scholarly journals Determinants of farmer awareness of water governance across gender dimensions in smallholder irrigation schemes in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa

Water SA ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (2 April) ◽  
Author(s):  
SF Dlangalala ◽  
M Mudhara
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Water Policy ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
Stakeholder Participation ◽  
Irrigation Management ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Least Square ◽  
Irrigated Agriculture ◽  
Water Institutions ◽  
Smallholder Irrigation

Water is a vital resource for irrigated agricultural production. Its availability and accessibility are critical for alleviating poverty and achieving food security in rural households. However, smallholder irrigated agriculture in South Africa faces limited water supply emanating from scheme governance problems, with weak institutional arrangements that fail to equitably and effectively govern water resources. South African water policy has been transforming over the years. However, statutory laws remain unknown in smallholder irrigation schemes. This study sought to assess farmer awareness of water governance and identify the determinants of farmer awareness of water governance dimensions across gender dimensions in Mooi River, Tugela Ferry, and Ndumo irrigation schemes. The study employed principal component analysis to generate water governance indices, that is, formal institutions, the existence and effectiveness of scheme constitutions, scheme committees and enforcement of informal rules in the scheme. The ordinary least square regression technique was then used to identify factors determining farmer awareness of formal and informal water institutions in the three irrigation schemes. The findings suggest that formal water institutions are unknown and factors such as household characteristics, scheme location, stakeholder participation and involvement in scheme decision-making processes significantly influence awareness of governance. Therefore, there is a need to raise farmer awareness of formal water institutions and to strengthen the informal institutions which are functional, recognised and in line with irrigation management transfer.

scholarly journals Determinants of farmer awareness of water governance across gender dimensions in smallholder irrigation schemes in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa

Water SA ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (2 April) ◽  
Author(s):  
SF Dlangalala ◽  
M Mudhara
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Water Policy ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
Stakeholder Participation ◽  
Irrigation Management ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Least Square ◽  
Irrigated Agriculture ◽  
Water Institutions ◽  
Smallholder Irrigation

Water is a vital resource for irrigated agricultural production. Its availability and accessibility are critical for alleviating poverty and achieving food security in rural households. However, smallholder irrigated agriculture in South Africa faces limited water supply emanating from scheme governance problems, with weak institutional arrangements that fail to equitably and effectively govern water resources. South African water policy has been transforming over the years. However, statutory laws remain unknown in smallholder irrigation schemes. This study sought to assess farmer awareness of water governance and identify the determinants of farmer awareness of water governance dimensions across gender dimensions in Mooi River, Tugela Ferry, and Ndumo irrigation schemes. The study employed principal component analysis to generate water governance indices, that is, formal institutions, the existence and effectiveness of scheme constitutions, scheme committees and enforcement of informal rules in the scheme. The ordinary least square regression technique was then used to identify factors determining farmer awareness of formal and informal water institutions in the three irrigation schemes. The findings suggest that formal water institutions are unknown and factors such as household characteristics, scheme location, stakeholder participation and involvement in scheme decision-making processes significantly influence awareness of governance. Therefore, there is a need to raise farmer awareness of formal water institutions and to strengthen the informal institutions which are functional, recognised and in line with irrigation management transfer.

Environmental water governance in federal rivers: opportunities and limits for subsidiarity in Australia's Murray–Darling River

Water Policy ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 915-936 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dustin Garrick ◽  
Rosalind Bark ◽  
Jeff Connor ◽  
Onil Banerjee
Keyword(s):  
Water Policy ◽  
Economies Of Scale ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
Recovery Process ◽  
Environmental Water ◽  
Irrigated Agriculture ◽  
Federal State ◽  
Reform Process ◽  
National Interests ◽  
Subsidiarity Principle

