Memoire Jalalanbmax
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
ODA Innovation and collective action in farmer- managed irrigation schemes a first-rank resource to land and water scarcity Study case of the Burka Jalala irrigation scheme in East Hararghe, Ethiopia. Thesis presented by : Céline ALLAVERDIAN Director : Pascale MAÏZI-MOITY (CNEARC) Supervisor : Jean-Philippe FONTENELLE (GRET) Jury : ENGUEHARD François (GRET) FONTENELLE Jean-Philippe (GRET) GUILLAUME Julie (GRET) LANAU Sylvain (CNEARC) MAÏZI-MOITY Pascale (CNEARC) Montpellier, February, 15th 2007 “Bishaanif haati hamtu hinqabdu…” “Water and one’s mother badness does not have…” Oromo proverb 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT First, I would like to thank all the people of Burka Jalala for their generosity: to all the women and children who greeted me and opened their hearts to me during my stay, to all the farmers which gave their time and shared their knowledge with me. I especially thank my dear sister Kimiya, my grandmother Fatumeh Sadico, my favorite shop keepers Abdulla and Jamal, my favorite wise man Umar Abdullai for his charisma and sense of humor, the “good crazy man” for his simple joy, the development agents Tesfaye and Ahmed “ tafki ” for their friendliness and help, my bodyguard and step-father Aliyi Ibroo, and many more… I give a huge “ galaatomi ” at Mohamed Gelmo from ODA to have untiringly helped us in all our difficulties. Thank you for your welcome, your friendship, your honesty, our discussions and many laughs. Thanks to Awad as all the ODA staff. Another big “ galootomi ” to Abdallah Ibroo, Umar and his sisters for their precious support during our stay in Jarso, as well as Abdu Karim from the Agricultural Bureau for his rightness and kindness, and his colleagues from OIDA for their support. Thanks to all the people of the French Alliance of Dire Dawa: especially Monsieur Joseph for his immense kindness, Sofian for his constant help, friendship, knowledge and khat chewing tips, Mustafa for our laughs and his books. I would also like to thank my “comrade” and friend Angèle Legall for her great friendship, sense of humor and cooperation throughout our stay. To my team mate Ashenafi for having helped me in my work, endured such hardship and learned to prepare the best “bloody sugo ” and shuro I tasted in Ethiopia. All my gratitude to Philippe Lempérière for his priceless advice and help throughout the stay in Ethiopia, to his wife Khalda for her great kindness. Finally, I would like to thank Jean-Philippe Fontenelle for his wise advice and his intellectual support throughout the stay and the thesis writing. Un grand merci to Pascale Maizi for having helped me with constructive tips and comments during the writing of my thesis. Another merci to François Enguehard for his internal encyclopedia on Ethiopia. Muchas gracias para los amigos Erwan LeCapitaine and Charlotte Servadio for having supported me during the writing of this thesis, with a cozy home, advice and kindness. Thanks to all my loved ones for having given me the strength to go on. Thanks to Catha Edulis for having stimulated and inspired me throughout my stay in Ethiopia. I will surely not forget you! 3 INDEX INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................... 1 1 CONTEXT OF THE STUDY.......................................................................................... 2 1.1 Basic data on Ethiopia................................................................................................ 2 1.2 History of Ethiopia: strong contrasts between the North and the South .................... 4 1.3 The study area ............................................................................................................ 5 1.4 The irrigation Project of Burka jalala......................................................................... 9 1.5 The study’s hypothesis............................................................................................. 15 2 THEORETICIAL FRAMEWORK AND METHODOLOGY.................................. 16 2.1 Concepts and theoretical framework........................................................................ 16 2.2 Methodological steps and their tools........................................................................ 19 2.3 Challenging working conditions .............................................................................. 23 3 HISTORICAL ANALISIS : SETTLEMENT TO SATURATION........................... 24 3.1 1800 – 1900 AD: settlement and first stages of agriculture..................................... 24 3.2 From the nineteeth century to 1975: the first steps of irrigation development ........ 27 3.3 Since the 1975 land reform: expansion of irrigated lands........................................ 33 3.4 Since the late 1980s: Heading towards severe land and water scarcity ................... 36 4 HOW FARMERS COLECTIVELY FIND SOLUTIONS TO THE LOCAL PROBLEMS… ............................................................................................................... 40 4.1 Water allocation among canals of the irrigation system… ...................................... 40 4.2 At the canal’s scale: Diversity of Water Authorities............................................... 43 4.3 Organizations involved in solving water conflicts................................................... 48 4.4 Institutional innovation and change in water allocation rules.................................. 52 4.5 New local arrangements for Social regulation ......................................................... 56 5 INNOVATION IN FARMERS’ INDIVIDUAL STRATEGIES................................ 60 5.1 Typology of Farming Households............................................................................ 60 5.2 Strategies based on crops ......................................................................................... 70 5.3 Strategies based on land and water........................................................................... 79 5.4 strategies based on non farming activities................................................................ 82 5.5 Migration strategies.................................................................................................. 87 5.6 Summary of farming households’ strategies............................................................ 88 5.7 strategies of farmers towards the irrigation project.................................................. 89 6 INNOVATION AND FARMERS OF MELKA JEBDU ............................................ 93 6.1 The factors of Innovation......................................................................................... 93 6.2 About endogenous and exogenous innovations… ................................................... 99 6.3 confronting The reactionary and progressive narratives: The study case of Burka jalala 100 6.4 What changes with the Burka Jalala project?......................................................... 102 6.5 Accompanying innovation processes..................................................................... 103 6.6 About governance in innovation and irrigation...................................................... 105 CONCLUSION..................................................................................................................... 109 BIBLIOGRAPHIE :............................................................................................................. 110 4 ABSTRACT This study was carried out for GRET and ODA during 5 months of fieldwork in East Hararghe, Ethiopia. The main objectives were to gather data on water management in a small farmer-managed irrigation scheme, before its future upgrading, to analyse the socio- economical status of the area’s farming households and to take into account farmers’ claims for the continuation of the irrigation project. A “Social Management of Water” diagnosis was undergone to study the modalities of water distribution in the irrigation scheme. It unravelled the great complexity and flexibility of an irrigation system, in which farmers are continuously confronted to new problems and opportunities. A socio-economic analysis, based on a systemic approach, enabled to evaluate the advantages of irrigated agriculture and to define a typology of farming households where water rights and the quantity of irrigated lands are key factors in providing food security to households. Finally, results of the actor-focused analysis about the irrigation project indicated that farmers have many different interests and worries. The modernization process will surely provoke important disruptions and modifications. In this adaptation process, collective action and innovation capabilities of farmers must not be underestimated and must give way to constructive ties of cooperation with irrigation agencies and NGOs… KEY WORDS: Irrigation, water management, social groups, smallholders, innovation, governance, food security, Catha edulis, Ethiopia, 5 GLOSSARY Abba arrada : PA chairman Abba burka : spring owner Abba ganda : village leader Abba qalada : landlord Afaan oromo: Oromo language Afosha: traditional organization of neighbours for solidarity Badheysa: intermediate season (February to May) Birr: Ethiopian currency (10 birr = 0.87 Euros = 1,26 US$) Birra: intermediate season (October to December) Bona : dry season (December to February) Boqqolo: maize Burka Jalala: spring of love Burka: spring Caamsa: small dry season (May to June) Demina : Oromo clan leader Derg: socialist regime from 1974 to 1991 Faraka: exchange of labor or of water Fetha