Poverty
reduction is an overriding goal for most countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)
where majority of the poor live in rural areas mostly depending on rain-fed
agriculture for their livelihoods. On the other hand, small-scale irrigation
provides a large potential for achieving the region’s overarching goals of food
security and poverty reduction. This study was therefore designed to evaluate
the socioeconomic impacts of the Jain Drip Irrigation Project in Kibwezi, which
was implemented to address food security and income generation. The specific
objectives of the study were to: collect and review all the available data on
the overall performance of the project, particularly on the agricultural,
social, institutional and commercial aspects; carry out economic and social
analysis on the performance of the project; evaluate the impact of the project,
especially to determine its contribution towards the standard of living, income
generation, employment creation and the potential to reduce rural to urban migration
and dependence on drought relief; and document lessons learnt about what has
made the project achieve or not achieve stipulated project objectives. In the short term, the Jain drip irrigation
project brought immediate benefits, which included increased crop and livestock
production for food and sale, translating to increased income and employment,
especially for the youth and women.
The cyclic annual dependence on relief food
was eliminated, especially when implementation of the project was at its peak.
The outcome from the project implementation was improved livelihoods in terms
of improved health, better security and housing, as well as improved family
relationships. However, the benefits
from the Jain drip irrigation project were short-lived because there was
minimum involvement of beneficiaries’ right from the start of the project. The
users were not sensitized or trained on the use of water (a public good) and
there were no management and leadership structures in place to manage the
project. This resulted in what is termed as the “Tragedy of the Commons” (where
the public good-water- is used by all but the benefits are entirely private),
where users were maximizing gains, resulting in mismanagement. Politicians also interfered with the project
by pitting the users against one another, thus not allowing project design
rules to be followed; an institutional failure. This resulted in farmers in Kwa
Kyai (the water source) not willing to share the water with Kake and Masimbani
by closing the water valves. There was also no maintenance of the drip lines,
to the extent that there were leakages resulting in water losses. Drip lines
were then vandalized and used for unintended purposes. Other partners who would
have built capacity among the end users of the irrigation project were also not
involved.
The failure of the Jain
irrigation project brought about animosity in the community because of the
conflicts that resulted from its mismanagement. After the project ended, the
once improved livelihoods that came with the Jain Drip Irrigation Project
deteriorated; food insecurity set in, incomes reduced, unemployment increased,
thus prompting men to leave home to seek employment elsewhere; exacerbating
rural-urban migration. Despite the
failure of the irrigation project, the users learnt the importance of
collective action, good governance and management of a public good to make it
beneficial to every stakeholder, and for sustainability. According to the
farmers who attended the Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), the project
implementers should have managed the project for at least one year before
handing it over to the local communities.
It was
recommended that the National and County governments should revisit the issue
of irrigation in Kibwezi, with a view to more efficiently using the available
water for irrigation and serving more farmers. It is also important that such
effort should sufficiently involve the local community, particularly those in
Kwa Kyai who are currently benefiting from the water under flood irrigation. A
committee to manage the water use should then be put in place where all
benefiting communities are represented with an overseer from the government.
The beneficiaries should also be sufficiently trained both on water management
and production of crops under irrigation. Other relevant government ministries,
such as Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries and Office of the President should
be involved.
To download
a copy, visit: https://library.faraafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/FRR-Vol-5-No-12-2020.pdf
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