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velopment Centreough University of Technology

Leicestershire England

THE EDITED

OF THE 13thWEDG CONFERENCE

• • • ' ' •

RWRAIJ WATERAND

IN AFRICA

Malawi

•':ri'i'l''i'>"i-M'> • <

April 1987

ISBN O 9O6O55 19 9 softback

•

I

I

published by WEDC ',

University of TechnologyLOUGHBOROUGH •Leicestershire LE11 3TU ; ' |England :

February 1988 ,

IPrinted by the University Printing Unit. I

I

IIIII

I

13th WEDC Conference

Rural development in AfricaMalawi: 1987

Contents

IIIIIIIIIIIII

CONTENTS

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS

INTRODUCTION TO CONFERENCEC Clark OBE Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Works and Supplies

OPENING ADDRESSHon L J Chimango MP, Minister of Health

.KEYNOTE ADDRESSL A H Msukwa, Director Centre for Social Research

SESSION 1 IRRIGATIONSmall-scale irrigation in ZambiaJ A Stoutjesdijk and Josy B Siakantu

Damho resource use in ZimbabwePatricia Hotchkiss and Morag Bell

Micro-scale irrigation in AfricaR A Lambert and others

Discussion

SESSION 2 SANITATIONChoices in pit latrine emptyingChris Williams

Single and double pits in LesothoS N Makhatha

Low volume flush we designRHM Wakelin, J A Swaffield and R A Bocarro

Discussion

UP.9A.RY, INTERNATIONAL V(ZF[:2'T.U0EC::rJ";:;L: R)R GO^AAATY WATMR SUPPLYA , ;;•) , ' . , A N ; ; Y . T : O : : f'.•••'.:;}

F ' - ' : : ' ' • - ' " • • ; : ' • • • - • - • • • 0 : : ; A D Y . i - 3 ; ; ; . : q u «

L 0 :

II

SESSION 3 WATER SUPPLYNatural coagulants in water clarificationG K Folkard, j P Sutherland and W D Grant

Guidelines for extraordinary earth damsT F Stephens

Discussion

13

16

20

24

28

36

40

4.9

SESSION 4 RURAL WATER SUPPLYLow-cost rural water supply in AfricaS Arlosoroff, D Grey, O Flangenegger and R Roche

Rural water development experience in MalawiW Kennedy

Discussion - There was no reported discussion for this session

50

54

SESSION 5Economics and rural infrastructure provisionRichard Franceys and Peter Barker

Low-technology sanitation affecting groundwater qualityAmanda Geake

Discussion

58

62

66

SESSION 6Appropriate Training for water technicians 67E G Snape

Training of labour intensive supervisors 71David W Jennings

Participatory communications for water and sanitation 75Susan Laver

Water Master Planning in rural areas of developing countries - A case study from Malawi 78M Burton, M Girling, and W Tuck

Discussion 80

DISCUSSION PAPERSWater resources investigations for rural water supply development in Malawi0 N Shela

The Liberian national water supply programme: problems and prospectsa M Yarsiah and O B Kulah

Public health considerations of rural water supplies: use of sanitary surveysp A Colbert

An experiment of upgrading a sanitation systemR A Bocarro and C K I Williams

Lesotho's national rural sanitation programme:- technical aspectsL Matjama

Rural sanitation pilot project and national rural sanitation programme,, Lesotho

Rural sanitation in Mozambique - searching for the correct approachM Muller and P 0 Monteiro

Towards total community participation ir rural water supply projects in ZambiaPeter Chola

81

83

87

89

91

94

99

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

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Self-Relp rural gravity piped water projects in Malawi 101Ministry of Works and Supplies, Malawi

Rural water supply in Mozambique 103L Elias

Urban linkage to rural sanitation development 105B Brandberg

Remuneration for community works 108D R G Morris and R B M Hunink

The use of an improved hydrooyalone to protect pumps 111P A Mashauri

Livulezi integrated groundwater project for rural water supplies 213Ministry of works and supplies, Malawi

REPORTS FROM DISCUSSION WORKING GROUPSHydrology, groundwater location and pollution 114

Operation and maintenance of water supplies except handpumps 117

Agriculture and irrigation 219

Health and pollution aspects of sanitation 120

Design and construction of latrines and Implementation of sanitation programmes

Community Participation in water supply programmes-

Group A 124

Group B 1S5

Handpumps - selection, operation and maintenance 227

Roads and Communications 228

Operation and maintenance of sanitation schemes and stormwater drainage 129

Integrated rural development including building and housing 230

Human resources development 131

Water treatment and distribution 132

Financing and management of rural development 233

Low-cost technology other than latrines and handpumps j34

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Participants

I

aroe

J Alferes

K Andreassen

S Athman

Banda

C P Banda

Barker

H Bhaiji

•R A Bocarro

|B Brandberg

B Miles Burtoncri

i

E G Bwanali

L A C Bweya

B B J Chandiyamba

•A Chapaner

IN L B Chaya

J Chimimba

• Carol Chimimba

i

— 0 B Chingoma

R P Chingoli

• J A Chipeta

|L L ChipunguIII

C L Chirwa

IT S ChirwaG J ChisiP J Chola

Designation/Company or Organisation

Water Engineer, UDAAS-DNA

Project Manager, DANIDA

Planning Officer, UNICEF

Deputy Engineer, Blantyre Water Board

Lilongwe City Council

WEDC Associate Lecturer,Loughborough University

Public Health Engineer,African Medical Research Foundation

Research Assistant,Brunei University

Sanitation Adviser, World Bank

Head of Water Department, Carl Bro.International A/S, Conslt Engnrs

Deputy Engineer/Manager, LilongweWater Board

Deputy Environmental CoordinatorMinistry of Forestry & Natural Rescs.

Acting Regional Health Inspector,Ministry of Health

Senior Engineer, Ministry of Energy,Water Resources and Development

Water Engineer, Ministry of Worksand Supplies, Water Dept.

