Bjornlund, H and Parry, K and Rooyen, A V and Pittock, J (2025) Critical reflections on transforming smallholder irrigation systems from dysfunctional to functional climate smart agricultural systems. International Journal of Water Resources Development, 41 (2). pp. 223-228. ISSN 0790-0627
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Abstract
Smallholder irrigation schemes are complex socio-ecological systems and critical components of agri-food systems. However, they are often driven by political objectives, including the production of staple food for food security and sovereignty, and therefore contrary to individual farmers’ aspirations of developing profitable farming enterprises that can adequately support scheme maintenance. This has resulted in dysfunctional schemes with rehabilitation efforts focused on infrastructure refurbishment, which neglect other critical aspects required for successful functioning such as strong market linkages and improved social dynamics. The poor performance of smallholder schemes represents a failure to enhance the livelihoods and food security of households and the development of local economies (Pittock et al., Citation2020). This failure creates an imperative to transform schemes using multiple interventions as leverage across the system to improve farmers’ adaptive capacity and enable schemes to become climate smart agricultural systems. This imperative is made more important because of the significant investment being made by governments and donors in irrigated agriculture.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Divisions: | Research Program : East & Southern Africa |
| CRP: | UNSPECIFIED |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | smallholder irrigation, climate smart agriculture |
| Subjects: | Others > Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) Others > Smallholder Farmers Others > Smallholder Agriculture Others > Irrigation |
| Depositing User: | Mr Nagaraju T |
| Date Deposited: | 06 Mar 2025 05:41 |
| Last Modified: | 06 Mar 2025 05:41 |
| URI: | http://oar.icrisat.org/id/eprint/12998 |
| Official URL: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07900... |
| Projects: | UNSPECIFIED |
| Funders: | UNSPECIFIED |
| Acknowledgement: | UNSPECIFIED |
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