Many small-scale irrigation systems are characterized by low yields and deteriorating infrastructure. Interventions often erroneously focus on increasing yields and rehabilitating infrastructure. ...Small-scale irrigation systems have many of the characteristics of complex socio-ecological systems, with many different actors and numerous interconnected subsystems. However, the limited interaction between the different subsystems and their agents prevents learning and the emergence of more beneficial outcomes. This article reports on using Agricultural Innovation Platforms to create an environment in which irrigation scheme actors can engage, experiment, learn and build adaptive capacity to increase market-related offtake and move out of poverty.
Australia has aggressively pursued water markets as an integral part of water policy reforms. Compared to most other countries, relatively active water markets have therefore emerged. Consequently, ...Australia provides an unique opportunity to study how markets have been introduced and adopted and their role in managing demand and scarcity. This paper discusses: a) how water markets have evolved in Australia, b) prices paid and volumes traded in water markets, and c) the increase in market participation. During periods of drought, scarcity is the main driver of price and market participation. Irrigators do not buy water in order to maximize their profits due to good commodity prices. Farmers with significant investments in long-term assets purchase water to protect their assets against long-term losses due to inadequate watering. This behavior drives prices to levels where no other agricultural users can compete. The price of water entitlements fluctuates with the price of water allocations, but irrigators do not capitalize scarcity-driven short-term increases in allocation prices into the price of entitlements. Once the region is out of this period of drought further research should be conducted to establish the water price/commodity price relationship during periods of more normal supply.
Australia has undergone comprehensive water policy reforms since the mid-1990s. These reforms have imposed considerable uncertainties with respect to future supply and passed the risk management ...burden from water authorities to irrigators. There is, therefore, an increased need for risk management tools to assist irrigators in managing this increased uncertainty. Water markets are seen as important tools for managing this uncertainty and in assisting irrigation communities in the necessary adjustment process. Australia, therefore, provides an excellent case study in the extent to which irrigators have used markets as a risk management tool. It is concluded that allocation markets have been used by irrigators to manage uncertainty and risk within and between seasons while entitlement markets have been used to adjust irrigators' risk position in the long term, resulting in subsequent use of the allocation market to manage this new risk position. However, there is clear evidence that the substantial uncertainty with respect to future supply has made irrigators reluctant to use the entitlement market and has therefore seen them rely heavily on the allocation market to manage their existing risk position. Also, existing water trading arrangements are impeding new investments in high value, efficient production systems. To address these two issues and to remove these impediments a new National Water Initiative is presently being implemented.
Drawing on the results of the Transforming Irrigation in Southern Africa project, we assess positive transitions in smallholder irrigation schemes. The project's theory of change is evaluated. Soil ...monitoring tools and agricultural innovation platforms were introduced in five irrigation schemes in Mozambique, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. The synergies between these interventions increased both crop yields and profitability. This empowered farmers, improved equity, and accelerated social learning and innovation. The resulting, iterative cycles of change improved governance, sustainability and socio-economic outcomes. The challenges of scaling these interventions up and out are outlined.
This study provides an overview of extension influence on the adoption of irrigation innovations in developed and developing countries, and finds that extension plays a more significant positive role ...in influencing soft technology adoption in developing countries. Case studies on the nature, use and availability of extension advice in six irrigation schemes in Tanzania, Mozambique and Zimbabwe are presented. The use of government extension officers varied significantly, with extension use not linked to farm outcomes. The results suggest the need to support more diverse sources of advice and to promote institutional reform in south-eastern Africa.
Significant expansion of irrigated agriculture is planned in Africa, though existing smallholder schemes perform poorly. Research at six schemes in Mozambique, Tanzania and Zimbabwe shows that a ...range of problems are exacerbated by poor management, with limited market linkages leading to underutilization and a lack of profit. Improving sustainability of these complex systems will require: multiple interventions at different scales; investing in people and institutions as much as hardware; clarity in governments' objectives for their smallholder irrigation schemes; appropriate business models to enable farmers; and better market linkages.
•Five pillars of good governance, accountability, adaptability, participation, rule of law and transparency, have been drawn from a systematic review of peer-reviewed and grey literature. Providing ...the criteria for the evaluation of governance processes, these five pillars are used to better understand and evaluate water governance under Alberta’s Water for Life (WFL) strategy.•Using the Q-method to qualitatively and quantitatively identify distinct perspectives within the stakeholder population.•Five perspectives emerged, labeled as “protector, opportunists, decentralists, sceptics and supporter,” reflecting unique values, priorities, and interests related to the water governance process and the five pillars of good governance.
By the 1990s, the issue of sustainable management of water had become a global priority. By the end of the decade, the UN promoted the development of the Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) framework to assist governments in reaching water sustainability goals. With IWRM being the accepted method of managing water, traditional government led top-down management was observed to be insufficient to meet the demands of diverse stakeholders, inspiring a transition from government to governance. This transition emphasized inclusiveness, as well as active stakeholder participation in identifying problems and solutions. While governance has been readily adopted around the world, it has not been consistently defined, resulting in diverse understandings and applications that have focused on individual aspects such as economics or social justice, and making evaluations of governance systems difficult. To serve as criteria for evaluations, five pillars of good governance have been drawn from a systematic review of peer-reviewed and grey literature. These five pillars are then used to better understand and evaluate water governance under Alberta’s Water for Life (WFL) strategy; a water governance system that has been operational for over a decade. The evaluation is conducted using the Q-method to qualitatively and quantitatively identify distinct perspectives within the stakeholder population. Five perspectives emerged from the data, each reflecting unique values, priorities, and interests related to the water governance process and the five pillars of good governance. These perspectives provide insight into how each of these pillars operate in practice under WFL, and how they can be improved to enhance good governance.
Many small-scale irrigation schemes are dysfunctional, and learning, innovation and evaluation are required to facilitate sustainable transitions. Using quantitative and qualitative data from five ...irrigation schemes in sub-Saharan Africa, we analyze how learning and change arose in response to: soil monitoring tools, which triggered a deep learning cycle; and agricultural innovation platforms, which helped develop a social learning system. Knowledge generation and innovation were driven by the incentives of more profitable farming. Learning and change spread to farmers without the tools, and learning at different levels resulted in extension and governance stakeholders facilitating profound institutional change.
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