Innovation Lab for Small Scale Irrigation: Pilot Small Scale Irrigation Research Sites in Jawe and Upper Ghana

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1 Innovation Lab for Small Scale Irrigation: Pilot Small Scale Irrigation Research Sites in Jawe and Upper Ghana Issues with irrigation technologies and credit arrangements IWMI, ILSSI Project Team

2 Introduction Under the Feed the Future Innovation Lab on Small Scale Irrigation (ILSSI), the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) identified Upper Gana and Jawe as pilot intervention sites for Rope and Washer (R & W) and a limited number of solar pump technologies. In total, project participants include 26 farmers with Rope and Washer and 4 farmers with solar pumps. As part of the intervention, IWMI provided seed finance for a revolving fund targeting small scale irrigation lending. IWMI supported training for farmers and micro-finance lenders in savings and credit for agriculture and particularly for irrigation. At the inception of the project, participating farmers with rope and washer pumps agreed to test the technology for 6 months at no cost (March September 2015) and then decide if they would buy the technology on credit. If they decided against taking a loan to purchase the technology, it would be returned to the lending institutions. Each farmer signed a contract agreeing to those terms. In September 2015, ILSSI participant farmers in Upper Gana agreed to a loan contract with Omo Microfinance Institution (OMFI). However, there had been a high incident of pump disrepair in Jawe (7 of 15); all of the farmers except one were willing to pay for the technology if repaired. The technology was produced by Ato Tekalegne Alemu and installed by Lemo Wereda Office of Agriculture Irrigation Engineer (Mesiganaw Mulugeta). A meeting was arranged between all the key institutions. Based on the meeting outcome, the producer repaired the R & W under warrantee and the pumps were reinstalled. Training was conducted on the technology to prevent further breakage for project farmers and pump users in Jawe and Upper Gana. An additional training was conducted for two farmers in each community on repair and maintenance of the R & W to ensure continued repair. ILSSI participating farmers in Jawe initially agreed to pay for the technology and signed agreements with OMFI. Issues with willingness to enter finance agreements for technologies It has come to the attention of ILSSI researchers that farmers are no longer willing to sign the agreements with OMFI to take technologies on loan agreement under current conditions. To further understand the issues, IWMI researchers and consultants visited the sites on multiple dates. Meetings were held with ILSSI participating farmers, and also with OMFI and other stakeholders. Jawe Site In summary, the Jawe farmers identified the below listed problems with the R & W pumps (a detailed list is in the annex): High labor/energy required to use it Continual disrepair and breakage Water quality declined; difficult to clean well with technology installed Of those with the pumps, three farmers have already removed the R & W and one farmer has moved it to the side of the well to enable access without the pump. One farmer has requested the R & W be replaced with a pulley. Only one farmer (Desalegn Aboso) wanted to keep the pumps; all others asked for the technology to be removed. Farmers wanted to continue to participate in the ILSSI project without the technologies, but were informed they would no longer be part of the ILSSI project; farmers did not react positively. 1 P a g e