Design Engineer, L S C Brunette& Partners

Design Engineer, L S C Brunette& Partners

Senior Health Inspector,Municipality of Zomba

Town Planning Officer, Dept ofTown and Country Planning

Water Quality Controller,Lilongwe Water Board

Principal Public Health Officer,Ministry of Health

City Engineer, Lilongwe City Council

Town Clerk, Blantyre City Council

Controller of Roads, Ministry ofWorks and Supplies

Water Engineer, Dept of Water Affairs PO Box 50288, Lusaka, Zambia

Address

PO Box 2847, Maputo, Mozambique

PO Box 30538, Lilongwe 3, Malawi

PO Box 544, Mtwara, Tanzania

PO Box 30369, Chichiri, Blantyre 3, Malawi


Dept of Economics, University of TechnologyLoughborough, Leics, LEU 3TU

PO Box 30125, Nairobi, Kenya

c/o Ministry of Local Government & LandsPrivate Bag 006, Gaborone, Botswana

P0 Box 30135, Lilongwe 3, Malawi

Granskoven 8, 2600 Glostrup, Denmark

P0 Box 96, Lilongwe, Malawi

PO Bag 350, Lilongwe, Malawi

P0 Box 95, Lilongwe, Malawi

PO Box 566, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe

PO Bag 390, Lilongwe 3, Malawi



PO Box 43, Zomba, Malawi

PO Box 30385, Capital City, Lilongwe 3,Malawi

PO Box 96, Lilongwe, Malawi



P/Bag 67, Blantyre, Malawi

P/Bag 316, Lilongwe 3, Malawi

Name Designation/Company or Organisation

Economist, Ministry of NationalCommission for Development Planning

Water Projects Manager, CatholicRelief Services

Water Engineer-in-Chief, Ministryof Works & Supplies

Clerk of Works, Rural Water SupplyBoard, Ministry of Natural Resources

Public Health Engineer, Rural WaterSupply Board, Min.of Ntrl. Resources

V N Dlangamandla Senior Community Development Officer,(Ms) USIT Project Coordination Unit

L Elias Director, PRONAR, (National RuralWater Supply Programme Cabinet)

G K Folkard Lecturer, University of Leicester

R W A Franceys WEDC, Lecturer/Tutor

Address

B Chundu

P A Colbert

S C de Souza

L C Dlamini

M D Dlamini

IIIPO Box 50268, Lusaka, Zambia

101 Farren Ct, Cary, NC 27511, USA I

Water Dept, P/B 390, Lilongwe 3, Malawi

PO Box 167, Siteki, Swaziland

PO Box 961, Mbabane, Swaziland

P/B A41, Maseru 100, Lesotho

IIIAv. Eduardo, Mondlane 40 Andar No- 1392

Mozambique ^

Dept of Engineering, Univ of Leicester, ILeicester LEI 7RH

Univ. Of Technology, Loughborough,LEU 3TU, UK

Amanda Geake

M T Girling

Managa Agricultural Management Centre

Project Manager, Carl Bro.International A/S, Cons It Engnrs

I

Polli Grubelich General Manager, Scandrill Ltd,Drilling & Water Engineers

A Guilazian PRONAR

A Habana District Sanitation Coordinator,Min. of Local Govmnt & Lands

Swaziland

P0 Box 30139, Lilongwe 3, Malawi I


I

Project Manager, Carl Bro.International and Danida

H C S Hansen

Patricia Hotchkiss WEDC Research Assistant

Estaleiro, Sanitario de Zambezia, C.P.425, Quelimane, Mozambique

Central District Council, Private Bag 0 0 •Serowe, Botswana H

P0 Box 98, Karonga, Malawi

S J Hugman

H Fraser

R B M Hunink

R C Hutchinson

L G Hutton

Training Director, ODA/NationalWater Directorate

Provincial Water Engineer,British Government/ODA

Associate Expert for SpecialPublic Works Programme, IL0

Manager, Pipe Sales Division,Turnal (PVT) Ltd

WEDC, Lecturer/Tutor

Margaret Ince WEDC, Lecturer/Tutor

Anna N Ingwe

D W Jennings

B Jobo

B Jones

S Johnson

Wood/Bamboo Department

Training Engineer, Scott Wilson,Kirkpatrick & Partners

Government of Lesotho

Ministry of Works & Supplies

Field Director, VSO

Univ. of Technology, Loughborough,LEU 3TU. UK

S J Hugman, c/o FCO (Maputo)King Charles Street, London SW1A 2AH, UK

P0 Box 510094, Chipata, Zambia

PO Box 2788, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia


Univ. of Technology, Loughborough,LEU 3TU, UK

Univ. of Technology, LoughboroughLE11 3TU, UK

PO Box 570, Iringa, Tanzania

L.I.T.U., PO Box 1283, Maseru 100, Lesotho

Maseru, Lesotho

Lilongwe 3, Malawi


IIIIIIto

II

IIName Designation/Company or Organisation AddressIIrK

rB

IIIrM

IIIIIIIIII

|R D Kafundu

_J L Kaluwa

A Kammalere

A Karawanja

K Kanetsi

J Kanyenda

B Kapinga

K Katerega

K Kennedy

_R Kiunsi

/erbena A Koma

B Kulah

Mariana Kyumana

Z Laisi

|R Lambert

Sue Laver

IK K Lekoma

|P L Le Mercier

K W Lesaoana

|j Lewis

-A Lupiya

S M N Mainala

|s N Makhetha

IB MakumbaJ I Mandanda'W R G Mandowa

Senior Hydrogeolegist, Ministry of Water Dept, P/B 390, Lilongwe 3, MalawiWorks and Supplies

