Output 1:

Phase 1 of the project was completed by late February 1998. Activities undertaken in this Phase were restricted to Zimbabwe. Our collaborators, Agritex, assisted in identifying suitable sites for investigation and providing an irrigation design engineer to participate in the project activities. The Institute of Development Studies, University of Zimbabwe, (IDS) provided a consultant to undertake gender analysis and focus-group investigations. The team investigated gender issues in five smallholder schemes in Masvingo Province. A report outlined findings from this exploratory work carried out in Masvingo Province between September and February provided baseline background reports for the Workshop held in Masvingo, Zimbabwe in February 1998. Phase 1 culminated in a report from the Workshop, the main objective of which was to identify priorities for research that would meet the needs of irrigation agencies in the region.

Researchers and irrigation designers from South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Namibia attended the workshop and contributed to the priority list for attention in Phase II. The workshop output was submitted to DFID in March 1998 as planned.

Output 2

Phase II activities began in Zimbabwe in July 1998 when further investigation and focus group work was carried out with the help and co-operation of Agritex and IDS. Eight schemes were investigated. Schemes were selected to allow the team to focus on issues of land preparation, pump selection, operation and maintenance and marketing. The approach used built on the experience of the focus group work in Phase I augmented by investigation of technical and management constraints experienced by the agencies involved. IDS submitted the focus group output in the form of a second consultant report. Synthesis and analysis of all the material generated during the field-work is on-going.

Our collaborators in South Africa, The Institute of Agricultural Engineering (ILI) arranged a link between this research project and a rehabilitation pilot-project for smallholder irrigation schemes promoted by the Ministry of Agriculture for Northern Province. Northern Province is very supportive of the project and has agreed to include our recommendations for incorporating gender concerns in the pilot programme

Group discussions were conducted on three schemes during the visit, two in Northern Province and one in Mpumalanga. University of Pretoria assigned a post-graduate student to conduct a questionnaire survey on the Mpumalanga scheme. Analysis of the work is almost complete.

Links are established with an on-going project to produce illustrated guidance in irrigation equipment funded within ILI, which is part of ARC. Phase II will look briefly at the issues in irrigation design in Zambia.

Tel: +44 1491 835381
Fax: +44 1491 826352
Email: dfid-kar-water@hrwallingford.co.uk