Towards sustainable smallholder irrigation development projects: A case study of the Maplotini irrigation scheme, Swaziland

摘要

Sustainability principles demand that agriculture projects must be capable of maintaining their productivity and usefulness to the society over the long run and must be environmentally friendly. Swaziland has made huge investments in irrigation projects over the last half century for improved livelihoods and economic growth. The study aimed to determine whether investments made in Maplotini irrigation scheme has delivered according to some of the key indicators of sustainable agriculture. The study methodology included household interviews, focus group discussions and key informants interviews at Maplotini irrigation scheme. Secondary data was obtained from review and analysis of stakeholder documents and records. The findings indicated the scheme is faced with major sustainability challenges ranging from inadequate access to irrigation water, inadequate knowledge and skills on sustainable agriculture production practices leading to poor crop yield performance and environmental degradation; poor irrigation designs, high debts, poor market environment and inadequate skills on business management. Social constraints included conflicts arising from poor management, lack of cooperation by members, land tenure issues and poor productivity. Improvement and maintenance of crop productivity and economic viability; and addressing the social and environmental constraints are some of the main recommendations of the study to improve sustainability of the irrigation scheme.