Browsing by Author "Kaduma, John William"

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Factors affecting water productivity in farmer-managed irrigation schemes: a case of Ruanda-Majenje in Mbarali district
(Sokoine University of Agriculture, 2008) Kaduma, John William
Irrigation Department and other sectors have been improving irrigated agriculture to overcome problems associated with vagaries of the weather. However, despite these efforts the growing competition in water use between sectors, make the sustainability of irrigation schemes and people’s livelihoods questionable. Improving water productivity (WP) from the reported 0.22-0.32 kg/m3 for cereals in Mkoji sub-Catchment towards 2.0kg/m3 recorded in Asia and World wide at large under irrigation has been found to be the key answers. Several researches have been conducted on WP in the Mkoji sub-Catchment but none assessed factors affecting WP in farmer-managed irrigation schemes (FMIS). Therefore, the overall objective of the study was to investigate factors affecting WP in FMIS in order to suggest strategies for WP enhancement. The study was carried out in Ruanda-Majenje irrigation scheme in Majenje village, in Mbarali District in Mbeya region. The study adopted a cross-sectional research design for household data collection. Also the study involved field experiment and on farmers’ plots observation. Questionnaires, checklists and direct observations were used in data collection. Data were analyzed by using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 11.5) and Statistical Analysis System (SAS) computer software in which descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages, means, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and separation of means for maize). Results from the experimental plots show that there are still potentials for improving WP by improving factors affecting WP. The low WP is influenced by socioeconomic, institutional and technical factors such as lack of capital, knowledge, extension services and poor agronomic practices to mention a few. The study recommends that there is a need for the Government and other stakeholders to develop strategies that aim in improving WP since water use competition is growing within agriculture and between other sectors. (WP) from the reported 0.22-0.32 kg/m3 for cereals in Mkoji sub-Catchment towards 2.0 kg/m3 recorded in Asia and World wide at large under irrigation has been found to be the were computed. Findings indicated that WP in farmers' field is still low (0.26-0.76 kg/m3 for maize). Results from the experimental plots show that there are still potentials for improving WP by improving factors affecting WP. The low WP is influenced by socio economic, institutional and technical factors such as lack of capital, knowledge, extension services and poor agronomic practices to mention a few. The study recommends that there is a need for the Government and other stakeholders to develop strategies that aim in improving WP since water use competition is growing within agriculture and between other sectors.