Farmers` satisfaction with the performance of the Mooi River Irrigation Scheme, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Gomo, T.; Mudhara, Maxwell; Senzanje, Aidan

doi:10.4314/wsa.v40i3.6

Cited by 10 publications

(15 citation statements)

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“…Various studies have been undertaken that investigate farmer perception of water security and water use efficiency (Gomo et al, 2014;Sharaunga & Mudhara, 2016;Alcon et al, 2017). The management of common pool resources (CPRs) such as adequate canal irrigation water and maintenance of the hydraulic infrastructure is key to improved crop production and poverty alleviation; however, SISs still remain poverty nodes despite the potential benefits of irrigation water and the conveyance system (Van Averbeke et al, 2011).…”

Section: Water Adequacymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the literature, the Logit model has been used because it is stable for a large population size (Amemiya, 1981;Maddala, 1986;Cakmakyapan & Goktas, 2013;Sharaunga & Mudhara, 2016). According to Damisa et al (2008) and Gomo et al (2014), the advantages of using a Logit model are that they are easier to compute and interpret than Probit models, and eliminate heteroskedasticity, i.e., the probability does not increase linearly with a unit change in the value of the independent variable and the computation of the logistic distribution guarantees the rate of the probabilities to always lie between the interval 0 and 1. The Binomial Logit (BNL) model was applied and run on STATA 15 to analyse the governance factors assumed to influence adequacy.…”

Section: Model Specificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Similar empirical models have been applied in various water cases. Gomo et al (2014) used the Probit model, which is in the same family as the Logit generalised linear models, to investigate farmer satisfaction with SIS performance. Sharaunga & Mudhara (2016) used a BNL model run on STATA 15 to investigate factors that influence water use security in smallholder irrigation farming.…”

Section: Model Specificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Water governance impacts on water adequacy in smallholder irrigation schemes in KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa

2018

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Water adequacy is central to maximised agricultural production in irrigation schemes. Smallholder Irrigation Schemes (SISs) are designed to distribute water efficiently, adequately and equitably. Water governance, defined as the institutions, processes, procedures, rules and regulations involved in water management, plays an important role in water allocation and subsequently water adequacy. The intersectoral institutions involved in water governance in SISs, i.e., government, Water User Associations (WUAs), Irrigation Management Committees (IMCs) and traditional authorities, interact to formulate and design policies for running SISs. However, multilevel interaction amongst the active stakeholders at multiple levels shapes policy and underlies SIS performance. This research aimed to investigate the impacts water governance had on adequacy of water in irrigation schemes and was premised on the hypothesis that governance had no effect on water adequacy. Water adequacy describes water supply relative to demand. Adequacy indicates whether the water delivery system supplies the required amount to a section in the irrigation scheme over a period of time (daily, monthly or seasonally). Two irrigation schemes, the Mooi-River Irrigation Scheme (MRIS) and Tugela Ferry Irrigation Scheme (TFIS) were used as case studies. A descriptive analysis showed that 86% of the farmers in the TFIS had adequate water, whereas 24% had water adequacy in the MRIS. A Binary Logit model was employed to investigate the factors that influence water adequacy among irrigators. The regression model identified eight statistically significant factors that influenced water adequacy: the irrigation scheme, location of plot within the scheme, training in water management, training in irrigation, SIS irrigators' knowledge about the government's aims, availability of water licences, payment of water fees and satisfaction with the irrigation schedule. The study concluded that governance factors had influence on water adequacy in the selected SISs. The implication is that stakeholders should make irrigators aware of government Irrigation Management Transfer (IMT) policy and strategies. The study recommends that the SISs introduce rules, procedures and protocols to support irrigators to enhance scheme governance and lead to the realisation of government policies.

