Stakeholder Roles and Perspectives on Sedimentation Management in Small-Scale Irrigation Schemes in Ethiopia

Zerihun Anbesa Gurmu, Henk Ritzema, Charlotte de Fraiture and Mekonen Ayana
Additional contact information
Zerihun Anbesa Gurmu: Faculty of Water Resources and Irrigation Engineering, Arba Minch University, P.O. Box 21 Arba Minch, Ethiopia
Henk Ritzema: Water Resources Management Group, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 3a, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
Charlotte de Fraiture: Water Resources Management Group, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 3a, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
Mekonen Ayana: Department of Water Resources Engineering, Adama Science and Technology University, P.O. Box 1888 Adama, Ethiopia

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 21, 1-18

Abstract: Irrigated agriculture, particularly small-scale irrigation (SSI), is a mainstay for sustainable livelihoods in the developing world. In Ethiopia, SSI sustainability is threatened mainly due to excessive sedimentation. Stakeholders’ perceptions of the causes of sedimentation and how they sustain SSI under excessive sedimentation conditions were investigated in two SSI schemes in Ethiopia. A participatory rapid diagnosis and action planning was implemented, consisting of a literature review, participatory rural appraisal, and semi-structured interviews. Results show that farmers slightly differed in perception of excessive sedimentation drivers. Farmers reported design problems as the main cause of excessive sedimentation (64%), followed by poor operation and maintenance (O and M) practices (21%) and external factors (15%). In contrast, 62% of the interviewed engineers indicated erosion and irrigation technologies as the main causes of excessive sedimentation, while few reported poor design (13%). In addition to an intensive desilting campaign, farmers delayed the start of the irrigation season to avoid the intake of highly sedimented water. Local social capital and knowledge appeared to be more important than formal knowledge and blue-print institutions for dealing with sedimentation problems. Well-organized structure and extra time devoted by famers were vital for SSI sustainability. Integration of the farmers’ knowledge with that of the engineers could yield more effective ways to deal with sedimentation problems.

Keywords: small-scale irrigation; sedimentation; farmers; water user association (WUA); indigenous knowledge; perception (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/21/6121/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/21/6121/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:21:p:6121-:d:283078

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().