| Abstract: | Irrigation is one means by which agricultural production can be increased to meet the growing
food demand in Ethiopia. Small scale irrigation is becoming the main mechanism in livelihood
enhancement discourse especially in recent times when the rainfall pattern is becoming erratic
in the country. The study examines the impact of small scale irrigation on the livelihood of rural
farm households in Enderta district, Tigray regional state, Ethiopia. It focuses on how small
scale irrigation could improve the livelihood assets of farmers. The study also looks at factors
that affect small scale irrigation. To address the objectives of the study household survey, focus
group discussion, informant interview and fieldwork observation were used to collect data at
community, household and individual levels. The analysis is undertaken using statistical tools
such as mean, percentage values, maximum minimum, and t- test, on top of qualitative analysis.
The findings of this study revealed that there is significance difference in income of crop
production in irrigation user than non irrigation user households at 5% level of significance of
3.2 t-value. However the non irrigation user households compensated through higher income
from off farm and nonfarm activities. There is no significance difference in annual household
income between the irrigation user and non irrigation user households. This shows that the
irrigatiion households are not effectively utilizing the irrigation scheme to increase their income
due to various factors. The main irrigation constraints are inadequate farmers’ knowledge and
experience on irrigation development, water loss through unstable canal, lack of water users’
committee that manage the irrigation scheme, water logging, and input supply and use.
Key words: Livelihood, Small scale irrigation, water users’ committee, household, income |
