Dynamics in wetland agriculture: competition and desiccation. A case study of household dynamics, agricultural intensification and competition for resources in wetland agriculture in Badwa dambo, Malawi M.Sc. Thesis by Reinier Veldman February 2012 Irrigation and Water Engineering Group I Pictures on title page are all taken by the author of this thesis. The left picture provides an overview of Badwa dambo with Bunda mountain in the background, the picture in the middle shows Chief Mphonde with his family and the picture on the right shows an example of dambo cultivation in the dimba garden of Chief Nkwaluwalu. Dynamics in wetland agriculture: competition and desiccation. A case study of household dynamics, agricultural intensification and competition for resources in wetland agriculture in Badwa dambo, Malawi Master thesis Irrigation and Water Engineering submitted in partial fulfilment of the degree of Master of Science in International Land and Water Management at Wageningen University, the Netherlands Reinier Veldman February 2012 Supervisor: Dr.ir. Gert Jan Veldwisch Irrigation and Water Engineering Group Centre for Water and Climate Wageningen University The Netherlands www.iwe.wur.nl/uk Abstract Agricultural land worldwide is facing an increasing pressure due to increase of populations and degradation of resources. One of the ways in which new agricultural land becomes available is through the use of wetland areas for crop cultivation. The dambos in Malawi are an example of this development. The use of dambos for (dry season) crop cultivation has increased in the past twenty years and it has led to an increase of the possibilities for households to sustain food security and market their produce. Despite the possibilities the time long term use of the dambos is threatened by desiccation of the dambos. In this thesis the focus was placed on the household dynamics in using the resources of a dambo, in this thesis Badwa dambo specifically. Within the group of households selected for the research differences were found in terms of socio-economic characteristics, in the view of the dambo and in terms of the strategies applied in the use of the resources. The households selected have been interviewed on several occasions with structured as well as semi-structured (in-depth) interviews. Besides the interviews, fields of the households have been visited to investigate aspects such as the lay-out of the gardens, the strategies applied and the type of crops grown. Besides the households, experts have been interviewed on their experience with dambo cultivation and their view on the desiccation and (government) policy documents have been analysed on references to dambos or wetlands. With the data gathered through the household interviews a household categorisation has been developed resulting in three ‘types’ of households: ‘poor’, ‘dynamic’ and ‘established’. Based on these household categories the households have been analysed on strategies applied and on the occurrence of commoditization and differentiation. Besides analysis of the households, Badwa dambo, as a whole, has been investigated with the help of concepts from the Ecosystem Service and Agriculture – Wetland Interactions frameworks. Together with the analysis of (government) policy documents use of these concepts have given valuable insight into the context in which dambo agriculture takes place. This thesis shows the presence of different types of households applying related strategies in the use of the dambo resources. The main differences between the households are visible in the level of intensification, the focus on home consumption and/or sale at the market and the level of cooperation/competition. As an illustration: the ‘poor’ households are focused on producing for home consumption and are hardly integrated with the market. For them, working as ganyu is needed to supplement food security. As a result the number of cycles grown is limited and few strategies are applied to increase the crop cultivation. ‘Dynamic’ households on the other hand (mainly) focus on producing for the market and have a high intensification of I their dambo agriculture (amongst other) visible in their use of water, the crop differentiation and cooperation with other households. In the strategies of households a change is visible from a survival strategy observed fifteen years ago (FAO, 1996) to a commercial strategy observed during the fieldwork for this thesis. Especially the ‘dynamic’ and ‘established’ households use the dambo as a way to earn money, needed for their household or for further intensification of their agriculture, through the commoditization of resources available in Badwa dambo. Despite the increase of dambo cultivation and the threat of desiccation the dambos are only scarcely included in policy documents of the Malawian government. It seems that there is no real policy on the development of dambos and protection of the dambos for future generation. Since the desiccation of dambos was widely acknowledged by the interviewed experts it is necessary to develop such a policy and take measures. Hopefully this thesis can play a role in raising the awareness in the importance of dambo agriculture for the survival of Malawian households. II Acknowledgements This thesis research set off in the summer of 2010 with a few meetings with Gert Jan Veldwisch, my supervisor at Wageningen University. After giving some thought to the subject of ground water management in Southern Africa the possibility to study the use the dambos of Malawi came forward as a possible research topic and I was linked to Henrie Njoloma, who is active in the Rainwater Harvesting Association of Malawi and who became my ‘local’ supervisor. Both Gert Jan and Henrie have played an important role in the progress of this thesis for which I want to thank them. Both for helping me out with the scientific (writing) side of the research as well as introducing me to Malawi and its dambos and assisting in the practical side of the research by, for example, providing a fully-furnished house to use during the field work. During the field work the help of Martin Njoloma has been of great importance in providing translation during the interview and explaining the cultural/background aspects of life in Malawi. Besides the translation, Martin provided us with a great time and good fun which has really contributed to us enjoying our stay in Malawi! Thirdly, I want to thank the farmers, their wives/husbands and children of Badwa dambo for their great help in the research, their openness during the interviews, the willingness to pose for pictures and for the possibility to gain insight in their lives. Some days of interviews were long and tiring, but thanks to the conversations, the interaction with the farmers and the balloon games with the children it never bored. Chief Kudore and chief Mphonde deserve special thanks for their help in introducing us to the farmers and the help in organising the fruitful group discussion meetings. During our stay in Malawi, Lilongwe was a warm home, thanks to our housemates Daniel and Carmine, the wonderful mr. Damson and the always playful Puke, Chick and Stout! Pieter and Manon, Patrick and Chifune, Seline, Ruth, Frances and many others have helped us to develop a homesickness for Malawi after our return to the Netherland. Last, but not least, I want to thank Rianne, my lovely wife, for accompanying me on the journey and for supporting me during the final phase of the thesis work! III IV Table of Contents Abstract ...........................................................................................................................................I Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................................... III Table of Contents ......................................................................................................................... V Acronyms ..................................................................................................................................... IX Introduction ................................................................................................................ XI How to read this thesis ............................................................................................................... XII 1. Background of the research ................................................................................. 1 1.1. Description of the case ..................................................................................................... 1 1.2. Problem statement .......................................................................................................... 14 1.3. Theoretical framework and concepts .............................................................................. 15 1.4. Research questions ........................................................................................................ 22 1.5. Methodology .................................................................................................................... 24 1.6. Thesis outline .................................................................................................................. 31 2. An exploration of Badwa dambo and its processes ............................................ 33 2.1. Geographical outline of Badwa dambo ........................................................................... 33 2.2. Socio-economic setting of Badwa dambo .....................................................................