Environmental and Socio-economic Impacts of Small Scale Irrigation Farming Households in Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia
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Date
2020-11
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Smallholder rain-fed agriculture is the mainstay of the majority of the population in Ethiopia.
However, the performance of the sector is very poor particularly in the drought-prone parts of the
country. Small scale irrigation has been introduced to overcome climate variability induced
livelihood challenges of farm households; Central rift valley of Ethiopia is known for its long time
experience in irrigation. This research aims to examine the environmental and socio-economic
impacts of small scale irrigation in the Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia. Household survey,
interview and soil and water laboratory testing were used to collect primary data. About 259
irrigation users and 172 non-irrigation user households were selected for the survey. Convenience
and snowball sampling methods were used to select interviewees. The study showed that irrigation
user households have higher gross income and farm income than non-irrigation users (P< 0.01
and P<0.05 respectively). Irrigators have higher cultivated land holding (0.89 hectares) than nonirrigators (0.84) at P<0.05. The highest percentage of irrigators (71%) and non-irrigators (77%)
have never used credit service. Many complex factors determine farmers’ decision to participate
in irrigation. Poor market access due to road problems and lack of transparency in the
performance of the local irrigation institutions found to be among the critical constraints that
negatively affect farmers’ decision to participate in irrigation. The current study revealed that
irrigation water that falls with the value of SAR > 15 and Adjusted ESP >13 at EC< 4ds/m
indicates the sodic nature of the water. Accordingly, the groundwater chemical composition (ESP
= 63.3, SAR = 116.28 and EC= 1.973), showing the sodic type of the water at Bochessa site. Thus, the
study proofed that the type of the irrigation water affects the quality of the soil (farm lands irrigated using
groundwater have high ESP (ESP=29.7)) and the soil is categorized as sodic soil. Sodic soils
adversely affect plant growth mainly hindering the osmotic process and diminishes the economic
profitability. The study further revealed that small scale irrigation enhances agricultural
productivity, serve as a source of diversified food, creates employment opportunity, means to cope
up with the effects of climate variability, and increases household asset and income. However, the
prevalence of pests and diseases, degradation of natural resources, and biodiversity modification
are some of the negative effects of irrigation. Water scarcity and associated conflicts for water use
found to be a serious problem due to the high demand for water from multiple users. The
sustainability of irrigation-based livelihood is gloomy in the study site due to farmers’ limited
access to livelihood capitals, unequal participation of women farmers in irrigation, and lack of
transparency of irrigation institutions. The study suggested that creating market linkage,
increasing accessibility of rural financial institutions, introducing gender-sensitive irrigation
technologies, adopting of water-saving irrigation technologies and ensure equity in irrigation
water use as key approaches to enhance the sustainability of irrigation. The study further
recommends assuring sustainable rural livelihood agricultural policymakers and practitioners
should focus on improving the performance of both rain-fed and irrigation. The study suggests
some future researches to be conducted on the effects of SSI farming on human health and
biodiversity change and how the environmental impact assessment is implemented by large scale
irrigators in the CRV of Ethiopia.
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Keywords
Small scale irrigation, farmer participation, household income, determinants, soil salinity, livelihood, Central Rift Valley.