A reform process is underway in the Murray–Darling Basin (Australia) to reallocate water from irrigated agriculture to the environment. The scale, complexity and politics of the recovery process have prompted interest in the role of local environmental water managers within state and federal governance arrangements. This paper examines prospects for a local role in environmental water management through the lens of the subsidiarity principle: the notion that effective governance devolves tasks to the lowest level with the political authority and capacity to perform them. The article defines and applies the subsidiarity principle to assess evolving federal–state–local interactions in environmental water policy, planning and practice in Australia's Murray–Darling River. In this context, subsidiarity is useful to clarify institutional roles and their coordination at a whole-of-river level. This analysis demonstrates opportunities for a local role in information gathering, innovation and operational flexibility to respond to opportunities in real time. It identifies significant limits to local action in upstream–downstream tradeoffs, economies of scale, capacity building and cost sharing for basin-wide or national interests, and accountability mechanisms to balance local, state and national rights and responsibilities. Lessons are relevant internationally for regions confronting complex allocation tradeoffs between human and environmental needs within multi-jurisdictional federal systems.

scholarly journals Developing a dynamic framework to examine the interplay between environmental stress, stakeholder participation processes and hydrological systems

2014 ◽  
Vol 364 ◽  
pp. 326-332
Author(s):  
G. Carr ◽  
G. Blöschl ◽  
D. P. Loucks
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Resource Management ◽  
Environmental Stress ◽  
Water Policy ◽  
Water Resource Management ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
Stakeholder Participation ◽  
Institutional Conditions ◽  
Dynamic Framework ◽  
Environmental Events

Abstract. Stakeholder participation is increasingly discussed as essential for sustainable water resource management. Yet detailed understanding of the factors driving its use, the processes by which it is employed, and the outcomes or achievements it can realise remains highly limited, and often contested. This understanding is essential to enable water policy to be shaped for efficient and effective water management. This research proposes and applies a dynamic framework that can explore in which circumstances environmental stress events, such as floods, droughts or pollution, drive changes in water governance towards a more participatory approach, and how this shapes the processes by which participation or stakeholder engagement takes place, and the subsequent water management outcomes that emerge. The framework is able to assess the extent to which environmental events in combination with favourable contextual factors (e.g. institutional support for participatory activities) lead to good participatory processes (e.g. well facilitated and representative) that then lead to good outcomes (e.g. improved ecological conditions). Through applying the framework to case studies from the literature it becomes clear that environmental stress events can stimulate participatory governance changes, when existing institutional conditions promote participatory approaches. The work also suggests that intermediary outcomes, which may be tangible (such as reaching an agreement) or non-tangible (such as developing shared knowledge and understanding among participants, or creating trust), may provide a crucial link between processes and resource management outcomes. If this relationship can be more strongly confirmed, the presence or absence of intermediary outcomes may even be used as a valuable proxy to predict future resource management outcomes.

Decentralisation as a tool in improving water governance in Kenya

Water Policy ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 252-265 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nyika Joan Mwihaki
Keyword(s):  
Water Policy ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
Stakeholder Participation ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Water And Sanitation ◽  
Sanitation Services ◽  
Water Users ◽  
Services Delivery ◽  
Near Future

Abstract Water governance remains barely understood in Kenya, despite the fact that water scarcity is endemic in the country. This study focuses on the role of decentralisation in water and sanitation services delivery in two sub-counties: Kiambu and Thika. The study uses primary data from a survey involving 766 respondents and secondary evidence from water agencies' records. Findings point to the need to adopt decentralisation particularly in stakeholder participation on water issues, power and role distribution in the Kenyan water sector. Decentralisation trends have been shown to enhance accountability, acceptance of pluralistic trends, and efficient and effective service delivery. Water policy revisions, enforcement and the proactive nature of water users are also prerequisites to better water and sanitation services delivery, if sustainable water management will be realised in the near future.

scholarly journals Determinants of Farmers’ Participation in the Management of Smallholder Irrigation Schemes in Kwazulu-Natal Province, South Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (6(J)) ◽  
pp. 21-32
Author(s):  
Lerato Phali ◽  
Maxwell Mudhara ◽  
Stuart Ferrer ◽  
Godswill Makombe
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Land Tenure ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Irrigation Management ◽  
Collective Responsibility ◽  
Credit Access ◽  
Rule Compliance ◽  
Kwazulu Natal ◽  
And Control ◽  
Smallholder Irrigation

