CHAPTER SIX PROBLEMS OF SMALL-SCALE IRRIGATION DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEM This section of the study paid a particular attention to the assessment of small scale irrigation management activities in the irrigation schemes under consideration and major problems encountered in small scale irrigation development. 6.1 Small Scale Irrigation Management Activities Irrigation scheme management activities involve a wide range of tasks, such as allocation and distribution of water, operation and maintenance at irrigation canal and so on. In view of these issues, the survey explored some aspects of small scale irrigation management and its impact on food security. Assessing the management aspect of small scale irrigation was found to be vital in this study as it affects agricultural productivity, and hence households food security situation. In view of this, IWMI (2005) stated that, devolving management 158
responsibility with or without some form of scheme ownership to the irrigating farmers, improves scheme performance water distribution and productivity, while saving public resources for agencies to carry out such tasks. Various types of irrigation management activities are stated by researchers. For instance, study by Byrnes (1992) clearly states that there are three dimensions of irrigation management activities. These are water use activities, control structure activities and organizational activities. They are further explained as follows: The same study points out that the water use activities are mainly concerned on the provision of water to crops in an adequate and timely manner. It includes components like acquisition, allocation, distribution and drainage. Acquisition here refers to an activity concerning with the acquisition of water from surface or subsurface sources, either by creating and operating physical structure such as dams weirs or wells or by actions to obtain some share of an existing supply. Whereas, allocation refers to the assignment of rights to users thereby determining who shall have access to water. On the other hand distribution refers to the physical process of taking the water from a source and dividing it among users at certain places, in certain amounts, and at certain times. Drainage is important where excess water must be removed (Byrnes, 1992). The same study stated that the control structure activities are those activities which are focusing on the basic structures required for water control such as 159
design, construction, operation and maintenance. Design involves the design of dams diversions or well to acquire water, of systems of rules to allocate it, of channels and gates to distribute it and of drains to remove it. Construction involves the construction of the structures to acquire, distribute and remove water, or implementation of rules that allocate it. Operation refers to the operation of the structures that acquire, allocate, distribute or remove water according to some determined plan of allocation. Maintenances are the final control structure activity. This provides for the continued and efficient acquisition, allocation, distribution and drainage (Byrnes, 1992). The work of Byrnes (1992) indicates that organizational activities are those which are focusing on the efforts to manage the structures that control irrigation water like resource mobilization, conflict resolution, communication and decisionmaking. The activity of resource mobilization entails marshaling management and utilization of funds manpower, materials, information or other inputs needed to control water through structures or to undertake various organizational tasks. The activity of communication entails conveying information about decisions made, resource requirements etc. to farmer or any other persons involved in irrigation managements. The activity of decision making entails the processes including planning involved in making decision about the design, construction, operation or maintenance of structures; acquisition, allocation, distribution or drainage of water or the organization deals with these activities. 160
As stated by Shimelis, et al ( 2005), in accordance with the federal and regional policy framework for small-scale irrigation development in Ethiopia, "WUA'' are in charge of water allocation, distribution, observing the water rights of members, conflict management and coordination of maintenance activities. The responsibility for running management of the irrigation systems was delegated to "WUA" in the hope of enhancing effectiveness, equity and responsiveness in irrigation management and to ensure sustainability. Likewise in the study area water users in both irrigation systems have established their own management structures and constructed internal bylaws that contribute to efficient and better irrigation management system. In general, Executive committees, sub-committees and water user teams (WUTs) or Water user association (WUA) were formed at irrigation system and distribution levels with the aim to facilitate water control and coordination of maintenance activities. The committees are one of the essential factors that are responsible for efficient management of irrigation schemes. However, in the study area the respondents complained that the committee lacks transparency and accountability to irrigation water users; and hence they were not able to ensure equity in water distribution. The committee members were blamed for power abuse, unfairness, lack of commitment, and above all not abide by the internal bylaws. In this regard a vast 161
majority of the respondents (73 percent) from both irrigation schemes reported that the committees were not held accountable through legal processes; they did not practice the overall management activities according to the established internal bylaws. 6.2 Small Scale Irrigation Development Problems Irrigation development intervention and better access to irrigation enables rural people to diversify their income sources and contribute a lot to short-term and long term alleviation of social problems. Small-scale irrigation in particular can promote rural food security, poverty alleviation and adaptation to climate change. It enables households to generate more income and in some cases transform their livelihoods. This is mainly because, irrigation development helps to sustain and increase agricultural production, especially in areas where rainfall is unreliable and fail to come. However, the performance and effectiveness of small-scale irrigation schemes are constrained by multidimensional problems that are ranging from individual farmers attitude to institutional arrangements. Therefore, the survey attempts to identify major constraints that are challenging households of the study area in irrigation development and performance of irrigation agriculture. To this effect, in the undergoing section the analysis and 162
