PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF SMALL SCALE IRRIGATION SCHEMES - THE CASE OF ELLA AND BOSSA SCHEMES IN HUMBO WOREDA, SNNPRS, ETHIOPIA

Abstract

Small-scale irrigation is one of the important pillars of the food security strategy of Ethiopian government that designed to promote the food production of small holder farmers. This study was aimed to investigate the performance of the Ella and Bossa small-scale irrigation schemes. To meet the objective, the primary and secondary data were collected. The primary data were collected through household interviews, focus group discussions, key informant interviews and field observation to identify problems of the existing schemes, and discharge measurement was done at different main and secondary canal sections. The water delivery performance indicators such as conveyance efficiency, relative water supply, and relative irrigation supply, the selected sustainability, agricultural and financial indicators were used to estimate and compare the performance of the schemes. The secondary data were collected from office of water resource and irrigation, office of agricultural and natural resource and different published materials. Conveyance efficiency result for both Ella and Bossa schemes was found to be 76.25% and 75.54%, Relative water supply was found as 1.10 and 0.96, it shows that in Ella scheme there is excess water amount diverted from the river Likewise, in Bossa scheme the value is not shows there is water shortage but, for deficit irrigation system it is optimum amount of water to meet the crop water demand, relative irrigation supply was found to be 1.15 and 0.90, this value indicates that in Ella scheme there was over supply of water and in the case of Bossa scheme, the value indicates that there was water shortage delivered as compared to irrigation needed respectively. From selected physical performance indicators, the result of RIA found to be 74% and 75.6%, BTP 78.6% and 70%, and SIA 108.2% and 172%, from agricultural indicators, OPUIA was found to be 32310.81 and 30961.03birr/ha, OPUCA 23910 and 23392.78birr/ha, OPUWIS 8.46birr/m3 and 11.60birr/m3, and OPUWC 5.18birr/m3 and 5.26birr/m3, and from the financial indicator GIR was obtained to be 37.2% and 33.5% for Ella and Bossa schemes respectively. From the interviewed farmers the main canal siltation, sedimentation, upstream flooding, downstream scouring, and damage on farmland canals were the utmost stirring physical problems in each scheme. Lack of credit, lack of supply of improved seeds, weakness of WUA, market problem and lack of community participation on construction were the key socio economic problems identified in both schemes. Based on the findings frequent performance assessment of the schemes, capacity building of professionals and irrigators, the design of any small scale irrigation project should consider different aspects of social, cultural and economic aspects of the beneficiaries and implementation of water shade management practices on the upper catchment were the policy recommendations to alleviate the problems identified and improve the performance of the schemes