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Section: Water Adequacymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Model Specificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Model Specificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Water governance impacts on water adequacy in smallholder irrigation schemes in KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa

2018

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“…However, despite the huge government investments in the establishment and refurbishment of smallholder irrigation schemes, some schemes face collapse soon after the withdrawal of state support (Cousins, 2013). Many countries have therefore embarked on a process to transfer the management of state-managed irrigation systems from government agencies to water users through implementing irrigation management transfer (IMT) and participatory irrigation management (PIM) policies (Perret, 2002;Arun et al, 2012;Gomo et al, 2014) The rationale for embarking on IMT is to relieve the government of the financial burden of funding recurrent expenditures for irrigation, improve the maintenance of irrigation facilities and the irrigation service, promote a culture of self-reliance among farmers in irrigation schemes and enhance the productivity of irrigated land and water (Hassan, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Collective action and participation in irrigation water management: A case study of Mooi River Irrigation Scheme in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa

Muchara¹,

Ortmann²,

Wale³

et al. 2014

WSA

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In line with the current focus of most developing countries to transfer management of communal irrigation schemes from state to users, an understanding of the determinants of farmer participation in collective activities forms the basis to improve the management of previously government-funded schemes, which are characterised by poor maintenance and performance when farmers are left to manage the schemes on their own. Cross-sectional data collected from 307 respondents in the Mooi River Irrigation Scheme (MRIS) in KwaZulu-Natal were used to identify the determinants of farmer participation in collective activities. The results of the Tobit and Ordered Probit models suggest that collective activities are negatively affected by low farmer-literacy levels. Number of consecutive days that farmers spend without access to irrigation water per week was used as a proxy for water scarcity, and was confirmed to be a significant determinant of farmer participation. The existing incentives for water-users in the MRIS need to be improved to encourage farmer participation in collective water management. This calls for strengthening of local water management systems and institutional policies to ensure maximum benefits from participating in collective activities. The study noted the complexity of managing common pool resources at a localised level, and pointed to the need to further understand the institutional dynamics in which smallholder irrigation farmers operate.

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“…Various factors such as insufficient technical capacity and poor institutional arrangements have contributed to the underperformance of the water infrastructures (Moyo et al, 2016). To enhance water security, the assessment of the performance of irrigation water infrastructure has been reported as a very useful tool for improving water resource management practices (Awulachew and Ayana, 2011;Gomo et al, 2014;Dinka, 2016;Haileslassie et al, 2016;Elshaikh et al, 2018;Ngasoh et al, 2018;Abera et al, 2019;Karimi et al, 2019). In South Africa, numerous studies have been conducted on smallholder irrigation schemes but with little attention to other categories of smallholder farmers, such as those practising irrigation in small historical towns.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Infrastructure Performance and Irrigation Water Governance in Genadendal, Western Cape, South Africa

Mugejo¹,

Ncube²,

Mutsvangwa³

2022

Preprint

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Disasters such as the 2015-2018 drought in South Africa usually negatively impact agricultural water, especially in smallholder farming systems. This study assessed the availability of irrigation water, performance of irrigation infrastructure, and water governance systems in Genadendal, Western Cape, with a focus on smallholder farmers. Data for streamflow, dam levels, and rainfall were acquired from water institutions and analysed using Microsoft Excel. The performance of the infrastructure and water governance were assessed based on the perceptions of smallholder farmers and key informants. A questionnaire was administered to eight smallholder farmers, followed by a focus group discussion with 15 smallholder farmers. Interviews were conducted with eight key informants who worked in water-related institutions. Qualitative data from the interviews were analysed using thematic content analysis. The study showed adequate agricultural water resources during the 2015-2018 drought period for the smallholder farmers who relied on water from dams. However, smallholder farmers who relied on the Riviersonderend River experienced severe water shortages during the same period. The findings also showed that there was poor performance of irrigation water infrastructure due to inadequate maintenance. Lack of coordination among institutions, insufficient funding, political interference, fragmentation of roles and responsibilities, lack of human resources, and farmers’ lack of participation and commitment in water resources management contributed to the dysfunctionality of irrigation water governance systems, leading to water insecurity. This study recommends adequate funding for the operation and maintenance of infrastructure. Furthermore, water institutions need to support smallholder farmers with training skills in agricultural water management and infrastructure maintenance. Further studies are recommended to quantify the water lost due to the poor performance of water infrastructure and to develop effective water governance in Genadendal.

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Farmers` satisfaction with the performance of the Mooi River Irrigation Scheme, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Cited by 10 publications

References 14 publications

Water governance impacts on water adequacy in smallholder irrigation schemes in KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa

Water governance impacts on water adequacy in smallholder irrigation schemes in KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa

Collective action and participation in irrigation water management: A case study of Mooi River Irrigation Scheme in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa

Infrastructure Performance and Irrigation Water Governance in Genadendal, Western Cape, South Africa

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