Impact of smallholder irrigation revitalisation programme on the exchange irrigation Scheme in Kwekwe District, Zimbabwe

Abstract

Zimbabwe has a sub-tropical climate with only one rainy season per year, which is frequently punctuated by mid-season droughts. Rainfall is unreliable and erratic, which affects the crops and often results in poor yields, especially in the semi-arid Natural Regions (NR) III, IV and V. Due to these unfavourable climatic conditions, most rural Zimbabwean households do not produce enough food to meet their own needs. Irrigated agriculture is thus necessary to promote the crop production efforts of smallholder farmers and to improve rural livelihoods. Recent efforts to improve smallholder irrigation in Zimbabwe include the Smallholder Irrigation Revitalisation Programme (SIRP), which has been in existence from 2016 and expected to run until 2023 and aims to reduce the vulnerability of smallholder farmers to food and nutrition insecurity, climate change effects and economic shocks. This study aimed to assess the impact of the Smallholder Irrigation Revitalisation Programme on the Exchange Irrigation Scheme in the Kwekwe District of Zimbabwe. The objectives of the study were to determine the challenges and needs of Exchange Irrigation Scheme and the factors influencing those challenges, to identify the extension systems and communication channels employed by the SIRP to deliver services to farmers, to assess the contribution of the SIRP to the livelihoods of smallholder farmers and to determine the improvement in water-use efficiency and farm profitability since the inception of SIRP. The data collection methods used included a formal survey of 134 farmers, using a structured questionnaire, and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), using an interview guide. Cluster sampling was used to determine the number of irrigators selected and the purposive sampling method was used to select 25 key stakeholders for FGDs meeting. Descriptive statistics were used to determine the socio-economic characteristics. The information gathered from the surveys was analysed by using the Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) software. Tables and charts were created with the percentages of the responses, based on the analysis. The results showed that many challenges are being faced by the Exchange Irrigation Scheme, the most common being the lack of a market, lack of access to market information and accessibility to the market, the unavailability of a back-up power source for pumping water in the event of power cuts, problem of pests and diseases, and failure to receive inputs in time. The study concluded that, despite the current challenges, SIRP is bringing about positive change with regard to poverty alleviation, it is improving the livelihoods of the households within the Exchange Irrigation Scheme and it is improving the water use efficiency and profitability of the irrigation scheme. The bottom-up extension approach was identified as the most-used method of engagement, while the Agricultural Extension officers stationed at the irrigation scheme served as the primary conduits of communication for the project. The study recommended the involvement of farmers from the early stages of the project to ensure farmer-ownership and the sustainability of the project, which is predominantly the case at the Exchange Irrigation Scheme of the SIRP project. It is also recommended that further studies need to be conducted on how market-related challenges can be addressed, so as to improve the profitability of the venture. In addition, the prioritisation of capacity-building programmes in basic crop and irrigation management practices, and the strengthening of institutional and organisational arrangements, in an effort to improve the performance of smallholder irrigation schemes, is also recommended.