Best management practices for smallholder farming on two irrigation schemes in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal through participatory adaptive research.

This WRC project (K5/1477//4) entitled ‘Best Management Practices for Smallholder Farming on two Irrigation Schemes and Surrounding Areas in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal Through Participatory Adaptive Research’ was commissioned by the Water Research Commission in 2004. Its main objective was to carry out research in Zanyokwe and Tugela Ferry irrigation schemes with a view to develop and implement technologies and knowledge useful for farmers in order to improve their livelihoods and those of surrounding communities. The project was a collaborative undertaking by five institutions namely: the Universities of Fort Hare, KwaZulu-Natal, Zululand (which withdrew in 2006), and Pretoria, as well as Zakhe Agricultural Training Institute. It was conducted in the form of two case studies based in Zanyokwe Irrigation Scheme (ZIS) which uses sprinkler irrigation and Tugela Ferry Irrigation Scheme (TFIS) which uses a short-furrow irrigation system. The University of Fort Hare team was responsible for work in ZIS as well as coordinating the entire project.The KwaZulu-Natal team was responsible for work in TFIS. The University of Pretoria team provided engineering and irrigation water management expertise to the resident research teams at the two schemes. Participatory research methodologies were employed where the smallholder farmers and other stakeholders were involved in project activities from the initial stage to the end. During year one of the project a detailed situation analysis was carried out at the two selected irrigation schemes to determine the reasons for their poor performance through participatory analysis and evaluation of the social organization, institutional framework, infrastructure, natural resources, markets, livelihoods and farming systems. This was followed by a stakeholder workshop held in Pietermaritzburg in August 2005. The workshop discussed the findings of the situation analysis and identified four key constraints at the two schemes that needed to be addressed in order to achieve increased productivity. These were weak or poor institutional arrangements, lack of stable markets, dysfunctional irrigation infrastructure, and poor crop management. An action research program was then developed, aimed at gaining a better understanding of the underlying causes of the constraints and ways to address them. A summary of the project findings is presented hereunder.