Recipe for success – exploring the tools farmers need to succeed

Abstract

Smallholder irrigation Recipe for success – exploring the tools farmers need to succeed Over the past 25 years, the WRC has funded an extensive body of research on smallholder irrigation schemes. A review of knowledge generated through this research was undertaken by Wim van Averbeke and colleagues in 2010, and published in Water SAin January 2011. At that stage, only 206 of South Africa’s 302 schemes were operational, and most were running at a fraction of their capacity. The problem was related to the fact that the schemes were located mainly in the former homelands, and many collapsed or went into decline when the parastatals responsible for them were closed post-1994 and their management transferred to the farmers. Government has made efforts to revitalise the schemes, but the interventions typically focus on infrastructural improvements rather than management and socio-economic issues.

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