IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/agiwat/v159y2015icp318-330.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Managing variability and scarcity. An analysis of Engaruka: A Maasai smallholder irrigation farming community

Author

Listed:
  • Caretta, Martina Angela

Abstract

This article examines the common-pool regime of Engaruka, a smallholder irrigation farming community in northern Tanzania. Irrigation is a complex issue due to water asymmetry. Water use is regulated in Engaruka through boundary, allocation, input and penalty rules by a users’ association that controls and negotiates water allocation to avoid conflicts among headenders and tailenders. As different crops – maize and beans, bananas and vegetables – are cultivated, different watering schemes are applied depending on the water requirements of every single crop. Farmers benefit from different irrigation schedules and from different soil characteristics through having their plots both downstream and upstream. In fact, depending on water supply, cultivation is resourcefully extended and retracted. Engaruka is an ethnically homogeneous and interdependent community where headenders and tailenders are often the same people and are hence inhibited to carry out unilateral action. Drawing on common-pool resource literature, this study argues that in a context of population pressure alongside limited and fluctuating water availability, non-equilibrium behavior, consisting in negotiating water rights and modifying irrigation area continuously through demand management, is crucial for the satisfaction of basic and productive needs and for the avoidance of water conflicts.

Suggested Citation

  • Caretta, Martina Angela, 2015. "Managing variability and scarcity. An analysis of Engaruka: A Maasai smallholder irrigation farming community," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 318-330.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:159:y:2015:i:c:p:318-330
    DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2015.05.015
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S037837741530007X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.agwat.2015.05.015?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Elinor Ostrom & Roy Gardner, 1993. "Coping with Asymmetries in the Commons: Self-Governing Irrigation Systems Can Work," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 7(4), pages 93-112, Fall.
    2. Molden, David & Oweis, Theib & Steduto, Pasquale & Bindraban, Prem & Hanjra, Munir A. & Kijne, Jacob, 2010. "Improving agricultural water productivity: Between optimism and caution," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 97(4), pages 528-535, April.
    3. Bardhan, Pranab, 2000. "Irrigation and Cooperation: An Empirical Analysis of 48 Irrigation Communities in South India," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 48(4), pages 847-865, July.
    4. Lankford, Bruce A., 2004. "Resource-centred thinking in river basins; should we revoke the crop water requirement approach to irrigation planning?," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 68(1), pages 33-46, July.
    5. Agrawal, Arun, 2001. "Common Property Institutions and Sustainable Governance of Resources," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 29(10), pages 1649-1672, October.
    6. Makurira, H. & Savenije, H.H.G. & Uhlenbrook, S. & Rockström, J. & Senzanje, A., 2011. "The effect of system innovations on water productivity in subsistence rainfed agricultural systems in semi-arid Tanzania," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 98(11), pages 1696-1703, September.
    7. William Adams & Elizabeth Watson & Samuel Mutiso, 1997. "Water, Rules and Gender: Water Rights in an Indigenous Irrigation System, Marakwet, Kenya," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 28(4), pages 707-730, October.
    8. Mul, M.L. & Kemerink, J.S. & Vyagusa, N.F. & Mshana, M.G. & van der Zaag, P. & Makurira, H., 2011. "Water allocation practices among smallholder farmers in the South Pare Mountains, Tanzania: The issue of scale," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 98(11), pages 1752-1760, September.
    9. Enfors, Elin & Barron, Jennie & Makurira, Hodson & Rockström, Johan & Tumbo, Siza, 2011. "Yield and soil system changes from conservation tillage in dryland farming: A case study from North Eastern Tanzania," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 98(11), pages 1687-1695, September.
    10. van Halsema, Gerardo E. & Vincent, Linden, 2012. "Efficiency and productivity terms for water management: A matter of contextual relativism versus general absolutism," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 9-15.
    11. Pieter Zaag, 2007. "Asymmetry and Equity in Water Resources Management; Critical Institutional Issues for Southern Africa," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 21(12), pages 1993-2004, December.
    12. Lankford, B. A. & Tumbo, S. & Rajabu, K., 2009. "Water competition, variability and river basin governance: a critical analysis of the Great Ruaha River, Tanzania," IWMI Books, Reports H042453, International Water Management Institute.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. L. M. Laizer & R.W. Gibson & E. Lukonge, 2018. "Seasonal Water Crises and Social Dilemmas in Semi-Arid Areas of the Lake Zone of Tanzania," International Journal of Asian Social Science, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 8(5), pages 213-226, May.
