Private Irrigation Research Articles

Analyses of crop water use and environmental performance of small private irrigation along the white Volta basin of Northern Ghana

Analyses of crop water use and environmental performance of small private irrigation along the white Volta basin of Northern Ghana

Changing water sources and extraction methods in Bangladesh: Challenges, consequences, and sustainable solutions

The quest for safe water in Bangladesh has resulted in the shift of water sources and extraction methods throughout history. The study aims to investigate the factors driving these changes, assess the consequences of current water consumption trends, and propose solutions for sustainable water management. The research highlights the historical shift from surface water to tube-wells for accessing groundwater, driven by their affordability and user-friendly nature. However, the discovery of arsenic contamination in tube-well water raised serious public health concerns, leading to the exploration of alternative water sources and extraction techniques. Various methods such as dug wells, pond sand filters, piped water supply, rainwater harvesting, and well-sharing have been adopted by communities and indigenous groups to ensure access to safe and clean water. The study reveals disparities in the installation of deep tube-wells by the government and NGOs, often overlooking safer water sources available at shallower depths. Furthermore, the study discusses the consequences of high-yielding technologies and increased water consumption in Sonargaon Upazila, leading to groundwater-related disasters and a decline in the groundwater table. Private irrigation facilities have become more popular among people, contributing to the declining groundwater table. This study provides insights into the changing water sources and extraction methods in Bangladesh, identifies the consequences of current water consumption trends, and proposes strategies for sustainable water management. The findings underline the importance of informed decision-making, government intervention, and community involvement to address the challenges of groundwater depletion and contamination in the region.

Irrigation management by a private irrigation operator (PIO) under a fixed‐term management contract: An alternative approach to managing irrigation in Nepal

AbstractMost of the agency‐built surface irrigation systems in Nepal the operation and maintenance (O&M) of which are being managed by irrigation agencies jointly with farmers are not performing satisfactorily. The unreliable delivery of irrigation services to farmers is one of the reasons for this. Thus, the most important challenge in the past and in the present is how to enhance the delivery of irrigation services to farmers.If one examines the private sector management of other public enterprises, they are efficiently delivering services to their clients. Considering this aspect, the government of Nepal recognized that irrigation systems or parts of them may also be managed through private irrigation operators (PIOs) under a fixed‐term management contract to enhance their service delivery.This paper analyses the O&M of jointly managed irrigation systems (JMISs) and suggests that a lack of capacity, accountability and incentive mechanisms on the part of irrigation agencies are the principal causes pertaining to the deficient delivery of irrigation services in them. It further suggests that introducing PIOs in managing the operation and maintenance of part of the JMISs can address these causes. The paper argues that the said PIO approach is viable from financial, technical and managerial perspectives.

Analyses of crop water use and environmental performance of small private irrigation along the white Volta basin of Northern Ghana

Small private irrigation (SPI) is a farmer-initiated irrigation which has the potential to increase the contribution of the overall irrigation sector to global food security. However, there is no much information about these systems for effective policies for regulation. This study compared the resource use productivities and environmental impacts of SPI systems to those of a government-led irrigation scheme (GIS) in Northern Ghana. The results showed that land productivity was higher in the SPI than in the GIS. Productivity per unit cultivated area was 2571.00 US$/ha under SPI while that of the GIS was 676.00 US$/ha. Output per unit command area was also two times higher in the SPI than in the GIS; that is 2571.00 US$/ha and 1113.00 US$/ha for SPI and GIS respectively. For water productivity, output per unit irrigation supply was 0.33 US$/m3 and 0.08US$/m3 for SPI and GIS respectively while output per unit water consumed by ET was 0.60 US$/m3 for SPI and 0.06 US$/m3 for the GIS. The results implied that the SPI schemes performed better in land and water productivities compared with the GIS which is attributed to higher yields and the selection of high valued crops by farmers under SPI. However, both irrigation system types at the time of this study did not cause significant deterioration to the water bodies and surrounding environment as the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) values of nearby water bodies were less than 3.0–5.0 mg/l, which is considered as acceptable levels for drinking water by World Health Organisation (WHO) while salinity levels were also within acceptable limits (<750 μS/cm). With appropriate policies to regulate and provide support systems to the SPI, these systems may increase the overall agricultural productivity and improve job creation for the teeming unemployed youth and women in the savannah agroecological zone of Ghana.

