Assessing Economic Benefits of Small Scale Irrigation Farming: A Case Study of two Villages in Ada District, Oromiya Region, Ethiopia

Abstract

The study had assessed the economic benefits that small-scale irrigation farming contributed to the livelihood of sampled households. It had also evaluated the socio-economic characteristics of sampled farmers and examined the major constraints to small-scale irrigation farming. Primary data were collected from 103 randomly sampled farmers using a set of structured questionnaire. Data analysis was carried out using SPSS. The result of the analysis revealed that the mean farm size per household was 7.40 kert (1.85 ha) whereas the mean size of irrigated land was 1.82 kert (0.46 ha). The survey had revealed that farmers had earned, on average, Birr 10,309.17 per annum from farming and from off- and non-farming activities, with Birr 7,031.93 (68.2%) from small-scale irrigated farming and the remaining Birr 3,277.24 (31.8%) was generated from rain-fed farming and other off- and non-farm activities. Four kert (1ha) of irrigated land, on average, generated an income of Birr 15,454.80 from sales of horticultural crops, whereas rain-fed farming gave only Birr 1,410.44 per hectare. To that effect, income from small-scale irrigation is significantly higher (P=0.024) than from rain-fed farming. The study confirmed that 94% of the sampled farmers considered small-scale irrigation farming as a poverty alleviation strategy, especially during prolonged dry seasons. The major constraints the study identified to small-scale irrigation farming were lack of access to improved technology, inadequate access to capital, traders’ conspiracy and lack of market information. Age, farming experience, extension contact and market information significantly influenced the promotion of small-scale irrigation farming.