Premium
The Implications of State Intervention for Self‐Governed Irrigation Schemes: Insights From Tigray, Ethiopia
Author(s) -
Oates N.,
Hisberg A.,
Rodríguez Ros J.,
Solomon H.,
Ludi E.,
Marlet S.,
Jamin J.Y.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
irrigation and drainage
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.421
H-Index - 38
eISSN - 1531-0361
pISSN - 1531-0353
DOI - 10.1002/ird.2121
Subject(s) - psychological intervention , corporate governance , context (archaeology) , intervention (counseling) , government (linguistics) , business , public administration , state (computer science) , local government , environmental planning , environmental resource management , political science , public relations , economics , geography , finance , psychology , computer science , linguistics , philosophy , archaeology , psychiatry , algorithm
Abstract The development of smallholder irrigation is a policy priority in Ethiopia, yet little consideration has been given to the role state interventions play in enabling or constraining effective self‐governance in farmer‐managed schemes. To address this gap in evidence, research was conducted in Tigray, northern Ethiopia, in two irrigation sites. Focus group discussions and semi‐structured interviews with key informants were the primary means of collecting data on local institutional arrangements, government interventions and management challenges. An opinion poll provided additional insights. Our case studies indicate that effective self‐governance cannot easily be crafted by external actors. The introduction of modern irrigation technologies and formalized management arrangements has fostered dependency on external support and increased state influence in key decision‐making processes, whilst traditional water user associations remain largely autonomous but have little access to financial resources. State interventions have also been poorly tailored to local context with negative consequences for performance, although there have been some successes where traditional arrangements for water management have been integrated into new institutions. The incorporation of farmer perspectives into performance assessments could facilitate more responsive interventions, and remains an important area of irrigation research and practice. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.