Price, credit or ambiguity? Increasing small-scale irrigation in Ethiopia

Governments in countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are keen to expand irrigation to improve food security and are placing particular emphasis on adoption and use of smallholder private groundwater irrigation. Yet private irrigation is a multi-stage technology, the adoption of which is affected by fiscal support and extension services offered on different investment stages but also by uncertainties around actions that need to be undertaken in these stages. Groundwater-based irrigation in Ethiopia presents a case where policy has focused on fiscally easing the purchase of pumps while considerable ambiguity (unquantifiable uncertainty) exists around the outcomes of drilling boreholes (reaching water). In this paper, we examine farmers’ willingness to adopt smallholder private irrigation packages in response to lower pump prices following tax breaks, loan availability, and reduction in ambiguities related to borehole drilling, using a discrete choice experiment (DCE) in two districts of Ethiopia. The results indicate that the provision of loans and reduction in ambiguities related to well drilling have the greatest effect on the probability of farmers adopting irrigation packages. Lowering pump prices has the smallest effect. Pump-type has a small effect, with energized pumps preferred over manual ones. In exploring heterogeneity in preferences, we find that farmers without irrigated plots and those with greater market access have a greater preference for the provision of loans, while those with greater market access also have greater preferences for reductions in well drilling ambiguities. The results of this choice experiment suggest that reducing ambiguities around well drilling (initial investments) is an essential and cost-effective step toward expanding groundwater-based irrigation in Ethiopia.

Climate Shocks and Social Networks: Understanding Adaptation among Rural Indian Households

This paper seeks to uncover the impact of negative rainfall shocks on household social network relationships. I leverage the uncertainty generated from fluctuating long-term rainfall patterns across India, to estimate the impact of heightened climate risks on investments in social network relationships. In so doing, I attempt to disentangle the “direct” and “adaptive” impacts of climate shocks on social network relationships. I found that households that experience higher than average negative rainfall shocks (lower than average rainfall levels over the long term) tend to invest more in family–caste and vertical or linked network relationships. These network relationships were also found to be associated with greater access to financial credit, credit sourced specifically from family members, higher reported collaboration, more diversified businesses, and the use of private irrigation technologies, all of which are key to mitigating the negative impacts of climate shocks. Unlike past research, these results suggest that households’ decisions to invest in social networks may be an adaptive response to higher climate risk. In terms of policy implications, these results highlight the importance of strengthening and supporting family-based and linked networks (such as links to local governmental agencies and extension services) in the face of higher climate risks.

Understanding the effects of institutional diversity on irrigation systems dynamics

Comparative institutional analyses of social-ecological systems (SESs) have advanced our understanding of features and performances of single institutions such as state, market, and self-organized institutions. However, such studies have hardly extended our understanding of institutional diversity to combinations of different institutions and their joint impacts on the dynamics of SES. We address this gap by focusing on government-managed irrigation systems as a quintessential example of SESs. We developed a formal stylized model to examine how institutions affect social processes in a government-managed irrigation system. More specifically, we examine how infrastructure dynamics and farmers-agency interactions are affected under the coexistence of two institutions: groundwater market and participatory institutions. The former institutionalizes the use of private irrigation infrastructures as an exit option to the public infrastructure managed by a government agency (exit). The latter institutionalizes farmers' voicing of concerns and participation as a pressure mechanism on the agency (voice). The model results show that the joint effects of those institutions on system outcomes vary with the agency's reactions to the exit and voice. We also demonstrate that the silence option – use of neither option – is a double-edged sword. Silent farmers can impede infrastructure improvement, but in some cases, help it dramatically.

