APPROACHES FOR EMERGING FARMER PARTICIPATION IN WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT: THE CASE OF THE BREEDE-GOURITZ CATCHMENT MANAGEMENT AGENCY (BGCMA), WESTERN CAPE Report to the WATER RESEARCH COMMISSION by Bongani Ncube Cape Peninsula University of Technology WRC Report No 2310/1/17 ISBN 978-1-4312-0944-6 January 2018 Obtainable from: Water Research Commission Private Bag X03 Gensina, 0031
[email protected] or download from www.wrc.org.za DISCLAIMER This report has been reviewed by the Water Research Commission (WRC) and approved for publication. Approval does not signify that the contents necessarily reflect the views and policies of the WRC, nor does mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation for use. Printed in the Republic of South Africa © Water Research Commission ii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY BACKGROUND When the National Water Act (NWA) was enacted in 1998, one of the major aims was to ensure equity in sharing water resources. Chapter 8, Sections 91 and 98 of the Act, makes provision for the setting up of water user associations (WUAs), cooperative associations of individual water users who wish to undertake water related activities for their mutual benefit. WUAs are supposed to act as vehicles for poverty reduction, especially for historically disadvantaged individuals (HDIs). Water allocation reforms followed the NWA in 2005, 2008 and 2011, with particular emphasis on HDIs. In agriculture, the major focus was on resource poor emerging farmers. However, after many years of water allocation reform, emerging farmers are still lagging behind as far as equity and access to water resources is concerned, and their participation in WUAs is still limited or passive.