Partner, Brian Colquhoun & Partners P0 Box 70585, Ndola, Zambia

Deputy Controller of Design,Ministry of Works & Supplies

Senior Lecturer, Univ. of Malawi


Water Engineer, Christian ServiceCommittee

Village Participation Coordinator,Danida Steering Unit

Chief Technical Adviser,UNCHS (HABITAT)/ UNDP

Lecturer, The Open University

Lecturer, Ardhi Institute

Community Development Officer,Urban Sanitation Improvement Team

Rural Water Project Manager,Ministry of Rural Development

Village Participation Coordinator,Danida Steering Unit

Principal Hydrologist, Ministryof Works and Supplies, Malawi

WEDC Research Assistant

Lecturer, University of Zimbabwe

Communal Areas DevelopmentCoordinator, Botswana Government

Design Dept., P/Bag 16, Lilongwe, Malawi

University of Malawi - The Polytechnic,P/Bag 303, Blantyre 3, Malawi

Maseru, Lesotho

C.S.C., Box 51294, Limbe, Malawi

Danida Implementation Office, P0 Box 951,Songea, Tanzania

P0 Box 30135, Lilongwe 3, Malawi

The Open University, Walton Hall,Milton Keynes MK7 GAA, UK

Box 35176, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Private Bag A41, Maseru 100, Lesotho

P0 Box 9030, Monrovia, Liberia

Box 205, Mbeya, Tanzania

Water Department, Private Bag 390,Lilongwe 3, Malawi

Univ. of Technology, Loughborough,LEU 3TU, UK

Dept of Community Medicine, Box A178,Medical School, Avondale, Harare, Zimbabwe

P0 Box 26, Pitsane, Botswana

P0 Box 3642, Zanzibar, TanzaniaIrrigation Engineer, F.A.O.

Senior Engineer, Ministry of Interior,P0 Box 686, Maseru, LesothoVillage Water Supply Section

Dept of Water, Central Water Laboratory,P0 Box 458, Lilongwe, Malawi

Senior Water Chemist, Ministry ofWorks & Supplies

Civil Engineer, Ministry ofWorks & Supplies, Water Dept

Principal Hydrogeologist,Ministry of Works and Supplies

Senior Public Health Engineer,Urban Sanitation Improvement Team

Senior Health Inspector,Min of Health,District Hospital, P/B Karonga, Malawi

P/B 390, Lilongwe 3, Malawi

Water Dept,P/B 390, Lilongwe 3, Malawi

P/Bag A41, Maseru 100, Lesotho

A A Maoza

ID A Mashauri

Principal, Ministry of Works &Supplies, Training Centre

Civil Engineer, Ministry of Works& Supplies

City Engineer, City of Blantyre

Lecturer, Univ. of Dar es Salaam

P/B.390, Lilongwe3, Malawi


P/B 67, Blantyre, Malawi

Faculty of Engineering, P0 Box 35131,Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Name

L Matjama

E M Mbelwa

I J Mbewe

J K Mbugua

Y C Mhone

T J Mizinga

R Molefi

P 0 Monteiro

C U Mphande

P E J Msefula

E H Msolomba

L A H Msukwa

M 0 Msuya

M Muller

R P Mwadiwa

B H Mwakikunga

E K Mwawa

C Mwayanguba

Victoria Myavilwa

M J Mzumara

W M Ndovi

R J Njewa

A I Z Nkunika

J Notley

Maria Notley

M Ntepe

M M Nija

Designation/Company or Organisation Address

Ministry of Health, Govt of Lesotho Rural Sanitation Project, Box 514,Maseru, Lesotho

Water Engineer Counterpart,Ministry of Water

TCRS Singida Project, PO Box 365,Singida, Tanzania

Water Engineer, Dept of Water Affairs,Box 910029, Mongu, Zambia

PO Box 56, Nakuru, KenyaDiocesan Water Engineer,Diocese of Nakuru

Senior Civil Engineer, Ministryof Works and Supplies

Project Coordinator , OPC


Low Cost Sanitation Programme

Principal Irrigation Engineer,Ministry of Works & Supplies

Water Dept, P/Bag 390, Lilongwe 3,Malawi

P/B 301, Lilongwe 3, Malawi

Box 514, Maseru, Lesotho

CP 1088, Maputo, Mozambique

Dept of Water, P/B 390, Capital City,Lilongwe 3, Malawi

P/B 330, Lilongwe 3, MalawiCommunity Development Officer,Ministry of Community Services

Chief Civil Engineer (Maintenance), P/B 316, Lilongwe 3, MalawiMinistry of Works & Supplies

Director of the Centre for SocialResearch, University of Malawi

Coordinator, Water Master PlanningMinistry of Water

Programme Coordinator, INPF/UNDP

Administrative Officer (Planning)

P0 Box 278, Zomba, Malawi

P0 Box 35066, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania


Box 30132, Lilongwe 3, MalawiOPC, Economic Planning & Dvpmnt Section

Ministry of Works & Supplies P/B 316, Lilongwe 3, Malawi

Chief Engineer, Malawi Housing Box 414, Blantyre, MalawiCorporation

Project Coordinator, Min. of Health Preventive Health/Water Wells Project,Sichili Hospital, P0 Box 60724,Livingstone, Zambia

Asst Village ParticipationCoordinator, DANIDA

Distribution Engineer, LilongweWater Board

Deputy Chief Forestry Officer,

P0 Box 570, Iringa, Tanzania


Department of Forestry, P0 Box 30048,Ministry of Forestry & Natural Resc. Lilongwe 3, Malawi

Regional Community Devpmnt Officer P0 Box 60, Mzuzu, Malawi' '(North)

Senior Community Development Officer P/B 330, Lilongwe 3, Malawi(Planning), Min.of Commnty Services

