Smallholder irrigation agriculture in distressed regions: a quest for pro-poor policies in Zimbabwe

Abstract

Small scale irrigation agriculture in Zimbabwe has been made farmer-managed to allow resource-poor farmers to participated and address the challenges of poverty in distressed regions. Empowering the local people through Irrigation Management Committees was perceived to a pro-poor approach in reducing poverty. The Irrigation Management Transfer was also perceived to be an approach that would create an enabling environment for economic opportunities for the poor in accessing resource and assets, rural financial services, credit facilities, financial literacy programmes, access to transport and markets and other support extension services. However, it was noted that the approach was not philanthropic. In smallholder irrigation agriculture, there are structural exclusion mechanisms for the real poor. The entrepreneurial and labouring poor were the ones found with the requisites for the benefactors in the schemes with master farmer certificates and farmers’ cooperative cards. Politically fragile rural communities are marred with political victimisations to farmers with the master farmer certificates and farmers cooperative card to an extend that confusion disturbed the rhythm in smallholder irrigation agriculture. In Sengwe, South Eastern Lowveld of Zimbabwe, access to irrigation schemes is confined to wealthy and the educated as evidenced by the ARDA Tshovani scheme. No enabling environment was created for the poor especially on marketing institutions for the produce. Therefore the smallholder irrigation agriculture had pro-poor attributes on siting, planning, construction, but on software part, nothing close to pro-poor has been revealed .Thus the poor are quest for pro-poor policies in resuscitating smallholder irrigation agriculture in Zimbabwe.