3 Upper Gana Site In general, farmers in Upper Gana are satisfied with the technologies received through ILSSI (see annex for full list and issues). Only one farmer wanted the R & W removed. However, production was constrained in some cases by water availability related to the drought, and farmers are primarily using the produce for household consumption. Research has yet to show if incomes have increased due to the technology; most farmers report using vegetables and fodder primarily for household consumption. Regarding the agreements with OMFI for credit on the technologies, farmers expressed concerns. One issue farmers stated was that they were not aware OMFI owned the technology; farmers assumed the technology belonged to the project. A primary issue regarding the loan terms was the length of repayment. The farmers with R & W felt that they could not repay 3000 birr in one year. In addition, farmers were concerned that if they do not repay, OMFI can take their assets. After discussion, all farmers agreed to sign the agreement and to repay the loan to OMFI, but it is conditional on the following challenges being resolved: 1. Loan repayment period extended to 3 years starting from the agreement date signed with OMFI. 2. Solar pump farmers are provided with the required power storage to utilize full capacity of the technology. 3. Both R & W and Solar pump beneficiary farmers requested alignment of the payment date with irrigation crop harvesting time. Discussion with stakeholders The ILSSI project also has local stakeholders with various roles in the project, including Africa RISING project site coordinator, IWMI field assistant for the area, Lemo Woreda Office of Agriculture and OMFI. Each raised issues from their role in the project, as outlined below. IWMI field assistant (Tesema Tamirat) Tesema briefed the ILSSI project on the performance and challenges each farmer with technology utilization. He recognized that some farmers had not benefitted from the technologies, in some cases because of inadequate water, but others because of other issues. One issue he noted was the lack of experience with irrigated farming, which may result in farmers not getting the potential return if the technology was used to full capacity. Particularly in Jawe, he noted that there is a groundwater problem; by February, March and April, most of the wells did not have water. He also noted that there is a difference in technology between Jawe and Upper Gana and that the technology in Jawe is particularly problematic. That said, he also expressed concern that some farmers are benefitting, but farmers considered the technology as a gift, and therefore, did not want to pay. Tesema s opinion is that the technology should be taken away from Jawe and provided to Upper Gana kebele farmers. Regarding Upper Gana, he agreed with the recommendations made by farmers as conditions for the loan agreements. Lemo Wereda Office of Agriculture The project discussed the issues with the local Office of Agriculture: Ato Mesiganaw Mulugeta (Irrigation Engineer) and Desalegn Jukitamo (Natural resource and small scale irrigation schemes development process owner). Ato Desalegn stated that their office worked with the project from the inception, but were not aware of the issue of credit. He expressed concern that R & W technology has been supplied free by the government and it would be a 2 P a g e

4 challenge to convince Jawe farmers if they are aware of this information. Eng. Mesiganaw had also been involved since project inception. He installed the technology at each site. In his opinion, the problem is related to the quality of the technology; quality at Upper Gana was good, but quality in Jawe was poor (concrete ratio, welding and rope size problems). Regarding the credit issue, the farmers were aware of the need to repay a loan for the technology, but there were not aware of the institution that would manage the loans. The Agriculture Office suggested that removing the technology from Jawe site would not be the solution and could have a negative impact on irrigation technology extension. Instead, they believe that the Supplier should maintain/replace the pumps. The office would convince the farmers to continue using the technology and sign the credit agreement. They said they would discuss with Wereda higher official on an approach to convince the farmers to continue with the technology. They agreed with suggestions on extending credit repayment period and providing accessories for the solar pumps. They also stated that providing intensive training to farmers on technology operation and maintaining is critical. Omo Microfinance Institution (OMFI) The Zonal OMFI office noted that they have been briefed on the challenges and possible solutions suggested at Jawe and Upper Gana. Ato Gizachew (operation Manager) expressed his believe that the Lemo Woreda OMFI office had not given due attention to the assignment. The Zonal Office had tried to communicate with the Kebele OMFI agents at each site. Jawe site OMFI agent said that farmers are not interested in R & W technology; they have requested to have the technology removed. The Upper Gana OMFI agent said that only two R & W pumps are not working and the other farmers are benefiting, so the issue was credit payment period. The farmers demanded to extend loan payment period. Ato Gizachew suggested that before removing the technology from Jawe, OMFI should discuss with farmers to convince them to continue. If the farmers decide to remove the technology, it will be provided to other farmers. However, extending the loan payment period is beyond the capacity of Zone OMFI. The project (IWMI) should communicate to OMFI head office and amend the agreement. There is an experience to extend the loan for 3 years if there is concrete reason. Conclusions Based on the evaluations done at both sites, it can be concluded that there are issues that constrain farmers from getting full benefit from the irrigation technologies. In short, many of the farmers are either gaining no benefit to income at all or only gaining marginal benefit to income. Without the increased income, farmers will be unlikely to be able to repay a loan in the short period of time proposed by OMFI and the project. In some cases, the lack of water may be related to the recent drought; in which case, continuing for another season should be considered and the drought conditions suggest that special conditions for the loan agreements should be considered. Overall, the introduction of smallholder irrigation is a national objective to achieve economic growth, food security and improved resilience. As such, all the stakeholders would like to see the farmers benefit from the introduction of small-scale irrigation technologies. The local Office of Agriculture has stated that it would like to engage with the farmers to support continued use of the technologies. IWMI as the project leader has stated that it is willing to invest in repair of the technologies and reinstallation; it also recognizes that further training on the technologies is needed. Below, options are outlined for each site. 3 P a g e