Training Officer, Min. of Works& Supplies, Malawi


Regional Engineer, Ministry of ,Interior

World Bank, UNDP, P0 Box 237, Mzuzu,Malawi

Maseru, Lesotho

Village Water Supply, P0 Box 323,Mohaleshoek 800, Lesotho

IIIIIIIIIIIII1IIIIII

IIIs

IIIrB

tI

atne

E Nyirongo

S R Phiri

Prof. J Pickford

R Pike

R Plumb

S Polela

Radojicic

B Rafoneke

Ravdal

N Roberts

Roed

P Saesseli

N R Sheila

|J B Siakantu

0 C Sibale

|J M Sigda

N Sucanyikai(Mrs)

A M Singini

K G Snape

T F Stephens

A Stoutjesdijk

J S Sutton

(E Svien

Taremba

S Tasaukadala

IL Taylor

L Taylor

E S Tembo

IR J Townsend

Designation/Company or Organisation Address

Chief Environmental Health Officer, PO Box 30396, Lilongwe 3, MalawiLilongwe City Council

Chief Civil Engr (Operation & Main- P/Bag 390, Lilongwe 3, Malawitenance),Min. of Works & Supplies

Univ. of Technology,LEU 3TU, UK

Loughborough,


WEDC Group Leader

Water Engineer (Training), Min.of Water Resources & Developmnt

Engineering Adviser, ODA (BDDSA)

Programme Manager, Rural HousingProgramme

Sr. Project Officer/Adviser,UNICEF Office


Senior Engineer, Norconsult Intntl.

LUT, WEDC Associate

Resident Project Coordinator,Norconsult International AS.

Helvetas, Lesotho

Senior Hydrologist, Min. ofWorks and Supplies

Officer-in-Charge, Irrigation Res.Min. of Agric. & Water Development

Senior Administration Officer,Carl Bro. International Associate

Project Officer - Water & Sanitation, PO Box 4076, Dar es Salaam, TanzaniaUNICEF

Sec. for Econ. Dev., Women's League, Freedom House, PO Box 30302, Lusaka,United National Independence Party Zambia

City Engineer, Mzuzu City Council P0 Box 1, Mzuzu, Malawi

Lecturer, Mid Warwickshire College Warwick New Road, Leamington Spa, UK

Engineering Services Manager, P0 Box 31505, Lusaka, ZambiaAFE Ltd

Irrigation and Drainage Engineer,FAO P0 Box 30563, Lusaka, Zambia



Maseru, Lesotho

PO Box 48176, Nairobi, Kenya

Dept of Geography, Univ. of Technology,Loughborough, LEU 3TU, UK


P0 Box 316, Leribe 300, Lesotho


N.I.R.S., P/B S3, Mazabuka, Zambia

Box 30139, Lilongwe 3, Malawi

Rural Water Supply Engineer,Norconsult Intntl

Provincial Water Engineer,Dept of Water Affairs

Section Head, Interconsult A/S

Senior Health Inspector,Ministry of Health

Agricultural Rehabilitationist,Christoffel Blinden Mission

Dept of Water Affairs, P0 Box 910029,Mongu, Western Province, Zambia

P0 Box 910029, Mongu, Western Province,Zambia

Box 4710, Harare, Zimbabwe

Kasungu Hospital, P0 Box 19, Kasungu,Malawi

P0 Box 2023, Dodoma, Tanzania

Environmental Management Officer,Lutheran World Federation, TanganyikanChristian Refugee Service

P0 Box 365, Singida, Tanzania

Health Inspector, Health Dept

Project Officer, Water andSanitation, UNICEF

Luaragwa RHC, Box 14, Luamgwa, Zambia

UNICEF, P0 Box 30375, Lilongwe 3,Malawi

Name Designation/Company or Organisation Address

N Tuck

R H M Wakelin

C Williams

J M Yarsiah

M Yhdego

R J Young

J A Zimmerman

Project Manager, I Kruger

Lecturer, Brunei University

Engineer, Rural Sanitation Project

Directorj National Rural WaterProgramme, Min of Rural Devpmnt

Lecturer, Ardhi Institute

Senior Lecturer, Univ of Malawi

Training Engineer, Helvetas/SwissCooperation for Development

Box 30139, Lilongwe 3, Malawi

Dept of Mechanical Engineering, BruneiUniversity, Uxbridge, MiddlesexUB8 3PH, UK

PO Box 269, Maseru 100, Lesotho

PO Box 9030, Monrovia, Liberia


Public Health Engineering, The Poly-technic, P/B 303, Blantyre, Malawi

P0 Box 708, Maseru, Lesotho

I



Introduction to Conference

C Clark OBE Permanent Secretary,Ministry of Works and Supplies

Sirs, as Principal Secretary for the hostlinistry, it falls to me to introduce theHonourable Louis Chimango, Minister of Health,

awho on behalf of His Excellancy the Life•President, Ngwazi Dr H Kamuzu Banda, hasTtindly come here today to deliver theOpening Address and officially open the 13th

BtfEDC Conference.

Before doing so I would like to thank firstlyill the donors Who have made the conferencesssible and then to spend a very shortsriod giving guests and delegates the back-

ground to today's events.

•Today's conference is the culmination of twoyears of effort. WEDC, based at LoughboroughJniversity and covering water and wastewaterigineering for developing countries, isarid renowned for its interest in applied

technology in the field of water and its•dedication to advancing the principles of•sanitation and health, particularly in therural communities. These principles find anequal commitment in Malawi from1 the Govern-ant and the many other agencies with whomae Government works. Because of this a

ready partnership arose between WEDC and the—Ministry of Water Supply when, in April of•1985, Professor Pickford proposed Malawi as•the host country for the 13th WEDC Conference.His Excellancy the Life President graciously

tapproved the proposal to host the conferencein February 1986. Since then a local com-nittee, consisting of a multi-membered team

Ifrom the Office of the President and Cabinet,the Ministries of Works and Supplies, Healthand Community Services and the Lilongwe WaterBoard, has been working behind the scenes to

»bring this morning's meeting and this week's•events to fruition.