Participatory Irrigation Management is an important concept in the management of water resources. It fosters collective responsibility and rule compliance, the lack of which creates a weak environment for sustainable water use. This study adopted Principal Components Analysis and Structural Equation Modelling to evaluate the determinants of farmer’s participation in the management of four smallholder irrigations schemes in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. The selected schemes, Ndumo, Makhathini Flats, Mooi River and Tugela Ferry, are representative of the general management and farmer activities in smallholder irrigation schemes in the country. The study considered household data from 341 irrigators and found that those who participated in regulation and control management activities of SIS also participate in information sharing activities. The results show that agricultural training, land tenure security, credit access and co-operative membership positively influence farmers’ participation in decision making. Additionally, irrigation water adequacy positively influences farmer’s participation in making financial contributions in the schemes. The study recommends that better land agreements that, would improve the security of tenure should be put in place to foster farmer participation. Farmers should receive agricultural and irrigation training to increase the likelihood of participating in the management of irrigation schemes.

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

Water Policy ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 127-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. L. Dirwai ◽  
A. Senzanje ◽  
M. Mudhara
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Irrigation Schedule ◽  
Irrigation Management ◽  
Management Training ◽  
Irrigation Scheme ◽  
Kwazulu Natal ◽  
Traditional Authorities ◽  
Smallholder Irrigation

AbstractWater 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.

scholarly journals Localized Institutional Actors and Smallholder Irrigation Scheme Performance in Limpopo Province of South Africa

Agriculture ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 418
Author(s):  
Liboster Mwadzingeni ◽  
Raymond Mugandani ◽  
Paramu Mafongoya
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Poor Performance ◽  
Limpopo Province ◽  
Least Square ◽  
Irrigation Scheme ◽  
Yield Data ◽  
Ordinary Least Square ◽  
Ordinary Least Square Regression ◽  
Institutional Actors

Poor performance bedeviling SISs in South Africa is attributed to poor institutional integration, consequently impacting service delivery. Despite this, local institutional actors (LIAs)’ role has not been documented as a potential entry point to address poor performance and hence increase SISs’ sustainability. This study sought to assess the role of LIAs on the performance of the Tshiombo irrigation scheme (TIS). Structured questionnaires, key informant interviews (KIIs), and focus group discussions (FDGs) were used for data collection. Yield data for sweet potato, the main crop grown in the scheme, was measured as a proxy indicator for performance. Ordinary least square regression model was used to assess the relationship between LIAs and scheme performance after reducing the data using principal component analysis. The study revealed that institutional factors such as community credit support, academic extension support, academic institution market and input support, community maintenance support, and community input support positively and significantly (at 5% level) improved the yield by a margin of 0.49, 0.12, 0.1, 0.36, and 0.10. Assessing institutional actors’ interaction within each scheme will help develop linkages that will enable sustainability of irrigation schemes. Out scaling of research on LIAs on irrigation scheme performance enhances scheme performance.

EVALUATION OF SENARIOS FOR IMPLIMENATION OF THE INSTITUTIONAL REFORM IN MANAGEMENT OF IRRIGATION SYSTEMS

2021 ◽  
pp. 69-76
Author(s):  
Olga Zhovtonog ◽  
Kateryna Ryzhova ◽  
Anastasia Zubko
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Land Reform ◽  
Water Policy ◽  
Irrigation Management ◽  
Institutional Reform ◽  
Scenario Planning ◽  
The State ◽  
Irrigated Agriculture ◽  
Institutional Changes ◽  
Irrigation Systems