Understanding constraints on private irrigation adoption decisions under uncertainty in data constrained settings: A novel empirical approach tested on Ecuadorian Cocoa cultivations

AbstractIn rural areas of LatinAmerican Countries, irrigation requirements for perennial crops, like cocoa are expected to increase. This paper develops a novel holistic approach to model private investment decisions in irrigation adoption by small and mid‐sized cocoa farmers that face competing sources of uncertainty. In agricultural studies data collection through surveys often leads to issues of missing information on key measured variables. Our approach deals simultaneously with the issue of endogeneity of considering diverse risk sources and with the missing values in key covariates. The study considers multiple levels of irrigation adoption in a context where traditional and modern irrigation systems might coexist. The main contributions of this paper are both its methodological approach and its empirical application filling a knowledge gap on irrigation adoption.

Emerging Medium-Scale Tenant Farming, Gig Economies, and the COVID-19 Disruption: The Case of Commercial Vegetable Clusters in Ethiopia.

Driven by the fast spread of private irrigation pumps, there has been a rapid expansion of intensive vegetable cultivation in the central Rift Valley in Ethiopia, making it the most important commercial vegetable production cluster in the country. Supporting that “quiet revolution” has been an inflow of migrant laborers—paid through daily, monthly, or piecemeal contracts, with few employment benefits attached to them—and a gig economy as widely used contractors organize, among others, mechanized land preparation, the digging of wells and ponds, seedling propagation, and loading of trucks. Almost 60% of the irrigated area is cultivated by medium-scale tenant farmers relying on short-term rental contracts. It seems that gig economies characterized by flexible contract arrangements implemented by outside contractors, which are increasingly fueling sophisticated sectors in developed countries, are important in these commercial agrarian settings in Africa as well. We further find that the COVID-19 pandemic has led to significant disruptions of this model, as seen by more limited access to services and the unavailability or high price increases in factor markets, especially for labor, and large but heterogenous price changes in output markets.

Effect of Imposed Self-Governance on Irrigation Rules Design among Horticultural Producers in Peri-Urban Kenya

While high urban vegetable demand has driven unprecedented intensification of small private irrigation in peri-urban Kenya, absence of appropriate local governance mechanisms has necessitated interventions by concerned state agencies. Based on Ostrom’s design principles for sustainable commons, this paper evaluates the robustness of the irrigation management regime emanating from involuntary self-governance among peri-urban farmers. Findings show that since conflicts were fueled by water scarcity peaks corresponding with market price peaks, the interventions overemphasized facilitating water sharing among users. With conflicting users viewed as the problem by the agency, their experiences with the resource system, existing social structures, and resource use dynamics causing conflicts were largely ignored in the change process. Consequently, narrowly focused use rules that failed to properly define important resource parameters resulted. Further, user drawing rights have no significant input requirement, monitoring of water resource condition and sanctioning of deviant behavior are overlooked due to a lack of sufficient social capital and commitment to the collective establishment. Although inherent conflicts signify high economic valuation of water access by users, the lack of local ownership of the transition process made the policy interventions fail to produce rules that can guarantee sustainable irrigation development in an environment characterized by intensive irrigation and agrochemicals application, and growing domestic and industrial water demand. Therefore, recognizing water as a commercial input, recognizing conflicting users and their experiences as an essential solution, and integrating them in a participatory manner in subsequent institutional change is deemed necessary for effective governance in the post-conflict setup.