IIII

I would like to take this opportunity tothank that team for their untiring efforts inthis respect. One does not gather represen-tatives from some 20 countries without a con-siderable amount of work. The fact that thisadditional burden, imposed upon them inaddition to their already onerous dailyduties, was picked up so willingly speaksvolumes of praise for them. However, thatthey have done their work well is seenclearly by the presence of you all todayanxiously waiting to begin the affairs of theConference.

Therefore, with no more delay and with muchanticipation may I call upon the HonourableLouis Chimango, Minister for Health, todeliver his address and officially open theConference.

8


Rural development in Africa

Malawi: 1987

Opening Address

Hon L J Chimango MP, Minister of Health

IIIIIThe Conference Chairman, Professor PickfordMember of the Diplomat Corps

Principal SecretariesMembers of ParliamentThe District Chairman, Malawi Congress PartyThe District Chairman, League of Malawi WomenThe District Chairman, League of Malawi YouthHis Worship the Mayor of the City of LilongweDelegatesDistinguished GuestsLadies and Gentlemen

It is my very great pleasure and privilegeto be able to welcome all of you on theoccasion of the official opening of the 13thWEDC Conference. I am particularly gratefulto be given the opportunity to welcome thevisitors to Malawi. We who live here believeMalawi has a wide reputation for friendlinessand we trust that you will discover just howwell deserved is this reputation. Therefore,I hope that while you are in Malawi you willnot find i t necessary to spend all of yourtime in debating the important affairs ofthe Conference but that occasions will arisethat will allow you to mingle with the c i t i -zens of our friendly nation.

However, i t is not only our desire to add toour reputation as the Warm Heart of Africathat made Malawi eager to host this Conference.It would appear to us that the whole philo-sophy of the WEDC organisation is totallycompatible and supportive of the declaredaims of the Malawi Government. These aimshave been eloquently identified on numerousoccasions by the Father and Founder of theMalawi Nation, His Excellency the LifePresident, Ngwazi Dr H Kamuzu Banda when hehas made i t abundantly clear that the mainresponsibility of his Government is to seethat the people of this nation have adequatefood, proper clothing and good houses. Inreaching out to achieve these objectives i thas been necessary to build up the infra-structure of the country and i t seems to usin Malawi that WEDC's enthusiasm for theInternational Decade of Water Supplies andSanitation Development and the dedicationshown to the these of Health for All by theYear 2000 would make WEDC and Malawi partnersin a search for an improvement in the qualityof life for our population, particularly thoseliving in the rural areas. Malawi has madegreat strides since Independence in improvingthe infrastructure and the facilities for the

people living in the rural areas. We canpoint with pride to our gravity-fed watersupply system as being one of the finest —examples of the combination of appropriate Itechnology and enlistment of local partici- «pation. Examples of the scheme are to befound in over 20 districts in Malawi and at Mpresent we are able to boast that 55 gravity-Bfed schemes are in operation consisting of atotal of 5,700 km of pipes and 8,000 taps.All of these are in areas where previously •only inadequate groundwater or contaminated •wells were available.

Our Village Access Roads and Bridges project Ihave also attracted much admiration. With a "policy of providing for all weather accessfor light traffic to markets, schools andhealth centres, the pilot project in theNorthern Region of Malawi has created 147 kmof roads and built 175 bridges all again _involving local participation and utilising Imethods that are within the reach of those •who will use and maintain the roads.

In the field of rural housing, once more we Ihave much to be proud of as also in our urbansanitation projects. Both projects, as I amsure Delegates will find out during the coursBof the Conference, contribute much to improve^housing in the rural areas and better sanita-tion in our high density site and service aplots in the urban areas. I

All of these projects contribute not only tothe quality of life but to the sustainment ofBlife itself. As Minister of Health, I am |very much alive to the problems created bywater-borne diseases. Such diseases are per-haps the greatest threat to life expectancy Ion the continent of Africa and their contain-Bment and elimination is one of the mainobjectives of the Ministry of Health's drive Mtowards Health for All by the year 2000. I Iam therefore particularly happy about theadvances made in Malawi towards providingpotable water and improving sanitation. Iwould like to include my thanks to all thedonors who have helped make these advancespossible in Malawi. _

But we cannot in any way afford to be compla-™cent. The gravity-fed water supply systemaccounts for supplies to only 1.2 million of •the rural population and i t has to be recog- Inised that the possibilities of expansion are

limited. In this situation we must turn tothe other alternative source of rural water,that of groundwater supply. However, i t isoatently obvious that the country cannotafford to carry on as has been done tradi-tionally in the past by making both supplyand maintenance of boreholes the responsibi-lity of Central Government. Our resourcesare limited and our need to explore newpossibilities for both construction and main-tenance is clear. These will include contractdrilling for borehole construction, the pro-vision of lightweight pumps that can behandled without the need of winches and theparticipation of the local community at anearly stage in both siting and maintenance.These ideas must be moved from the drawingboard into the field urgently and your helpin planning this is needed.

In other fields assistance and ideas are alsoneeded. If our Village Access Roads andBridges policy is to continue to be a successi t must be supplemented by a rural transportpolicy that will provide transportation faci-l i t ies which are both light and reliable thuscausing a minimum maintenance problem on theroad and providing a maximum service for theusers.

Our rural housing programme cannot stand onits own. We must intensify our efforts totrain and instruct owners and occupiers inthe simple arts of maintenance and construc-tion, and the experience of others in thisfield will be welcomed. From the summary ofthe papers presented I note that many of theseproblems will be addressed by the Conferencedelegates in the days that lie ahead. I amimpressed by the content of the papers andthe calibre of the delegates. I know thatamong you are many learned experts but Iwould plead with you not to allow this tobecome an academic forum. I would ask all ofyou not to forget the people but to apply theincreasing knowledge of appropriate technologyand the increasing understanding of ruralcommunities and their involvement.