    2. Hadia Majid, 2022. "Drought, Farm Output and Heterogeneity: Evidence from Pakistan," Journal of South Asian Development, , vol. 17(1), pages 32-56, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Lankford, Bruce, 2012. "Fictions, fractions, factorials and fractures; on the framing of irrigation efficiency," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 27-38.
    2. Okumu, Boscow & Muchapondwa, Edwin, 2020. "Determinants of successful collective management of forest resources: Evidence from Kenyan Community Forest Associations," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    3. Hanan G. Jacoby & Ghazala Mansuri, 2018. "Governing the Commons? Water and Power in Pakistan’s Indus Basin," Working Papers id:12933, eSocialSciences.
    4. Takeshi Aida, 2019. "Social capital as an instrument for common pool resource management: a case study of irrigation management in Sri Lanka," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 71(4), pages 952-978.
    5. Boscow Okumu & Edwin Muchapondwa, 2017. "Determinants of Successful Collective Management of Forest Resources: Evidence from Kenyan Community Forest Associations," Working Papers 698, Economic Research Southern Africa.
    6. Lankford, B. & Makin, Ian & Matthews, N. & McCornick, Peter G. & Noble, A. & Shah, Tushaar, "undated". "A compact to revitalise large-scale irrigation systems using a leadership-partnership-ownership 'Theory of Change'," Papers published in Journals (Open Access) H047459, International Water Management Institute.
    7. Prakash Kashwan, 2016. "Integrating power in institutional analysis: A micro-foundation perspective," Journal of Theoretical Politics, , vol. 28(1), pages 5-26, January.
    8. Ghahroodi, E. Mokari & Noory, H. & Liaghat, A.M., 2015. "Performance evaluation study and hydrologic and productive analysis of irrigation systems at the Qazvin irrigation network (Iran)," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 189-195.
    9. Wang, Rong & Huang, Guanhua & Xu, Xu & Ren, Dongyang & Gou, Jiachao & Wu, Zhangsheng, 2022. "Significant differences in agro-hydrological processes and water productivity between canal- and well-irrigated areas in an arid region," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 267(C).
    10. Poteete, Amy R. & Ostrom, Elinor, 2004. "In pursuit of comparable concepts and data about collective action," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 82(3), pages 215-232, December.
    11. Stefanie Engel & Charles Palmer & Alexander Pfaff, 2013. "On the Endogeneity of Resource Co-management: Theory and Evidence from Indonesia," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 89(2), pages 308-329.
    12. Sirisha C. Naidu, 2005. "Heterogeneity and Common Pool Resources: Collective Management of Forests in Himachal Pradesh, India," Others 0511004, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Leroy, David, 2023. "An empirical assessment of the institutional performance of community-based water management in a large-scale irrigation system in southern Mexico," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 276(C).
    14. Karapetyan, Deanna & d'Adda, Giovanna, 2014. "Determinants of conservation among the rural poor: A charitable contribution experiment," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 74-87.
    15. Liu, Xiaoying & Sarr, Mare & Swanson, Timothy, 2014. "Resistance to the Regulation of Common Resources in Rural Tunisia," RFF Working Paper Series dp-14-17-efd, Resources for the Future.
    16. Saudamini Das & Stephen C. Smith, 2012. "Awareness As An Adaptation Strategy For Reducing Mortality From Heat Waves: Evidence From A Disaster Risk Management Program In India," Climate Change Economics (CCE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 3(02), pages 1-29.
    17. Du Bois, Rodrigo Salcedo & Macias, Miguel Angel Gutierrez, 2013. "Cooperation makes it happen? Groundwater management in Aguascalientes, Mexico: An experimental approach," 2013 Annual Meeting, August 4-6, 2013, Washington, D.C. 151139, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    18. Jacoby, Hanan G. & Mansuri, Ghazala & Fatima, Freeha, 2021. "Decentralizing corruption: Irrigation reform in Pakistan," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 202(C).
    19. Fernández, J.E. & Alcon, F. & Diaz-Espejo, A. & Hernandez-Santana, V. & Cuevas, M.V., 2020. "Water use indicators and economic analysis for on-farm irrigation decision: A case study of a super high density olive tree orchard," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 237(C).
    20. Brock V. Stoddard & Caleb A. Cox & James M. Walker, 2021. "Incentivizing provision of collective goods: Allocation rules," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 87(4), pages 1345-1365, April.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:159:y:2015:i:c:p:318-330. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/agwat .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.