Shifting or drifting? The crisis-driven advancement and failure of private smallholder irrigation from sand river aquifers in southern arid Zimbabwe

In recent years more recognition is given to the benefits and risks of private smallholder irrigation development across sub-Saharan Africa. It is acknowledged for its capacity to adapt to local circumstances and challenges. This study assesses the heterogeneous character of private smallholder irrigation in the challenging environment of southern arid Zimbabwe, where family farms operate along sand river aquifers, forming a reliable natural storage of shallow groundwater. It investigates the drivers, characteristics, obstacles and adaptive capacity of this yet undocumented form of private irrigation in a historically marginalised area, and in particular also the discontinuation of these informal irrigation ventures. The research combines results from analysing satellite images, and quantitative and qualitative field work, whereby a social-ecological system perspective is applied.This form of private smallholder irrigation is distinct from most other documented cases in sub-Saharan Africa. First, because of the unique interrelation between the water source, technology need and fuel-dependency in an economically marginalised area. Second, because drivers for the emergence of private smallholder irrigation are not market-based but crisis-driven; recurrent droughts and frequent dry-spells, failure of collectively-managed irrigation schemes, and persistent economic instability. As a result, many families cease operations because they reach the limits of their adaptive capacity or they migrate. Those who succeed, manage to benefit from the abundance of water stored in sand rivers, the mobilisation of knowledge and cash through rural networks, and the existence of cross-border trade opportunities. However, they hardly ever pass the level of subsistence in an area where stable markets are absent. Organising potential support to private smallholder irrigation remains a challenging and disputable avenue as this might undermine its independent and adaptive nature.

Understanding clients, providers and the institutional dimensions of irrigation services in developing countries: A study of water markets in Bangladesh

Bangladesh is one of the most densely populated nations that nonetheless has largely achieved staple self-sufficiency. This development has been enabled in part by the rapid proliferation of small-scale irrigation pumps that enabled double rice cropping, as well as by a competitive market system in which farmers purchase water at affordable fee-for-service prices from private irrigation pump owners. Excess groundwater abstraction in areas of high shallow tube-well density and increased fuel costs for pumping have however called into question the sustainability of Bangladesh’s groundwater irrigation economy. Cost-saving agronomic methods are called for, alongside aligned policies, markets, and farmers’ incentives. The study assesses different institutions and water-pricing methods for irrigation services that have emerged in Bangladesh, each of which varies in their incentive structure for water conservation, and the level of economic risk involved for farmers and service providers. Using primary data collected from 139 irrigation service providers and 556 client-farmers, we empirically examine the structure of irrigation service types and associated market and institutional dimensions. Our findings demonstrate that competition among pump owners, social capital and personal relationships, and economic and agronomic risk perceptions of both pump owners and farmers significantly influence the structure of irrigation services and water pricing methods. Greater competition among pump owners increases the likelihood of pay-per-hour services and reduces the likelihood of crop harvest sharing arrangements. Based on these findings, we explore policy implications for enhancing irrigation services and irrigation sustainability in Bangladesh.

Determinación densidad de plantas/ha, en la siembra de ají paprika variedad Papriking para obtener campos con 80% de recojo y con daño mecánico menor al 25% en un proceso de cosecha mecanizada con cabezales de rotación invertida en Agrícola Cerro Prieto S.A.C