10


Rural development in Africa

Malawi: 7987

Keynote Address

L A H Msukwa, Director Centre for Social Research

IIIIIMr Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, I feelgreatly honoured to have been asked to give

the keynote address to this important con-ference. I am not a water engineer nor atechnician but a Social Scientist with in-terest in rural development in general andrural water supply in particular. I guessit is due to this interest that led to theorganising committee to ask me to give thisaddress as the theme of this 13th conferencein Rural Development in Africa.

Indeed the term rural development encompassesall efforts made in order to improve the stan-dard of living of rural communities includingwater supply and sanitation schemes, healthdevelopment, agriculture, etc. Very few coun-tries in Africa can look back to the past withany degree of satisfaction. News prints arefull of failure stories, declining per capitafood production, starvation in a number ofcountries due to natural and/or man-madecalamities, high rates of inflation, highdebts, etc. In the field of water supply andsanitation, the majority of our rural popula-tion remain unsaved. Conferences like thisone enable us from Africa and Asia to shareour ideas, experiences and evaluate our pastefforts. More important though, for thepeople in rural areas, is what we do with whatwe learn from each other after returning toour own countries. The success of WEDC seriesof conferences will not depend on how manyconferences have been held but to what extenthave they contributed to better implementationand management of Water Supply and SanitationSchemes in Africa and Asia.

I have gone through past conference papersand I note that three topics have always fea-tured high in the discussions. These areappropriate technology, maintenance, and comm-unity participation. The three areas or sub-themes are central to most of the papers thatare to be presented at this conference. Iwill briefly dwell on each of the three areas.

To many people, appropriate technology hasmeant low-cost technology. The basis forthis is that we are predominantly dealingwith poor communities, the vast majority ofwhom are illiterate. The technology employedin these communities, it is agreed, shouldtherefore be simple and low-cost. The authorsof paper 2 remind us that attempts to increase

the pace of providing improved communitywater supplies have often been frustratedbecause the technology used is impossible to _sustain under village conditions. We are •therefore advised to ensure that "technology•chosen should match the financial and humanresources available in the region". IThere are two other factors which I thinkare important in considering what is approp-riate technology. The first is the cultural!setting within which it is going to be im- •plemented. In other words, the technologymust be acceptable to the population who a r e ato benefit from it. The developing countriesare full of case studies, especially in agri-*culture, where the population has rejected agiven technology, e.g. improved seed, becausdit does not really conform to established £ways of doing things. Secondly and relatedto this is that a technology should be con- _sidered appropriate only if it provides a ISolution to the problem we are trying to •solve. If our problem is lack of adequatepotable water, then the technology we employmmust be one that is going to provide potable Iwater to our target group to the extent thatthe water will be available in adequate quan-tities all the time. IWe sometimes become short sighted in oursearch for "appropriate11 technology and only«look at the cost of such technology at the •time of installation without much consider- ™ation as to the cost of maintaining such atechnology, its efficiency and availabilityof spare parts. We have a clear example inMalawi with regards to shallow well pumpwhich is very cheap but most of the wells onwhich it was installed are either not being•used or the covering has been removed and Ipeople draw water with a bucket due to thefact that the pump is broken down and spares jmcannot be obtained anywhere. However cheap Isuch a technology might be it is not approp-*riate. On the other hand we are told (paper1) that some of the pumps installed duringthe early days of missionary work in SierraLeone are still working today. This is over80 to 100 years ago and I ask - are such _pumps appropriate? Before any technology Ican be considered appropriate it must at •least fulfil the three conditions; it mustbe affordable and sustainable; it must be •acceptable to the intended beneficiaries andl

I

It must meet the needs of the beneficiaries.

This may even mean that a piece of technology

Ionsidered appropriate in one country may note suitable for a neighbouring country andthis point is made clear in paper 12 when the

(uthor writes "The fact that these latrinesre suggested to have worked well in otherlaces should not be used as a basis for uni-versal adoption in all countries and evenrom region to region".i:e management and maintenance of completed

Projects is another area that has receivedM lot of attention in the previous WEDC con-Rerences and this one too. The author ofpaper 2 reminds us of the gap that exists

(etween what was planned to be achieved dur-ng the International Drinking Water Supplynd Sanitation Decade and what has actuallybeen done. The problem, they say, is comp-

funded by the growing number of completedrojects which are broken down and abandonedor functioning well below their potentialapacity. Africa cannot afford such wastaged yet it is here where "white elephants"re commonplace due to lack of adequateprovision for maintenance of completed pro-

Hects and the use of "out-of-place" techno-••ogies. The problem arises due to relianceon expensive and unsustainable maintenanceystems which are often highly centralised,n the field of water, the authors of papergive some suggestion " pump design

should be suitable for repair by a trained

taretaker or area mechanic with basic toolsHighest potential is achieved whenhe community is involved in all phases ofthe project, beginning with the planning»tage". We are told in paper 9 that prior to980, Malawi was experiencing serious main-tenance problems in its groundwater systemsdue to an inadequate and expensive maintenance

ftystem. One of the suggested solutions to•the problems was "maximum involvement of thevillagers".

• M s brings me to the third aspect I wouldlike to touch on, "community participation".The term community participation has become

Kashionable in today's development literature,here are still some crucial questions thatare not clear in literature, who in the comm-

Knity should participate ? When should peo-le be invited tt participate? At what levelhould the community be invited to participate,ect.

£To many people, community participation hasoften meant the community providing local ma-

terials, labour and sometimes even cash to•complement government or development agency^resources. Seen in this way, community par-ticipation has become a means of doing things)re cheaply. This in itself is important but;he benefits for community participation areleeper than just being able to do things more

11

cheaply. At times, genuine community par-ticipation may even lead to project invest-ment costs being higher than if hired labourwas used. It is quite conceivable that aproject that could easily be implementedwithin six months using hired contractorsand no involvement of the people may takeup to two years or more if the communitywas involved in the planning and implemen-tation of the project. In the short term,given the high rate of inflation the costof materials and equipment may increase tosuch an extent as to make the project muchmore expensive when it is finally completed.

