An evaluation of the limitations and opportunities for out-scaling the small-holder irrigation sector: the case study of Gwanda district, limpopo basin - Zimbabwe

There has been a general agreement that improving agricultural productivity through irrigation, is a gateway to household and national food security. Nevertheless, smallholder irrigation in Zimbabwe have performed poorly, failing to deliver the intended objectives. Dilipidated irrigation infrastracture was viewed as the major cause of poor performance and government invested heavily towards this, but this proved fruitless since the human capital was not looked into, to effectively utilise and maintain the infrastructure. A study was conducted in three irrigation schemes, Guyu-Chelesa, Masholomoshe and Makwe in Gwanda District. Main objective of the study was to evaluate and understand the social and technical factors affecting the viability and non-viability of the small-scale irrigation development, paying close attention to the limitations and opportunities for out-scaling the sector. The approach used was mainly qualitative, using both primary and secondary data from farmers, key informants and documnet reviweing. A total of 115farmers were involved in the study. Weak institutional, organisational arrangement, and poor technical skills for farmers have been highlighted as the major cause of poor performance, 66% of the farmers were not happy with scheme perfomance and only 34% were happy and there was no choice on technology adoption. It is therefore recommended that crop production and scheme maintenance approaches, including farmer training be considered at the same time. Key words. Out-scaling, Irrigation, Social, Technical, Adoption