Comparative Analysis of Small Scale Irrigation in Selected Rural Kebeles of Harari Regional State, Ethiopia

Abstract

Livelihoods of the rural people of Ethiopia depend on agriculture. However, erratic nature of rain and prevalence of drought in the country, particularly in the low lands make agricultural production a challenge. To counter this problem, use of the Small Scale Irrigation is one of the most promising options. Erer Small Scale Irrigation development was carried out in four rural Kebeles (lowest administrative division) of Erer with the aim of improving the socio-economic level of the small-scale farming households. The main objective of this study was to assess the impact of Small Scale Irrigation scheme on livelihoods and food consumptions level of small-scale farming households. Both quantitative and qualitative data were used in the investigation of the impacts of the scheme on rural small-scale farming households. The two purposively sampled kebeles, namely Woldya and Dodota, were selected because of their accessibility and existence of large number of irrigation users than the other two kebeles. The sampling frame of the study consists of 1113 Household Heads. The required data set for the study were gathered primarily through survey method from 294 randomly selected sample household heads both from irrigation users and non-users, i.e. 91 and 203 Household Heads, respectively. Semi-structured interview was also used as data collection method. The analysis which was conducted between the irrigating and non-irrigating respondents allowed the comparison in order to identify the socio-economic impacts of the Small Scale Irrigation Scheme.

The comparison between the two groups