5 Jawe site: Most farmers did not benefit from R & W irrigation technology since installation. The R & W technologies are not working properly related to technology disrepair and lack of water availability. There may be issues with the quality of the technology. In addition, some households lack the labor required to use the technology. Most farmers are not earning income though use of the technology, and as a result, farmers would not be able to pay for the technology. Options available are: 1) Remove the technology from these farmers and explain clearly that the farmers are no longer participants in the project; and then improve the quality of the technology and transfer to farmers in Upper Gana under loan agreements, and 2) Work with the Agriculture Office to improve the quality of the technology in situ (repair, reinstall), provide farmers with additional irrigation extension (further training), and develop the loan agreement under the new conditions. One R & W farmer and Solar pump user farmers are interested to sign a credit agreement with OMFI, but the terms should be appropriate for irrigated farming, as outlined below for Upper Gana (extend loan repayment term and allow payment after dry season irrigation harvest). Upper Gana site: Project participants are satisfied with and benefitting from the technology, except for two farmers. They have cultivated different agricultural products (cabbage carrot and avocado). Farmers used the technology to cultivate vegetables and fodder. However, most farmers used the produce for household consumption and only sold a small amount on the market; seven farmers interviewed earned an average income of around 1200 birr (see Annex 2). Solar pump farmers have issues with the functioning of the pumps and the risk of damage to the panels. Generally, farmers are not satisfied with the terms and conditions of the loan presented by OMFI. Options available are: 1) OMFI head office presented with proposed loan term and repayment schedule. As stated in MOU signed between IWMI and OMFI (article 4, ii, b) the loan repayment period for R & W technology and solar pump is 1 year and 2 years, respectively. In the same MOU (article 4, ii, d) repayment interval is maximum 4 months. The proposed amendment will need to be discussed and agreed with OMFI before the agreements are developed with the farmers, but will be two years for R & W and three years for solar pump with the payment date to coincide with harvesting (irrigation products), and 2) Identify options to improve convenience of solar pump to farmers and reduce potential damage of technologies. Next Steps IWMI officially informs OMFI head office in writing regarding the specific issues and negotiate new terms and conditions. Consideration should be given to national goals and also the experimental nature of the project (research) and particularly the likely impact of the recent drought on water availability. IWMI meets with OMFI, local Agriculture Office and farmers for a final discussion on the way forward. At the same time, farmers are informed of the consequences of having the technology removed, i.e. farmers will no longer be participants in the project. IWMI and the Agriculture Office communicate clearly to farmers that OMFI officially owns the technology and that the technologies are available to the farmers on loan agreement 4 P a g e

6 IWMI and the Agriculture Office coordinate on the repair and improvement of the technologies, both in situ for farmers continuing to participate (with loan agreements) or after removal and before transferring to other farmers. 5 P a g e

