Participatory irrigation management （PIM） is theoretically assumed to reduce poverty significantly, but its practical experience and challenges are yet researched and documented in Tanzania. The study aimed at asses...Participatory irrigation management （PIM） is theoretically assumed to reduce poverty significantly, but its practical experience and challenges are yet researched and documented in Tanzania. The study aimed at assessing challenges observed during implementation of PIM approach for food security in semi-arid areas of Tanzania. Data were collected through questionnaire, participatory rapid appraisal （PRA） tools, key informants interview, Focus Group Discussion （FGD）, observation and literature review. Data collected from questionnaire were analyzed using SPSS. Data fi＇om other methods were analyzed using content analysis. The study revealed that PIM approach has contribution in improving food security at household level due to involvement of communities in water management activities and decision making, which enhanced availability of irrigation water and increased crop production. However, there were challenges observed during implementation of the approach, including the minimum participation of beneficiaries in decision making during planning and designing stages, which means that inadequate devolution of power among scheme owners, inadequate and lack of transparency on income expenditure in water utilization associations （WUAs）, water conflict among WUAs members, conflict between farmers and livestock keepers and conflict between WUAs and village government leaders regarding training opportunities and status. The rules and regulation of WUAs were not legally recognized by the national courts and few farmers who planted trees around water sources. However, it was realized that some of the mentioned challenges were rectified by farmers themselves and facilitated by government officials. The study recommends that the identified challenges need to be rectified for farmers to realize more on the importance of PIM approach as it was realized in other Asian countries.展开更多
文摘Participatory irrigation management （PIM） is theoretically assumed to reduce poverty significantly, but its practical experience and challenges are yet researched and documented in Tanzania. The study aimed at assessing challenges observed during implementation of PIM approach for food security in semi-arid areas of Tanzania. Data were collected through questionnaire, participatory rapid appraisal （PRA） tools, key informants interview, Focus Group Discussion （FGD）, observation and literature review. Data collected from questionnaire were analyzed using SPSS. Data fi＇om other methods were analyzed using content analysis. The study revealed that PIM approach has contribution in improving food security at household level due to involvement of communities in water management activities and decision making, which enhanced availability of irrigation water and increased crop production. However, there were challenges observed during implementation of the approach, including the minimum participation of beneficiaries in decision making during planning and designing stages, which means that inadequate devolution of power among scheme owners, inadequate and lack of transparency on income expenditure in water utilization associations （WUAs）, water conflict among WUAs members, conflict between farmers and livestock keepers and conflict between WUAs and village government leaders regarding training opportunities and status. The rules and regulation of WUAs were not legally recognized by the national courts and few farmers who planted trees around water sources. However, it was realized that some of the mentioned challenges were rectified by farmers themselves and facilitated by government officials. The study recommends that the identified challenges need to be rectified for farmers to realize more on the importance of PIM approach as it was realized in other Asian countries.
