-managed fields, respectively. Irrigation raised farmer earnings from -4 to 27 US$/day (non-irrigated to irrigated banana) and it was optimal to produce banana under 100% ET. The findings showed that banana enterprise has a commercial orientation that can reduce poverty for smallholder farmers. It is recommendable that Malawi and other countries should advocate banana irrigation agribusiness because it can facilitate the attainment of food security and poverty reduction. Key words: Irrigation scheduling, evapotranspiration, gross margin, banana.

Technical and Economic Comparison of Performance between Farmer and Government Managed Irrigation Schemes in Tanzania: A Case Study of Kapunga Irrigation Project

Technical and Economic Comparison of Performance between Farmer and Government Managed Irrigation Schemes in Tanzania: A Case Study of Kapunga Irrigation Project

Modernization of Farmer's Managed Irrigation Systems in Nepal

The irrigation infrastructures in Farmer’s Managed Irrigation Systems (FMIS) of Nepal were mostly built from the local materials of mud, stone, and forest products with rudimentary traditional methods, practiced over many centuries. These systems are operated and maintained solely by the community farmers or an individual family. The Nepal Irrigation Sector Project (NISP), funded under the credit assistances of the World Bank, sponsored the modernization of these FMIS in the three western regions of Nepal from 1998 to 2004. The paper gives an account of the infrastructures built under the project to modernize the FMIS, and presents some facts about the impacts of the assistances to FMIS in relieving problems faced by farmers. The structures in the FMIS differ nominally according to the ecological region, due to the terrain and characteristics of the conveyance systems. In the hills, generally, lining and cross drainage structures are common; whereas, in the Terai, it is mostly the headworks structure due to lack of traditional materials as shrubs and forest products. The NISP assisted these FMIS with the participation of the users and their contribution in the civil works from seven to 15 percent. The users were involved in the design and construction of the infrastructures from the very initiation of the schemes. The project had good impacts on system performance and, thus, in agriculture production.Key words: FMIS; Irrigation; Participatory development; Water distribution; Modernization; NepalDOI: 10.3126/hn.v6i0.4196Hydro Nepal Journal of Water, Energy and EnvironmentVol. 6, January 2010Page: 55-60Uploaded Date: 24 January, 2011

Social equity in farmer-managed irrigation in the Terai of Nepal

The PDF of this file is 4,081 kbytes in size and therefore will take a long time to download if you click on the PDF link below. If you would like the file to be sent to you by email, please send a request to info@nepjol.info. Please include the citation below in your request. DOI: 10.3126/opsa.v9i0.1139Occasional Papers in Sociology and Anthropology Vol.9 2005 p.141-175