ENGREF Ecole Nationale du Génie Rural, des Eaux et des Forêts Department of Water Management CIRAD Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement ECOLE NATIONALE DU GENIE RURAL DES EAUX ET DES FORETS ENGREF Combining Approaches to assess Economic Viability an d Insitutional Arrangements in Smallholder Irrigation Schemes November 2004 FINAL A Case Study in the Mauluma Irrigation Scheme Limpopo Province - South Africa CIRAD - TER A, num. 02/05 In cooperation with: Internship MSc Research Report Integrated Water Management Evelyn G. Keetelaar ENGREF Ecole Nationale du Génie Rural, des Eaux et des Forêts Department of Water Management CIRAD Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement ECOLE NATIONALE DU GENIE RURAL DES EAUX ET DES FORETS ENGREF Combining Approaches to assess Economic Viability and Insitutional Arrangements in Smallholder Irrigation Schemes November 2004 FINAL A Case Study in the Mauluma Irrigation Scheme Limpopo Province - South Africa CIRAD - TERA, num. 02/05 Internship MSc Research Report Integrated Water Management Evelyn G. Keetelaar In cooperation with: University of Pretoria South Africa Supervision: Dr. Sylvain R. Perret , Agricultural Economics CIRAD & UP Guidance and support: Dr. Thierry Rieu , Agricultural Economics November 2004 ENGREF Assessing Economic Viability and Institutional Arrangements in Smallholder Irrigation Schemes Case Study in the Mauluma Irrigation Scheme, Limpopo Province – South Africa ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This document assembles research results and the knowledge I gained during a most valuable and meaningful research internship concerning water management and smallholder irrigation schemes in South Africa. In particular, it reflects my close collaboration with various actors and individuals, whom I wish to thank for contributing to my work and investigations and for making this internship a precious and memorable experience. Working for CIRAD at the University of Pretoria gave me the unique opportunity to get a glimpse and shortly be part of the South African academic world. The close cooperation with the RESIS program and representatives of the Limpopo Department of Agriculture and the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry allowed me to obtain a hands-on experience with current policies and programs concerning revitalization, institutional strengthening and management transfer of smallholder irrigation schemes, which are ongoing in South Africa. It was a great privilege to be able to be part of this exciting and challenging process, which is of major importance to the future development of rural livelihoods all over South Africa. My gratitude goes out to everybody, for being involved in my work and for supporting me throughout my stay. Although, everybody deserves a personal word of thanks, I would like to mention a few people in particular. Great thanks and appreciation I express towards all the farmers and scheme members of Mauluma, who were the driving force behind my research, who have made a great effort to help me understand their farming practices and water management and irrigation system and who have shared with me their experiences, visions, ideas, perceptions and ambitions and dreams. In particular, I would like to thank the Management Committee members Titus and Angelina, the scheme facilitator Rachel and Asseth for being so devoted and dedicated to assist me during my fieldwork, for always attending our numerous meetings to discuss field data and analysis results and for being so actively involved in the preparation of the report- back session to the Mauluma farmers. Above all, I would like to express special thanks to my translator Tomcharl, for his patience and unconditional and inexhaustible devotion in supporting me during my fieldwork and interviews with farmers, for being the link of communication and comprehension between me and all scheme members and for being my companion and friend throughout my visits to Mauluma. Also, special thanks to Peter van Tonder, for sharing his experience and knowledge of Mauluma with me, for introducing me to the farmers and for spending numerous evenings with me after long field days to answer my endless questions. Especially, I would like to thank Marna de Lange of the RESIS program for inviting me to be part of the sustainability task team and for giving me the opportunity to participate in the set up of methodologies for economic viability studies of smallholder irrigation schemes. Also, I express great thanks to Francois van der Merwe from DWAF, for his interest and support and all his valuable inputs regarding water and irrigation. A word of special thanks goes towards the agricultural economists in training for the RESIS economic viability studies, Fredrica Legodi, with whom I passed great fieldwork experiences and Simon Dikgale. Thanks to both for spending long hours in the office and for contributing to field data analysis and the first preparations of the SMILE database. Internship MSc Research Report November, 2004 ENGREF, CIRAD & UP - 5 - A combined methodological approach: SMILE and IADF In continuation, I would like to thank my supervisor Sylvain Perret, for making the performance of this research internship possible, which provided me with a unique and rich experience in water management and irrigation in South Africa. Also, I would like to thank the researchers of CIRAD and professors of ENGREF, who were involved, for their institutional support, as well as researchers from IWMI-South Africa and different consultants and representatives from Golder Associates, RIENG and WOMIWU, who were of significant support. With great pleasure I did this research internship and I hope that the results will provide useful contributions to future research and ongoing projects on smallholder irrigation schemes in South Africa, such as the RESIS program and in particular may help to understand smallholder farming systems in South Africa and to appreciate the value of their development for the well being of rural communities all over the country. Rodibuwa – Thank you! Evelyn G. Keetelaar [email protected] Pretoria November, 2004 - 6 - Assessing Economic Viability and Institutional Arrangements in Smallholder Irrigation Schemes Case Study in the Mauluma Irrigation Scheme, Limpopo Province – South Africa EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Since 1994 the South African Government has undertaken massive reforms addressing rural poverty and inequalities inherited from the past apartheid regime. Regarding water and irrigation South Africa, like many other countries has initiated Irrigation Management Transfer (IMT), representing among others state withdrawal, promotion of the participation of water users, development of local management institutions (WUAs) and transfer of ownership and management. In the Limpopo Province, it is acknowledged with great concern that most smallholder irrigation systems are declining and have been inactive for many years, creating a major challenge for transfer policies and rehabilitation and revitalization programs, such as the Water Care Program and RESIS program in South Africa. Research objective This research is a follow-up of ongoing CIRAD and UP research on economic viability of smallholder irrigation schemes in the Limpopo Province. The main objective of this research is the development of a combined methodological approach , which includes economic viability studies and institutional analysis . In order to fulfill this main objective and former ongoing ones, this research was done on a case study basis. Therefore, the Mauluma irrigation scheme in the Limpopo Province, incorporated in the RESIS program was selected. Methodological framework The methodological framework used for analysis consists of two approaches: the SMILE approach and the IADF approach. The Ostrom “8 design principles” for efficient and sustainable irrigation schemes ( 1. clearly defined boundaries, 2. proportional equivalence between benefit and costs, 3. collective-choice arrangements, 4. monitoring, 5. graduated sanctions, 6. conflict resolution mechanisms, 7. minimal recognition of rights to organize and 8. nested enterprises ) are added to the IADF approach. SMILE stands for Sustainable Management of Irrigated Lands and Environment and is a simulation platform and data capturing and calculation tool, which helps to assess the financial/economic viability and the operation and management features of smallholder irrigation schemes. The Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) Framework is used for institutional analysis of the Mauluma scheme and addresses questions surrounding institutional design and performance of the scheme’s institutional arrangements and inter-organizational networks. Together these approaches form a combined methodology for analysis. SMILE approach For the SMILE approach the scheme, crops, farming systems and water balance modules of the database have been used for calculation and analysis, generating results concerning economics and water at crop, farmer and scheme level as well as results on crop irrigation requirements (SAPWAT). As input for the farming systems module a typology of farmers was established for Mauluma, resulting in three farmer types: 1. Specialized summer farmers (54 %), 2. Diversified winter farmers (27 %) and 3. Specialized winter farmers (8 %). Each type has been split up into two sub-types: pensioners and non-pensioners and for each sub-type a representative monograph farmer type was identified. The SMILE results show