Determinación densidad de plantas/ha, en la siembra de ají paprika variedad Papriking para obtener campos con 80% de recojo y con daño mecánico menor al 25% en un proceso de cosecha mecanizada con cabezales de rotación invertida en Agrícola Cerro Prieto S.A.C Density determination of plants/ha, in the planting of air paprika variety Papriking for fields with 80% of pickup, and mechanical damage with less than 25% in a process of mechanized harvest heads with inverted rotation in Agricultural Cerro Prieto S.A. C Carlos Gozzer Puescas Escuela de Post Grado, Universidad Nacional de Trujillo, Av. Juan Pablo II S/N. Trujillo, Perú. DOI: https://doi.org/10.33017/RevECIPeru2013.0015/ Resumen El presente artículo titulado “Determinación densidad de plantas/ha, en la siembra de ají paprika variedad papriking para obtener campos con 80% de recojo y con daño mecánico menor al 25% en un proceso de cosecha mecanizada con cabezales de rotación invertida en Agrícola Cerro Prieto S.A.C.” ha sido desarrollado con la finalidad de determinar la densidad de la siembra de ají paprika para lograr la mecanización de cultivo paprika. El trabajo de investigación se realizó en la Empresa Agrícola Cerro Prieto S.A.C, dedicada a la producción, empaque y comercialización de productos agrícolas ubicada en el norte del Perú, entre los valles de Jequetepeque y Zaña, y es producto del desarrollo de una irrigación 100% privada que abarca 5,700 hectáreas [1]. Para el desarrollo del presente trabajo se ha utilizado la observación como técnica de recopilación de datos, lo cual sirvió como fuente de información para determinar el alcance del proyecto. Analizamos diferentes densidades de siembra para logrando determinar plantas/ha que permitan obtener campos con 80% de recojo. Para ello el presente trabajo fue de tipo experimental y se trabajó con 3 densidades distintas (66,000/133,000/266,000) plantas /ha con irrigación de manguera simple y doble. Como resultado de esta investigación podemos concluir que mediante la determinación de densidad (266,000 Plantas /ha) se puede obtener una mecanización de cosecha de ají paprika con un daño mecánico menor del 25%. Descriptores: papriking. Abstract This article entitled "Determining density of plants/ha in planting ají paprika variety papriking to obtain fields with 80% of pickup, and mechanical damage with less than 25% in a process of mechanized harvest heads with inverted rotation in agricultural cerro prieto S.A. C. " has been developed with the purpose to determine the density of planting of ají paprika to achieve the mechanization of crop paprika. The work of research was conducted at the Cerro Prieto Agricultural Company S.A.C, dedicated to the production, packaging and marketing of agricultural products located in the north of Peru, between the valleys of Jequetepeque and Zana, and is a product of the development of a 100% private irrigation that covers 5.700 hectares [1]. For the development of this work has been used as observation data collection technique, which served as a source of information to determine the scope of the project. We analyze different planting densities for achieving determine plants/ha to obtain fields with 80% of pickup. For this reason, the present work was experimental and was working with 3 different densities (66.000 /133.000 /266.000) plants/ha with irrigation of single and double hose. As a result of this investigation, we can conclude that using the density determination (266.000 plants/has) you can obtain a mechanization of crop of aji paprika with a mechanical damage less than 25 %. Keywords: papriking.

FARMERS’ RISK PERCEPTIONS OF PESTICIDES USED FOR GREENHOUSES VEGETABLES PRODUCTION IN TUNISIAN CENTER-EAST

he excessive use of pesticides has multiple adverse effects on the environment and human health. For a long time this problem was focused on the technical, agronomic, medicinal and pest management’s aspects, while the problem is a behavioral problem and the socio-economic aspect plays an important role. In order to study the Farmers’ risk perceptions of pesticides used in agriculture greenhouses in central-eastern Tunisia (Monastir Governorate), an ordered probit model was tested for 110 farms for greenhouse agriculture. The results showed the significance and positivity of the relationship between independent variables such as extension, use of protective equipment, experience, membership of the public irrigation perimeter, agricultural income, and the variable depending on Farmers’ risk perceptions of pesticides used. On the other hand, absence of the relationship between the level of education and the perception that it seems contradictory, but it can be justified by the age of the farmers who is high. The overall significance of the ordered probit model with a perceived acceptable level of perception can be improved by taking into account the heterogeneity of the farmers in this region in terms of age, education level, membership in a public or private irrigation perimeter and the possibility of access to extension. Developing awareness-raising methods are based on demonstrative and simple techniques accompanied by optimal monitoring and control can reduce the rate of excessive use of pesticides and guarantee greenhouse agriculture sustainable in the central eastern region of Tunisia.

