EFFECT OF SMALL SCALE IRRIGATION ON HOUSEHOLD FOOD SECURITY: THE CASE OF ADABA DISTRICT, WEST ARSI ZONE, OROMIYA REGIONAL STATE, ETHIOPIA

Abstract

Ethiopian agriculture is largely small scale subsistence oriented and crucially dependent on rainfall. Although irrigation is one means by which agricultural production can be increased, irrigated production is far from satisfactory in the country. The aim of this study is to analyze the effect of small scale irrigation on household food security. The study was conducted in Adaba Woreda. Data was collected on 144 household heads, 72 Irrigation users and 72 Non Irrigation user‟s households were interviewed. A three stage random sampling technique was employed to select the sample respondents. Both descriptive and econometric data analysis techniques were applied. In the econometric analysis the effect of small scale irrigation on household food security is analyzed using the Heckman two-step procedures. The descriptive statistics revealed that 70 percent of the irrigation users and 20 percent of non-users are found to be food secured while 30 percent of the users and 80 percent of the non-users found to be food insecured. In the first stage of the Heckman two-step procedure the variables that are found to determine participation in irrigation are: nearness to the water source, household size, household size square, size of cultivated land, livestock holding, farmers‟ perception of soil fertility status and access to credit service. In the second stage the following variables were found to significantly determine household food security: access to irrigation, household size, household size square, sex of the household head, size of cultivated land, access to extension service and nearness to the water source. The study concluded that small scale irrigation is one of the viable solutions to secure household food needs in the study area.