The development of an integrated state policy for the restoration of the irrigation and the implementation of appropriate institutional changes and the introduction of new financial and economic mechanisms for its sustainable operation. Institutional changes in irrigation management are becoming the main condition for attracting investment in restoration and modernisation of irrigation infrastructure. Existing developments in the transformation of irrigation management in Ukraine require assessment and alignment with the realities of existing agriculture practice and the state of formation of the general water policy of Ukraine in recent years and also taking into account other reforms, such as land reform and decentralization in rural management. The aim of the research was to adapt the methodological principles of irrigation management transformation to modern conditions of agricultural production and directions of reforming water resources management and water infrastructure (the main state water management and reclamation infrastructure and on – farm irrigation systems). To select a sustainable model of institutional reform in the management of irrigated systems in Ukraine, systems analysis and the method of scenario planning and indicative comprehensive assessment of scenarios is proposed. Based on the use of PEST and SWOT-analysis of general socio-economic and political conditions, the state of modern agricultural production and the use of irrigation, three most probable scenarios of irrigation reform are proposed and an analysis of benefits and risks for each of them were conducted. A method of comparative indicative assessment of different scenarios for the implementation of institutional reform has been developed, which characterizes the efficiency of water use and irrigated agriculture in the creation of new institutions and risks to ensure quality services for water users.

scholarly journals Factors affecting the Performance of Tshiombo Irrigation Scheme in Limpopo Province, South Africa.

2020 ◽  
Vol 57 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Liboster Mwadzingeni ◽  
Raymond Mugandani ◽  
Paramu Mafongoya
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Value Chain ◽  
Market Price ◽  
Least Square ◽  
Irrigation Scheme ◽  
Gross Margin ◽  
Market Prices ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Smallholder Irrigation

Smallholder irrigation farming is valuable for improving the welfare of rural communities in South Africa. Irrigation schemes in South Africa perform below average as some collapsed. Boosting performance of irrigation schemes will ensure economic sustainability for low-income earners. There is little scholarly literature on factors affecting performance of smallholder irrigation schemes in South Africa. Therefore, this study assessed factors affecting yield and gross margin of sweet potato in Tshiombo Irrigation Scheme. Data was collected using structured questionnaires, Focus Group Discussions and in-depth interviews. Performance of the irrigation scheme was analysed using Ordinary Least Square. Yield or gross margin of sweet potatoes were used as proxies for scheme performance. Six estimators, namely age of farmers (-0.022), labour availability (-0.185), cultivated area (-0.130), pesticide subsidy (0.138), market price (6.090), and distance of the plot from the main canal (0.191) significantly impacted performance of the scheme. Minimum participation of farmers in value chain exposed then to lower market prices. Gross margin was generally low due to limited participation of aging farmers in the value chain. Performance of the scheme can be improved through providing and ensuring competitive prices and encouraging youth to participate in scheme farming by providing lucrative market prices.

Managing climate risks in Australia: options for water policy and irrigation management

2008 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 265 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shahbaz Khan
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Policy ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Irrigation Management ◽  
Irrigated Agriculture ◽  
Irrigation Season ◽  
Management Options ◽  
Annual Average ◽  
Australian Water ◽  
Climate Forecasting

Australia, a country which suffers from recurrent droughts, is currently experiencing a shift in climate. It is often classified as the driest inhabited continent due to the extremely low annual average rainfall (465 mm) and associated low annual average runoff (57 mm). This has required a regular revision of Australia’s water policy to align with the needs of its society. Several changes in water policy have been formulated in recent times with the objective of striking a balance between the consumptive and environmental components of flows in Australian catchments. Some of the developments that affect irrigated agriculture include: (i) the Council of Australian Government’s water reforms; (ii) the Murray–Darling Basin Commission cap (the volume of water that could be diverted under 1993–94 levels of development); (iii) environmental flow rules; and (iv) the National Water Initiative. At a strategic level global climate change threatens the viability of irrigated agriculture and other industries. Under the present water reforms, longer-term water security is not guaranteed because these reforms do not explicitly take into account threats to water quantity and quality due to enhanced climate variability and change. At an operational level, current water allocation systems do not take into account state-of-the-art climate forecasting methods. Therefore, it is often not until after the irrigation season is well underway that irrigators have a reasonable knowledge of how much water will be available. Thus, there is considerable risk associated with planting and crop establishment decisions, resulting in a need for climate forecasting tools aimed at risk management. There is also a need for Australian water legislation and policy to be revisited to incorporate climate change and adaptive management options.

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