Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
participation by creating a platform that represents all interest groups at all
levels (Perry, 1995; Savenije, 2000; Merrey et al., 2007).
Irrigation policies can enable and facilitate irrigation development.
Governments have implemented several policies which have had dire
consequences on irrigation development instead of improving them in sub-
Saharan Africa. These include the removal of subsidies for farming through
the structural adjustment program, removal of credit facilities for farmers
and improper management transfers.
Policies that target the creation of conditions that stimulate the
entrepreneurship abilities of farmers and make them innovative can
positively influence the development of irrigation. Also policies that improve
credit accessibility of farmers and/or reduce the capital cost of the producer
will contribute positively to irrigation development.
Reliable Farmer Support Environment
Irrigation farming is a business venture that thrives in an enabling
environment. An accessible and reliable farmer support environment can
sustain and improve irrigation productivity. Irrigation farmers depend on
some vital support services to achieve success and improved productivity.
These supports are best utilised if easily accessible by farmers. The reliability
of these support services can boost farmer confidence and may lead them in
investing further in irrigated agriculture. Farmers also depend on information
on markets, seeds, soil requirements and fertilizer.
The availability of affordable credit facilities gives farmers the opportunity to
improve and expand production. For example, with credit farmers can afford
to buy fertilizer or invest in more efficient irrigation technologies.
Farmers depend on labour (both skilled and unskilled) for most of their
irrigation activities. According to Namara et al., (2011), labor constitutes 31
percent to 64.2 percent of the variable cost of production depending on the
type of the crop. Even though there is slight variation from region to region,
the four major labor demanding operations are harvesting and threshing,
water management, weed and pest control, planting, and land preparation.
The labor required varies from 114 to 212 person-days/ha depending on the
crop type.
Farmers have sometimes been introduced to certain irrigation technologies
without technical support for maintaining them. As a result farmers could
not find spare parts and skilled labour to repair their broken down
equipment. These have resulted in unsustainable irrigation development.
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