To me this must be seen as a short term lossif it happens. Genuine community partici-pation instills in the people a sense ofPride and responsibility. It also helpscultivate skills, both organisational andtechnical, that are required for sustainingthe development process. Ttre rural pipedwater schemes in Malawi provide a good exam-ple where vandalism is almost nil and schemesare working fifteen or more years after com-pletion through a joint effort by the govern-ment and the community. Through this pro-gramme, it has been demonstrated that givenproper community organisation, an efficientback-up system and adequate resources, thecommunity is capable of undertaking most ofthe maintenance work required in some pro-jects meeting up to 78% of maintenance costs.

In order to achieve genuine community parti-cipation "experts" must stop thinking, plann-ing and doing things for the people but withthem. It calls for a degree of humility onthe part of the "experts" to recognise thatthey too can learn from local people andenenter into genuine partnership with thelocal people. The view that local peoplehave to be told what must be done has sometimes led to very costly mistakes. In agri-culture, for example, lots of efforts havebeen made in persuading people to practicemono-cropping to the extent of denying creditfacilities to those who did not follow ourrules. In spite of this, many people haveresisted and it is only a few years ago thatagriculturists have come to recognise thevalue in multiple cropping and are beginningto actually encourage it. Genuine communityparticipation may save us from making suchcostly mistakes by attempting to understandwhy people do things as they do.

There are other interesting issues raised inthe papers that are going to be presented andI do not wish to comment on all of them.However, allow me just to mention the impor-tance of integrated rural development app-roach which comes out in papers 6 and 9.Amanda Geake warns " Those responsiblefor planning Sanitation Schemes need to re-cognise that a potential pollution hazard

12

exists, and to be aware of the importance ofground water for potable supplies. It wouldbe desirable for low-cost sanitation andground water supply programmes to be plannedon an integrated basis with careful designto minimise the aquifer pollution".

There are several interesting issues raisedin the different papers. It is my hope thatall of them will be fully discussed duringthe conference both in the hall here, ingroups, and informally during break periods.My last call is that let the environment weare in today not distract us from the realproblem area, the rural people.

I13



Small-scale irrigation in Zambia

J A Stoutjesdijk and Josy B Siakantu

IIIIIIIIIIIIIII

SUMMARY

Some attempts of small-scale i r r iga t iondevelopments have been made along the shoreof Lake Kariba in Zambia* In Chiyabi a10 ha unit has been constructed by GRZ/FAOwhere 30 farm families are presentlycul t ivat ing two crops per year . Thesefarmers eventually have to run the schemeas a cooperative without too much Governmentinvolvement. The IRR of 23% i s favourable.The scheme layout i s replicable in manyother areas along Lake Kariba.In the paper development aspects of Chiyabiare discussed and recommendations for astrategy for future developments are given.

1. INTRODUCTION

Zambia has a large I r r igat ion potential , trot00 far i r r iga t ion development i s s t i l l ini t s Infancy* I t has been limited to appro—ximately 20,000 ha, moat of whioh are underlarge soale i r r iga t ion both in the paras ta ta land oommercial sectors*Some attempts of small-soale i r r iga t iondevelopments have been made. The Governmentof the Republic of Zambia (GRZ) has beeninvolved in developments along Lake Kari^bain the Southern Province. Buleya Malima(61 ha) and Siatwinda (32 ha) were developedin the early seventies, while Chiyabi (lOha)was developed in 1985-36 with FAO technicalassistance. Buleya Malima and Siatwindahave not been very suooessful to date, notonly because of operation and managementproblems, but also beoause of the reoedingLake waterlevel during the drought yearsfrom 1981-84, as a resul t of which the pumpsfe l l dry. The schemes have been part lybrought back to production during the pasttwo years . The development in Chiyabi,whioh i s looated at a more s t ra tegic plaoealong the Lake as far as water source i sconcerned, and i t s lessons learned so farwill be discussed in the next paragraphs.

CHANGING NKHD FOR IRRIGATION IN THEGWEKBB V;iLLEY

The. looa l i n h a b i t a n t s of the Gwembe Valleyalong the Zambezi River, t h e Gwembe Tongaware resettled in the latter part of thefifties with the creation of the Lake Kariba,Approximately 36,000 people were relocatedon the higher, less fertile areas along theshores of the new Lake.

The Tongas oontinued with Zi l i l i farming,i«e. uti l ization of the residual moistureafter the reoession of river or Lake water.In order to increase the reliabil i ty, ofth is method of farming, the Government andPAO embarked on a programme of pilot smallsoale irrigation development. Planning forChiyabi was done in 1982. As much aspossible use should have been made of thefloodwater of the Lake to grow a rioe cropduring the rainy season (November-April).During the dry season (May-September)vegetables would be grown on residualmoisture, supplemented with irrigation waterwhen needed during the lat ter part of thedry season. For th i s low-lifting enginepumps would be used.However, during the drought period from1981 to 1984 the Lake level receded from485.1m above Kariba Datum (K.D) to 478.8mK.D. During the pant two yonro, the Lakelevel remained low, despite two years ofaverage rainfal l . No one can at the momentprediot what the future Lake level will be.Thus a permanent irrigation system was desi-gned and contruoted in Chiyabi in 1985-56,

3. CHIYABI DESIGN

Figure 1 shows the layout of Chiyabi PilotIrrigation Scheme.The pumpsite was selected on a steep slopeof the Lake. A manifold and the AsbestosCement pipeline are situated above theknown flood level. Portable diesel pumpsoan be placed on reinforced concrete p la t -forms at three levels, thus the Lake levelcan be followed. The discharge of the 5pumps i s 56 l/sec at a design head of 10m.This design discharge exceeds the requiredwater need with 40$ thu^ expansion i spossible.Except for the field cnnals, the canals arelined with concrete slabs. The lined oanalshave been designed for the design, dischargeof 56 l /seo. The scheme has 30 field canali,Each of the 30 farmers has been allooatedone field, canal for which he/she i s responsi-ble " • The area each farmer i s cultivatingi s 0.3 ha. The remaining hectare willserve as a oomnrunal orchard.Several rural structure, e.g. offloe^storerodflT and assembly hall have beenconstructed.

