Institutional environment and incentives for using low quality water in urban and peri-urban areas in Tanzania
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Date
2017
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Publisher
Sokoine University of Agriculture
Abstract
This study was designed to assess the institutional environment and incentives for the use
of low quality water. Specifically, the study aimed at assessing the relevance of the
existing regulatory instruments in the use of low quality water; establishing the incentives
for farmers to use low quality water; determining the informal organisational
arrangements and the obstacles regarding the use of low quality water for food crops
irrigation. Mafisa area and Changarawe village in Morogoro region were purposively
selected for the study. A cross sectional survey was used whereby both quantitative and
qualitative data were collected. Farmers’ survey was employed in the collection of
quantitative data to a total of 50 and 30 farmers from Mafisa area and Changarawe village
respectively. Qualitative data were collected through desk review of the regulatory
instruments, in-depth interviews with 22 key informants and four focus group discussions
with farmers. Structured set of questions were used for farmers’ survey whereas checklists
of questions were used to guide the in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. The
findings showed that the incentives for farmers to use low quality water are income
generation, lack of alternative sources of water, the need to produce food, land availability
near the low quality water and plant nutrients in the water. The regulatory instruments
reviewed lack provisions that explicitly support or oppose the use of low quality water in
food crops irrigation. The regulatory instruments provided rationale for appropriate
wastewater treatment and recycling; the aspects which are relevant to the use of low
quality water in food crops irrigation. Due to lack of formal recognition of food crops
irrigation using low quality water, the current use of the resource is based on farmers’
informal organisational arrangements with limited risk reduction measures. The study
recommends improvements in the existing wastewater treatment and effluent quality
monitoring as short term strategies in ensuring safe use of the resource especially in the production of leafy vegetables. However, policy formulation and/or review of relevant
policies to accommodate the use of low quality water in food crops irrigation should be
considered as long term strategy.
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Keywords
Low quality water, Peri-urban areas, Urban areas, Tanzania, Institutional environment, Incentives