7 Annex 1: Issues with technology and farmer responses Jawe: Issues with technology Participated in meeting Farmer Tech Problem identified Farmer request 1 Alemitu Abiyo (F) R & W Inadequate water Remove technology High labor/energy demand to use technology Substitute with pulley Continual disrepair 2 Temesegen Abiyo (M) R & W Continual disrepair Poor water quality Cannot access drinking water 3 Desalegn Aboso (M) R & W Poor water quality Cannot access drinking water Continual disrepair 4 Melese Tirko (M) R & W Continual disrepair Poor water quality Cannot access drinking water 5 Tadesse Sirur (M) R & W Continual disrepair Remove technology Poor water quality Cannot access drinking water 6 Alemayehu Haile (M) R & W Poor water quality Farmer removed 7 Demise Untiso (M) R & W Difficult to access water Farmer removed 8 Teshale Sirur (M) R & W Poor water quality and cannot clean with the pump on well Remove the pump 9 Haile Olekemo (M) R & W Technology broken Farmer removed the pump 10 Machulo Amano (M) R & W Unclear if it is currently installed 11 Delelegn Abiyo (M) R & W Continual disrepair Farmer moved pump to side of well so could access water 12 Amarech Eshetu (F) R & W No comments Did not participate in meeting Farmer Tech Problem identified Farmer request 1 Amarch Tadesse (F) R & W Technology is functional High labor demand and unable to operate 2 Chuffo Debero (F) R & W Silted High labor demand and unable to operate 3 Desalegn Haile R & W Rope and upper box broken 6 P a g e

8 4 Shamble Godebo (F) R & W Technology is functional High labor demand and unable to operate Upper Gana: Issues with technology Participated in meeting Farmer Tech Problems identified Farmer request 1 Ewenetu Tumebo (M) Solar Vegetables produced damaged by disease so only used for home consumption. 2 Asefa Abiyo (M) R & W Satisfied with R & W; produced some vegetables and fodder. Intends to expand land under cultivation. Prefers to get solar pump but satisfied with R & W 3 Temesegen Tumebo (M) R & W Satisfied with R & W; produced some vegetables and fodder. Sold some vegetables. 4 Tadesse Lemie (M) R & W Satisfied with R & W; produced some vegetables and fodder. Sold some vegetables and it helped cover some household expenses. 5 Abebe Gebre (M) R & W Satisfied with technology. Produced some vegetables, some for market; fodder only for own animals. 6 Eshetu Alaro (M) R & W Satisfied with technology. Produced vegetables only for household consumption. Intends to increase production. 7 Workneh Sodie (M) R & W Water inadequate so could not complete growing season Remove technology 8 Amarech Abiyo (M) R & W Produced vegetables, fodder for household consumption only. Inadequate water (dry in Feb and Mar). 9 Tefera Aneto (M) Solar Satisfied with technology, but constrained by limits on time it can be used and risk for cracks when wind moves dish. 10 Mitko Sulito (M) R & W No comments from meeting Did not participate in meeting Farmer Techn Problems identified ology 1 Abera Hichieso R & W Technology functional but wheel part likely to break 2 Wekenh Kobie R & W Technology functional but requires maintenance 3 Birhanu Trikaso Solar Difficult to fix solar dish, wind moves easily 4 Abayeneh Welamo Solar Difficult to fix solar dish, wind moves easily Selected for solar pump and would prefer/still waiting for solar. Farmer request 7 P a g e

9 Annex 2: Upper Gana: Vegetable/fruit and fodder produced and income earned with technology Name Ge nde r Tech Asefa Abiyo M R & W Types of vegetable/fodder produced Cabbage, Carrot, fodder and Avocado Sales in Birr Income from the technologies Own consumption in Birr (estimate) Unharveste d in Birr (estimate) Total income in Birr 1, , Remark Eshetu Alaro M R & W Cabbage, Carrot, fodder and Avocado Mitku Sulito M R & W - Tadese Lemie M R & W Cabbage, Carrot, green pepper, fodder and Avocado , Workneh Sodie M R & W Carrot - The carrot dried due to water shortage Amarech Abiyo F R & W Cabbage, Carrot & fodder Temesegen Tumebo M R & W Cabbage, Carrot & fodder Abebe Gebre M R & W cabbage, Carrot, green pepper, tomato, Garlic, fodder and Avocado , , Tefera Aneto M Solar - Ewnetu Tumebo M Solar Cabbage, Carrot & Avocado P a g e