Impact and sustainability of low-head drip irrigation kits, in the semi-arid Gwanda and Beitbridge Districts, Mzingwane Catchment, Limpopo Basin, Zimbabwe

Abstract

Resource-poor smallholder farmers in the semi-arid Gwanda and Beitbridge districts face food insecurity on an annual basis due to a combination of poor and erratic rainfall (average 500 mm/a and 345 mm/a, respectively, for the period 1970-2003) and technologies inappropriate to their resource status. This impacts on both household livelihoods and food security. In an attempt to improve food security in the catchment a number of drip kit distribution programmes have been initiated since 2003 as part of an ongoing global initiative aimed at 2 million poor households per year. A number of recent studies have assessed the technical performance of the drip kits in-lab and in-field. In early 2005 a study was undertaken to assess the impacts and sustainability of the drip kit programme. Representatives of the NGOs, local government, traditional leadership and agricultural extension officers were interviewed. Focus group discussions with beneficiaries and other villagers were held at village level. A survey of 114 households was then conducted in two districts, using a questionnaire developed from the output of the interviews and focus group discussions. The results from the study showed that the NGOs did not specifically target the distribution of the drip kits to poor members of the community (defined for the purpose of the study as those not owning cattle). Poor households made up 54% of the beneficiaries. This poor targeting of vulnerable households could have been a result of conditions set by some implementing NGOs that beneficiaries must have an assured water source. On the other hand, only 2% of the beneficiaries had used the kit to produce the expected 5 harvests over the 2 years, owing to problems related to water shortage, access to water and also pests and diseases. About 51% of the respondents had produced at least 3 harvests and 86% produced at least 2 harvests. Due to water shortages during the dry season 61% of production with the drip kit occurred during the wet season. This suggests that most households use the drip kits as supplementary irrigation. Conflicts between beneficiaries and water point committees or other water users developed in some areas especially during the dry season. The main finding from this study was that low cost drip kit programs can only be a sustainable intervention if implemented as an integral part of a long-term development program, not short-term relief programs and the programme should involve a broad range of stakeholders. A first step in any such program, especially in water scarce areas such as Gwanda and Beitbridge, is a detailed analysis of the existing water resources to assess availability and potential conflicts, prior to distribution of drip kits.

Drought Adaptation in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China: Actions, Planning, Pathways and Barriers

“…Drip irrigation is an effective water-saving method, which was established in Germany more than a century ago [69]. Now, the method is widely used for agricultural production in arid, semi-arid and sub-tropical countries [70][71][72][73][74][75][76][77][78][79][80][81][82][83][84]. It was introduced to China in 1994 [85], and while the NX region's government has been trying to promote these irrigation methods through financial subsidies, such promotion is very difficult in rural areas for a variety of reasons (see Section 5).…”

Solar-powered drip irrigation enhances food security in the Sudano–Sahel

“…Through private purchase, government programs, and non-governmental organization (NGO) projects, more and more smallholder producers are gaining access to low-pressure drip irrigation kits that require only 1 m of pressure to irrigate plots of up to 1; 000 m 2 . Nevertheless, the impact of this technology has been limited in subSaharan Africa by reliable access to water, as well as lack of agronomic and marketing support (16)(17)(18).…”

Review paper on ‘Garden Kits’ in Africa: lessons learned and the potential of improved water management

“…Further, water scarcity was not the main impediment to improving productivity and returns to vegetable gardening; making improved seeds and fertilizer available would be a better strategy (Rohrbach et al 2006;Belder et al 2007). Other studies in Zimbabwe come to the same conclusion: distribution of drip irrigation kits is not an appropriate relief strategy (Moyo 2005;Moyo et al 2006;Merrey et al 2008).…”

“…Small low-cost drip irrigation kits have been widely distributed in several countries, often by NGOs and charities (in some cases as part of emergency assistance when food supplies are low). Overall, there is strong evidence that households quickly stop using these kits, as seen in Zimbabwe (Rohrbach et al 2006;Belder et al 2007;Moyo 2005;Moyo et al 2006;Merrey et al 2008); South Africa (Sturdy et al 2008); Kenya (Kulecho and Weatherhead 2006); Eritrea (Ghebru and Mehari 2005); and Niger (Woltering et al 2011a).…”