Informations et ressources scientifiques
sur le développement des zones arides et semi-arides

Titre : Engineering and water governance interactions in smallholder irrigation schemes for improved water management

Auteur : Dirwai, Tinashe Lindel.

Université de soutenance : University of KwaZulu-Natal

Grade : MSc Eng 2019

Résumé partiel
Smallholder Irrigation Schemes (SISs) in South Africa have reported below expectation performance, despite massive investments. A diagnosis of the SISs poor performance indicates prevalence of infrastructural deficiencies, as well as poor institutional setup. The government’s Irrigation Management Transfer (IMT) initiative compounds the problem. IMT placed irrigators in self-governance, which inadvertently made irrigators carry the burden of scheme Operation and Maintenance (O&M) costs. This study sought to investigate and evaluate how technical design principles i.e., technical aspect of irrigation design, interact with irrigation water governance for SISs in KwaZulu-Natal Province. The study hypothesized that the existing current water control infrastructure does relate to the water governance frameworks in the selected study sites. The study was carried out in Tugela Ferry Irrigation Scheme (TFIS) and Mooi-River Irrigation Scheme (MRIS). An infrastructure condition assessment was carried out followed by a root cause analysis. Questionnaires were then administered to relevant stakeholders to rate the degree of identified causal factors. Key informants ranked how water governance and infrastructure aspects are related. The data was processed using a fuzzy theory approach. Finally, structured questionnaires were administered to irrigators to establish how water governance impacted on water adequacy for crop production. A binary logit regression model was employed to process the data. Assessments revealed the poor condition of the infrastructure, such as deep cracks in canals and missing latches on hydrants.

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