discussion of the data obtained on the perception and experiences of the sampled households has been presented. 6.2.1 Irrigation Water Management:-Allocation and Distribution Water distribution is the main issue in any irrigation schemes. The most important performance indicators in the distribution of irrigation water include adequacy, timeliness and equity in the supply of water. The WUA is the lowest organizational structure established in the area. The major tasks of the WUA are to decide on the schedule for water distribution, to plan and organize canal clearance, and to solve problems arising from using water in the scheme. The study identified that each irrigation schemes has its own Water Users Association (WUA) that are responsible for coordinating the distribution of water. The WUA has nominated an individual who is responsible to open gate as per the program of each farm households. The descriptive statistics revealed that 62.1 percent of respondents reported that they could not get enough water for their farm activities when they need. Out of 163
them the largest number, 86.5 percent reported that the shortage is due to water theft, whereas 13.5 percent of them responded that it is due to water scarcity. The study also tried to identify if there is any relationship between water distribution and location of the household to the schemes. Accordingly, the survey results revealed that Water Committees were not able to ensure equity in water distribution. Head-end farmers had better access to irrigation water owing to their proximity to the headwork (location advantage). Sampled informants reported that head-end irrigators and, powerful and rich socioeconomic groups have been benefited more. The survey result in table 15 revealed 75.3 percent of the respondents responded that head- end irrigators get enough water and 16.0 percent of them said that rich and powerful farmers get enough water. Only 8.7 percent of the respondents reported that farmers with large family size get enough water for their farm activity (table 6.1). Therefore, the survey proved that location plays a significant role with regard to water distribution that is, those farmers that are located in the upper part of the scheme benefit more. 164
Table 0.1 Households Opinion distribution of water by Socialeconomic groups Characteristics Households Opinion by irrigation schemes and location Sirima Irrigation Bora-Galmo Total HH Schemes Irrigation Schemes Count % Count % Count % Farmers with large 8 8.0 5 10.0 13 8.7 family size Head-end farmers 73 73.0 40 80.0 113 75.3 Rich and powerful 16 16.0 8 16.0 24 16.0 farmers Source: Survey result (2012) Furthermore, in the study area in both irrigation schemes there are water committees who are in charge of water allocation. The committee runs the water allocation activities in coordination with irrigation agronomists and Development Agents (DA) that are assigned at each PAs. They allocate water and prepare 165
rotational schedules. However, water users expressed that Water allocation made by the Water Users association (WUA) committee has certain limitations in terms of implementation, mainly due to random water allocation. The study confirms that in the entire scheme considered by this survey, there has been no standardized irrigation (watering) interval to each crop cultivated; Water is distributed by turns of equal duration throughout the irrigation season simply following spatial order of plots, regardless of the crop cultivated. Thus, poor distribution system and inefficient use of irrigation water resource is the commonly observed problems of small-scale irrigation schemes in the study area. The study also identified that absence of sanction on water theft and illegal water users (those diverting the water course to one s farm land out of turn) was complained as the main administrative problem in relation with water distribution. About 84.0 percent of the sample households indicated that absence of sanction on illegal water users (who diverted water to their own land without turn) is the major administrative problem that encourages water theft and illegal water use. 6.2.2 Conflict Management Conflict/dispute over irrigation water users commonly occur between irrigators in the schemes and upstream traditional irrigators, and among irrigators themselves 166
within the irrigation schemes. According to the survey results 66.7 % of water users were reported that there was conflict arising from water theft/ using water out of turn and they also explained that were dissatisfied with the WUA handling of the matters. In the study area theft and illegal use of water is found to be the main reason for such conflict. The upstream community often uses more amount of water than that of downstream irrigators. This creates conflict between upstream and downstream water users. The study also showed that in Sirima and Bora-Galmo irrigation schemes 68.6 percent and 58.8 percent of sampled respondents reported that they have faced conflicts, respectively. This implies that the WUA committees are subjected to poor coordination that affects the proper allocation and fair distribution of water in the schemes under study. Even though, households in both irrigation schemes have documented bylaws to rule the proper functioning of water distribution and penalize illegal water users, households responded that whenever there is conflict because of water theft they resolve the issue not by referring to bylaws instead traditionally through elderlies. The informants responded that this weak system of penalizing illegal water users encourages illegal waters users to continue behaving illegally. 167
6.2.3 Maintenance of Irrigation Systems Maintenance of irrigation schemes includes cleaning of canals when filled with grass and mud, mending the canal when there is damage or broken, which enables the canal to be functioning properly and protect water lose. In this regard, the survey identified that, in the study area farmers undertake canal cleaning and system maintenance activities under the leadership of the water committee with the assistance of DAs. The evidence obtained from interview revealed most of the time members contribute labor for maintenance. Therefore, concerning maintenance activity issue the survey disclosed that maintenance is carried out twice a year but most of the time very irregularly in both schemes. The result of the descriptive statistics indicates that 5.33%, 10.00%, 8.67%, 18.67% and 57.33% of the sample respondents were witnessed the maintenance of the irrigation in the study area was very good; good, fair, poor and very poor, respectively (table 6.2). 168
