干旱区生态环境知识资源中心(Arid): Endogenous irrigation in arid Zimbabwe: farmer perceptions of livelihood benefits and barriers to scaling

Arid

DOI	10.17159/wsa/2023.v49.i4.4031
	Endogenous irrigation in arid Zimbabwe: farmer perceptions of livelihood benefits and barriers to scaling
	Chauruka, Moline; Duker, Annelieke; Prasad, Pooja; Van der Zaag, Pieter
通讯作者	Duker, A
来源期刊	WATER SA
ISSN	0378-4738
EISSN	1816-7950
出版年	2023
卷号	49 期号:4 页码:355-362
英文摘要	In Zimbabwe, farmer-led irrigation is far more widespread than planners and policy makers realise. Along the Shashani sand river, in the arid to semi-arid lands of south-western Zimbabwe, diverse farmer-initiated irrigation ventures exist. This qualitative case study focuses on bucket irrigation, in which very small vegetable fields of up to 450 m2 are fenced by tree branches, and irrigated with water from scoop holes in sandy river beds. Farmers initiate and operate their fields with no external assistance. This study presents the benefits of bucket irrigation as an often-overlooked form of farmer-led irrigation development. Through this qualitative and strongly observational study, 26 bucket irrigation farmers and 4 non-irrigators were interviewed using semi-structured interviews where farmers' perceptions and experiences were captured. We investigate what drives and sustains bucket irrigation, its significance to rural livelihoods under harsh economic and climatic conditions, and the barriers towards scaling this type of farmer-led irrigation development. The results show that drivers for bucket irrigation stem from economic hardship and are gendered. Women are motivated to irrigate mainly by the need to produce vegetables for household consumption, whereas men pursue irrigation due to a lack of employment. Bucket irrigators experience enhanced food security, and have more secure income, contributing to improved wellbeing. Furthermore, despite the desire to scale, the farm size is mainly constrained by fencing and energy for transporting water, which is a result of a persistent lack of financial capital to invest in irrigation technologies. We conclude that bucket irrigation acts as an important livelihood strategy, and that it significantly enhances farmers' resilience to economic and climatic shocks. Bucket irrigation should not be overlooked in policies that advocate scaling of irrigation. Bucket irrigators have the potential to expand and benefit significantly if supported with innovative financial mechanisms that enable investments in the required technology and knowledge.
英文关键词	bucket irrigation sand river aquifer ephemeral river scaling smallholder farmer
类型	Article
语种	英语
开放获取类型	Green Published, gold
收录类别	SCI-E
WOS记录号	WOS:001096711800004
WOS关键词	SMALLHOLDER IRRIGATION ; SAHARAN ; AFRICA ; RIVERS
WOS类目	Water Resources
WOS研究方向	Water Resources
资源类型	期刊论文
条目标识符	http://119.78.100.177/qdio/handle/2XILL650/399160
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Chauruka, Moline,Duker, Annelieke,Prasad, Pooja,et al. Endogenous irrigation in arid Zimbabwe: farmer perceptions of livelihood benefits and barriers to scaling[J],2023,49(4):355-362.
APA	Chauruka, Moline,Duker, Annelieke,Prasad, Pooja,&Van der Zaag, Pieter.(2023).Endogenous irrigation in arid Zimbabwe: farmer perceptions of livelihood benefits and barriers to scaling.WATER SA,49(4),355-362.
MLA	Chauruka, Moline,et al."Endogenous irrigation in arid Zimbabwe: farmer perceptions of livelihood benefits and barriers to scaling".WATER SA 49.4(2023):355-362.