Management of water for irrigation agriculture in semi-arid areas: Problems and prospects

Most of the Mwanga district is classified as semi-arid with a rainfall range of 300 and 600 mm. Rainfall patterns in the district are unpredictable and are subject to great fluctuations. Like other semi-arid areas, the district is characterized with land degradation, unreliable rainfall, repeated water shortage, periodic famine, overgrazing, dry land cultivation in the marginal areas and heavy competition for limited biomass between farmers and cattle. Vulnerability here is high due to unreliability of weather. The people of Mwanga are dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. However agriculture is difficult in the area due to inadequate rainfall. For a very long time the people have been dependent on irrigation agriculture to ensure food security. Of late the traditional irrigation system is on the decline threatening food security in the area. This paper examines the state and status of the irrigation canal system in Mwanga district with the view of recommending ways in which it can be improved. The study used participatory, survey and in-depth interviews to obtain both quantitative and qualitative data. The major findings are that social, political, environmental and demographic bases that supported the traditional irrigation system have changed drastically. As a corollary to this, the cultural and religious belief systems that supported and guided the traditional canal system management have been replaced by mistrust and corruption in water allocation. In addition the ownership and management system of the water resources that was vested in the initiator clans has changed and now water user groups own the canals/furrows but they do not own the water sources. This has rendered the control of the water sources difficult if not impossible. Currently the system is faced by a number of problems including shortage of water and poor management as demand for water increases and this has led to serious conflicts among and between crop producers and pastoralists over water use. Water users and leaders are also not knowledgeable of the policy guiding water use, ownership and management implying their non-involvement in the policy formulation process. The paper concludes that the traditional irrigation system in Mwanga district that has cushioned people from food insecurity for a long time is under serious threat and something urgently needs to be done. The paper recommends modernizing the irrigation infrastructure, instituting a system of governance that takes on board the interests of all the stakeholders, involving local people and their leaders in the policy formulation process not as an “excess luggage” but as an organic part of the process. The recommendations can only be effected as an organic part of the holistic approach to eradicate poverty.