Table 0.2: Households opinion distribution about maintenance of the schemes Description Number and Percent of Irrigators Sirima Irrigation Scheme Bora-Galmo Irrigation Scheme Total HH Count Percent Count Percent Count Percent Very good 2 2.0 6 12.0 8 5.33 Good 6 6.0 9 18.0 15 10.00 Fair 10 10.0 3 6.0 13 8.67 Poor 18 18.0 10 20.0 28 18.67 Very Poor 64 64.0 22 44.0 86 57.33 Total 100 100.0 50 100.0 150 100.0 Source: Survey Result (2012) In both irrigation schemes it has been observed that the canal networks were deteriorated or damaged at its some parts. About 88 percent of the respondents witnessed that the major causes of the canal damage were due to breaking of canals to extract water by illegal means. Moreover, it has also been observed 169
that turnouts were far apart and not evenly distributed; as a result irrigators break canals and extract water where there is no turnout; implying that technical problems in design and construction have contributed to the deterioration of the scheme, in addition to the organizational and management weaknesses. 6.2.4 Agricultural Inputs and Support Services Various studies in Ethiopia have proven that the success of small scale irrigation partly depends on appropriate application of modern farm inputs such as chemical fertilizers; improved seeds and herbicides and other support services. Therefore, utilization of modern farm inputs plays a significant role in increasing agricultural productivity and enhances farm households food security status. However, the survey result shows the farmers across the study site were found to be not satisfied in using such modern farm inputs, mainly due to unavailability (limited supply) and unaffordability(high price) to farmers. The proportion of farm households using improved such modern agricultural below recommended level. Improved seeds The survey result revealed only 32% and 38% of the sample households ever used seeds of improved vegetable and some cereal crop varieties in study area, 170
respectively. About 39 and 23 percent of the sample households in Sirima and Bora-Galmo irrigation schemes are using improved seeds only for some types of crops, respectively. Limited supply and high prices were blamed to be the main constraints against utilization of this input. In general, lack of vegetable seeds and fruit seedlings has been identified to be another problem for small scale irrigators in the study area. Chemical fertilizers The high price of chemical fertilizers is complained by respondents as a major problem in the study area. The price of imported inputs such as chemical fertilizer and fuel (for motor pump) has increased over time. About 54 % of the sample farmers reported that lack of applying chemical fertilizers of adequate quantity is complained by sampled households to be among major problems of small scale irrigation development in the study area. Moreover, the sampled respondents strongly claimed that the prices of fertilizers are getting higher from time to time. Herbicides and Pesticides Chemicals like pesticides and herbicides are also identified costly applied. Therefore, in the study area crop diseases issue is another problem that claimed by farm households. According to farmers view across the sites, decline in productivity was strongly associated with prevalence of pests and diseases in the 171
system. The survey proved that farmers of the study area intensively cultivate the same crops for long periods of time. For instance, Sweet potato was repeatedly grown over the field. In addition to the loss of productivity and fertility, this cultivation strategy facilitates crop disease. The study identified that herbicides and pesticides, to control these problems, are costly for farmers to purchase and they could not get at a critical time when they are required. Above all, irrigators have not regularly been supplied with these support services. Therefore, diseases and pests can limit the economic benefits of small-scale irrigation activities in the study area. Furthermore, household interviews confirmed that lack of spare parts for motor pumps were the main causes for reduced efficiency in small-scale irrigation in the study area. Respondents said that since we cannot get spare parts at local market pumps are kept for an easy damage without function for long time. In general according to user s explanation; frequent damage of the pump, lack of awareness of how to operate, cost of fuel and lack of credit are the main problems related to motor pump irrigation in the study site. 6.2.5 Market and Marketing Facility Marketing facilities is one of the most powerful factors greatly stimulating agricultural productions of an area. Hence, there is a positive association 172
between efficient market and development of irrigation agriculture. Although not directly related to the functioning of irrigation systems, lack of market and marketing facilities have been proven to be a problem of small scale irrigators in the study area. Vegetables like onion, tomato, potato and the like are perishable and bulky crops, so an efficient marketing channel is necessary. However, the study area marketing system does not always facilitate outcomes desired by farmers. One reason is the similarity of products and marketing patterns, which leads to a high availability and low prices during the main marketing period. Moreover, due to absence of efficient storage system in the study area, farmers must sell products within a very short time, often at what they consider low prices. Using the survey an investigation was made on how farmers run marketing activities in their locality. Consequently, the result imparts that majority of sample households (81 %) sold their produce for nearby market centers, at Haro Dumal only whereas some of respondents (19%) did not sell farm products totally. In general, the majority (67.7 percent) of the sampled households reported that there is a market problem for their produces. The problem is much severe when it comes to irrigation users who produce vegetables and fruits. About 75.3 percent of respondents from irrigating households claimed that lower price for their product is mainly caused by market constraint. Because vegetables and 173
fruits are highly perishable, as a result farmers are forced to dump their produce at low prices that market offered. Furthermore, market information plays a vital role in small scale irrigation participation and escalating households gross income. Besides, purchasing of the right agricultural inputs at the right time and supplying of the product to the right consumer with a reasonable intermediary transaction cost is possible with the existence of market information. However, respondents witnessed that because of lack of getting reliable market information and absence of links with local buyers and sellers in their vicinity they are not in a position to get better benefit in trading of agricultural commodities. Thus, all farmers responded that there is no market information center; there is no institution involved in provision of and accessing of marketing information in the study area. 174