Digitization of weekly Murrumbidgee River heights at Hay South Eastern Australia 1873–2017

Long‐term, high‐frequency river height measurements provide a direct method of relating changes in local water availability in a catchment to such phenomena as climate and changes in land use. Here, digitized weekly river height data from the Murrumbidgee River at Hay in south eastern Australia are presented for the first time covering the start of record from November 1873 to June 2017. There are two gauge board locations: (a) The town gauge at the southern edge of the township with data until March 1983, and (b) the Hay Private Irrigation District (PID) gauge on the north eastern outskirts of Hay about 2 km upstream from the Hay town gauge. There is a data overlap of about 13 years for the two locations. The underlying data quality is good taking into account missing values, outliers, continuity between the two gauge locations and measurement practice. The weekly data are available in both annual and seasonal files.Open PracticesThis article has earned an Open Data badge for making publicly available the digitally‐shareable data necessary to reproduce the reported results. The data is available at http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1184869. Learn more about the Open Practices badges from the Center for Open Science: https://osf.io/tvyxz/wiki.

English

At the dawn of the 21st Century, the goal of achieving poverty reduction became a global concern. Diverse livelihood public interventions such as the provision of community dams since then have been implemented in rural settings including Nadowli-Kaleo District of the Upper West Region, Ghana to promote food security through dry-season farming. However, the objectives of these interventions have not been realized. Rather, rural farmers engaged in irrigation farming have resorted to the initiation and utilization of private water systems prompting the examination of factors accounting for the choice of irrigation operations. A case research design was adapted in the conduct of the investigation. Five communities were selected as cases based on a set of criteria namely, the presence of an open-access dam and on-going private irrigation schemes. Factors accruing to the preference for private water systems to that of open-access community dams for irrigation included contamination of dam water by other users such as funeral undertakers, water vendors and fishermen, as well as drying up of dam water. Although irrigation engagement tremendously benefits irrigation operators and consumers through provision of fresh vegetables for household consumptions and income generation, irrigation operations are however saddled with the destruction of irrigation crops by animals, financial inadequacies and limited knowledge of farmers in irrigation agronomy. Measures proposed to propel the productive capacity of rural irrigation farmers comprise: creation of irrigation fund for farmers, entrepreneurship training in basic agronomic techniques in irrigation farming, giving awards to irrigation farmers on Farmers’ Day Celebrations, establishment of block irrigation systems, and proper management of existing community dams. Key words: Agriculture, rural irrigation, private initiatives, sustainable livelihoods, irrigation systems.

A risk assessment framework for irrigated agriculture under climate change

Abstract In several regions, but especially in semi-arid areas, raising frequency, duration and intensity of drought events, mainly driven by climate change dynamics, are expected to dramatically reduce the current stocks of freshwater resources, limiting crop development and yield especially where agriculture largely depends on irrigation. The achievement of an affordable and sustainable equilibrium between available water resources and irrigation demand is essentially related to the planning and implementation of evidence-based adaptation strategies and actions. The present study proposed a state-of-the art conceptual framework and computational methodology to assess the potential water scarcity risk, due to changes in climate trends and variability, on irrigated croplands. The model has been tested over the irrigated agriculture of Puglia Region, a semi-arid territory with the largest agricultural production in Southern Italy. The methodology, based on the Regional Risk Assessment (RRA) approach, has been applied within a scenario-based hazard framework. Regional climate projections, under alternative greenhouse gas concentration scenarios (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5) and for two different timeframes, 2021–2050 and 2041–2070 compared to the baseline 1976–2005 period, have been used to drive hydrological simulations of river inflow to the most important reservoirs serving irrigation purposes in Puglia. The novelty of the proposed RRA-based approach does not simply rely on the concept of risk as combination of hazard, exposure and vulnerability, but rather elaborates detailed (scientific and conceptual) framing and computational description of these factors, to produce risk spatial pattern maps and related statistics distinguishing the most critical areas (risk hot spots).. The application supported the identification of the most affected areas (i.e. Capitanata Reclamation Consortia under RCP8.5 2041–2070 scenario), crops (fruit trees and vineyards), and, finally, the vulnerability pattern of irrigation systems and networks. The implemented assessment singled out future perspectives of water scarcity risk levels for irrigated agriculture by the administrative extent where individual bodies are in charge of the coordination of public and private irrigation activities (i.e. Reclamation Consortia). Based on the outcomes of the proposed methodology, tailored and knowledge-based adaptation strategies and related actions can be developed, to reduce the risk at both agronomic level (i.e. preferring crops with low vulnerability score, as olive groves) and at structural level (i.e. differentiating the water stocks and supplies and reducing losses and inefficiencies).

