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Poverty reduction with irrigation investment: An empirical case study from Tigray, Ethiopia

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  • Gebregziabher, Gebrehaweria
  • Namara, Regassa E.
  • Holden, Stein

Abstract

The regional government of Tigray has invested millions of dollars to develop irrigation schemes as a strategy of poverty reduction. However, there has been limited attempt to analyze whether these investments have attained their stated objectives of poverty reduction and overall socio-economic enhancement. Therefore, we endeavor to: (1) evaluate the impacts of access to small-scale irrigation on farm household's income and poverty status, (2) contribute to the scant literature on irrigation and poverty reduction in Ethiopia, and (3) provide information for policy makers. We examine a representative sample of 613 farm households (331 irrigators and 282 non-irrigators) drawn using three-stage stratified sampling with Probability Proportional to Size. We find that the average income of non-irrigating households is less than that of the irrigating households by about 50%. The overall average income gain due to access to irrigation ranges from 4000 Birr to 4500 Birr per household per annum. We find also that farming income is more important to irrigating households than to non-irrigating households, and off-farm income is negatively related with access to irrigation.

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  • Gebregziabher, Gebrehaweria & Namara, Regassa E. & Holden, Stein, 2009. "Poverty reduction with irrigation investment: An empirical case study from Tigray, Ethiopia," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 96(12), pages 1837-1843, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:96:y:2009:i:12:p:1837-1843
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    2. Williams, Timothy Olalekan & Faures, J.-M. & Namara, R. & Snyder, K., 2020. "Large-scale irrigated farming system: the potential and challenges to improve food security, livelihoods and ecosystem management," IWMI Books, Reports H049740, International Water Management Institute.
    3. Berhe, Gebremeskel Teklay & Baartman, Jantiene E.M. & Veldwisch, Gert Jan & Grum, Berhane & Ritsema, Coen J., 2022. "Irrigation development and management practices in Ethiopia: A systematic review on existing problems, sustainability issues and future directions," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 274(C).
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    5. Fitsum Assefa Adela & Joachim Aurbacher & Gumataw Kifle Abebe, 2019. "Small-scale irrigation scheme governance - poverty nexus: evidence from Ethiopia," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 11(4), pages 897-913, August.
    6. Ameur, Fatah & Kuper, Marcel & Lejars, Caroline & Dugué, Patrick, 2017. "Prosper, survive or exit: Contrasted fortunes of farmers in the groundwater economy in the Saiss plain (Morocco)," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 191(C), pages 207-217.
    7. Adela, F.A. & Aurbacher, J., 2018. "Access to irrigation water-poverty nexus: Application of an Endogenous Switching Regression in Ethiopia," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277521, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
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    10. Mateos, Luciano & Lozano, David & Baghil, Ahmed Baba Ould & Diallo, Oumar Abdoul & Gómez-Macpherson, Helena & Comas, Jordi & Connor, David, 2010. "Irrigation performance before and after rehabilitation of a representative, small irrigation scheme besides the Senegal River, Mauritania," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 97(6), pages 901-909, June.
    11. Gebretsadik, Kidanemariam Abreha & Romstad, Eirik, 2020. "Climate and farmers’ willingness to pay for improved irrigation water supply," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 20(C).
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    13. World Bank, 2017. "Ethiopia Country Environmental Analysis," World Bank Publications - Reports 33947, The World Bank Group.
    14. Nguyen, Trang & Nguyen, Cuong, 2016. "Impact Evaluation of Irrigation on Rural Household Welfare: Evidence from Vietnam," MPRA Paper 93134, University Library of Munich, Germany.
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    16. Menasbo Gebru & Stein T. Holden & Frode Alfnes, 2021. "Adoption analysis of agricultural technologies in the semiarid northern Ethiopia: a panel data analysis," Agricultural and Food Economics, Springer;Italian Society of Agricultural Economics (SIDEA), vol. 9(1), pages 1-16, December.
    17. Namara, Regassa E. & Hope, Lesley & Sarpong, Eric Owusu & De Fraiture, Charlotte & Owusu, Diana, 2014. "Adoption patterns and constraints pertaining to small-scale water lifting technologies in Ghana," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 194-203.
    18. Habtewold Atiso & Fekadu Fanjana, 2020. "Contribution of Agroforestry Home gardens to Household Income Generation in Boloso Bombe District, Southern Ethiopia," Agricultural Research & Technology: Open Access Journal, Juniper Publishers Inc., vol. 25(1), pages 52-63, October.
    19. Rahwa Kidane & Thomas Wanner & Melissa Nursey-Bray & Md. Masud-All-Kamal & Gerald Atampugre, 2022. "The Role of Climatic and Non-Climatic Factors in Smallholder Farmers’ Adaptation Responses: Insights from Rural Ethiopia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-20, May.
    20. Jana, Sebak Kumar & Tamang, Pravesh, 2023. "Prospects of rehabilitation of ancient irrigation systems in India – A case study from coastal saline zone of West Bengal," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 207(C).

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