Farmers’ Willingness to Pay for Private Irrigation Supply in Nandom District, Ghana

This study investigated farmers willingness to pay (WTP) for private irrigation in Nandom district, Ghana. The study randomly sampled 236 farmers and analyzed data using descriptive statistics and ordered logit regression model. Results revealed that 94.5 percent of the farmers were WTP for private irrigation services with a mean of 35.83 cedis. Farmers’ WTP is determined by income, age, farm size, engagement in an off-farm occupation, labour hours invested in farm operation, yield losses experienced from drought, anticipated yield gain from the use of irrigation, engagement in dry season gardening and access to extension services. It was concluded that the establishment of private irrigation schemes is a feasible venture and should be considered as a policy option for improved supply of agricultural water. To sustain farmers’ WTP for private irrigation service, the creation of off-farm ventures is recommended as it serves as alternative income sources to finance farm operations. Keywords : Farmers’ Willingness to Pay, Private Irrigation, Ordered Logit Regression, Nandom

Factors that Influence the Rate and Intensity of Adoption of Improved Irrigation Technologies in Alberta, Canada

Despite the importance of adopting improved irrigation technologies to increase on-farm irrigation efficiency, our understanding of what determines farmers’ adoption decisions in southern Alberta remains relatively poor. The overall goals of this study are to examine the extent of adoption (proportion of all irrigators that have started the adoption process), how far along they are in the adoption process, and the intensity of adoption (percentage of irrigated land on which the technology is adopted) of improved irrigation technologies in southern Alberta, and to assess the major factors that influenced farmers’ adoption decisions. The data were collected in a farm-household survey conducted in the 12 largest irrigation districts (IDs) as well as among private irrigators in southern Alberta. Results show that adoption of improved irrigation technologies is widespread at various levels of intensity. By 2011, 81.3% of farmers had started the adoption process, are now using some kind of improved technology to apply water to their crops, and used it on 76.8% of all irrigated land. The most commonly used irrigation technology is a low pressure center pivot system. Receiving support services following the adoption decision played an important role in increasing the intensity of adoption. Obtaining information on irrigation technologies from individual farmers or farmers’ associations, and extension agencies significantly influenced farmers’ decisions to adopt. Farmers who increased their social capital through attending meetings related to agricultural production practices were more likely to adopt while farmers who participated in recreational or social organizations were less likely to adopt. Finally, the extent and intensity of adoption are higher for those with corporate farm structure, larger families, more generations of ownership and higher education.

Is small-scale irrigation an efficient pro-poor strategy in the upper Limpopo Basin in Mozambique?

In Sub-Saharan Africa, there is evidence that households with access to small-scale irrigation are significantly less poor than households that do not have access to irrigation. However, private motopumps tend to be distributed inequitably. This paper investigates the success of explicit pro-poor interventions with emphasis on small-scale irrigation in the semi-arid Limpopo Basin in Mozambique. It reveals that high irrigation costs are progressively excluding the poor, who are unable to generate a cash income from other activities they need to fund irrigation. In addition, the operation of collective schemes involving the poor is being jeopardized by the development of private irrigation schemes, which benefit from hidden subsidies appropriated by local elites. This results in unequal access to irrigation, which can cause resentment at community level. This weakens community cohesiveness, as well as communities' capacities for collective action and coordination, which are crucial for collective irrigation.