14

- _ 1 I

irzv. t r i a l r *area I - — - —'

agron*trialarea

M0.3 ha allocated;•' to a farmer

L.Figure 1 : Scheme layout.

(Scale 1:5000)

_ — _ pipeline

* Lined canal

Field canal

Unit "boundary

Farmers' plot boundary

The construction oosts per ha wereZK 9,900.00, i . e . |1,65O.OO (1 US $ - 6.0ZK)» This amount excludes the costs of therural structures. If lining could "beavoided for future schemes by selectingsi tes with less permeable soils than Chiyabi^the costB per ha would drop to $ 930.00.The Internal Rate of Return (IRR) forChiyabi i s 25$, which i s favourable.

4 . FARMERS' PARTICIPATION

As irr igation i s a new phenomenon in theGwrnhc Valley i t was and i s up to datedifficult to make the farmers in Chiyabiinterested.During the implementation of the projectonly very few potential farmers wereparticipating aa oasual workers.Participation of the farmers in the schemehas been mixed successful. Most of themare not yet fully aware of their schemes'potential and their obligations towards thescheme. It will take some time before theywill accept the scheme as the i rs and notjust as another Government scheme forraising revenue on which they work aslabourers.The present oropping pattern i s r ice andvegetables.

However, Chiyabi i s located in a remotearea with difficult access throughoutthe year. This makes marketing of p e r i -shable crops difficult and indeed lastyear farmers had to be disappointed asnot a l l their vegetables could be t rans -ported to the markets, which i s not goodfor their sustained in teres t . Thus duringthe dry season those crops should be grownthat can be stored for a period, e.g. okra,Ir ish potatoes and green maize. I t i sthought to provide the farmers! group witha. small r ice mill, so that they oan atleast t r ipple their return on r ioe .Part of the scheme area i s planted withbananas and cashew nuts to provide mostof the revolving funds for running thescheme.With the assistance of the GRz/FAO Projectthe farmers should build up confidence inirrigated agriculture. The final resultBhould be the establishment of a Coopera-t ive after which the scheme should bemanaged to a great extent by the farmersthemselves.


15

5 . CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FORFJTURB DEVELOPMENTS

The FAO/GRZ pro jec t w i l l in the next 18months develop more p i l o t Bohemea on whichlooa l groups of small farmers should s e t t l e *Onoe t h i n axeroise t u r n s out t o be BUOOOBS—fill there is scope for expansion as thereare several thousands of hectares suitablein the Gwombe Valley for the type of smallscale irrigation development as attemptedin Chiyabi, In suoh a programme thefollowing should be taken into accounti

— Farmers should be made interested andknowledgeable on what will oome. Theyshould be involved from the beginningIn each development stage, i . e . selec-tion, planning and construction, so thatthey come to regard the scheme as theirown and thus take a far greater interestin ensuring the suooess,

— Careful selection of pump sites andpumpante is neoessary to avoid disastersas occured in Buleya Halima and Siatwind%

— Availability of electricity i s importantfor continued running of the schemes*Diesel pumpB maintenance is difficultunder self—help conditions in remoteareas,

•- Marketing possibilities for the crops areimportant for suocess of the soheme.Together with the farmers a croppingpattern should be sought, that allows foreasy and complete marketing,

— An orchard i s important for obtainingrevolving fundB,

— The farmers could be assisted with• pre-construction study• field survey• detailed desi#i• cost estimate and obtaining necessary

financial supportFor this a unit should be established inthe Ministry of Agriculture and WaterDevelopment, A construction manpower andequipment unit to assist the farmers inskill required construction works shouldalso be established,

— Training of farmers in elementaryirrigation techniques,

— Organizing farmers towards formingcooperatives,

— Once schemes Eire developed, evaluationof SSIP is important as the efficiencyof utilization is expected to varyconsiderably. Therefore a methodologyfor the rapid evaluation of projectperformance should be made. This should,include irrigation efficiency, watersupply, state of irrigation works, useof irrigation water, use of land, agri-cultural production, benefit per ha,water uaers1 association involvomontand storage facili t ies.

HHFERBNCES

1 . . M0ON0 D. SATO F . a n d 3IAKANTU J .Annual I r r i ga t i on Research CoordinationReport, NIRS, Mazabuka, 1?.86,

2, SCUDDER T, Ecologioal bot t lenecksand the Development of the Kariba LakeBasin, The Careless Teohnologyt page206-235.

3, STOUTJBSDIJK J, Chiyabi - designreport, Field Document I, NIRS,Mazabuka, 1985.

4» STOUTJUSDIJK J. Chiyabi - evaluationof construction works*Field DocumentV, NIRS, Mazabukn,, 1986.

16

\ ^ | | | g / Ufn Wtuc conference

Rura/ deve/opmenf in AfricaMalawi: 1987

Dambo

Patricia

resource

Hotchkiss

use

and

in Zimbabwe

Morag Bell

INTRODUCTION

Most environmental resources in ruralAfrica have multiple uses and need to beseen in this context when planning anydevelopment programmes. Dambos are anexample of such a multipurpose resource.Alan Windram, at the 1985 WEDC Conference(ref. 9) described dambos and their use inZimbabwe for agricultural purposes. Dambosare treeless headwater depressions withgroundwater close to the surface. Theycomprise 1.28 million hectares in Zimbabwe,with 263,000 hectares in the communal areas(ref. 7 ). They are also widelydistributed throughout sub-Saharan Africa(ref. 1).

Dambos provide land and water resources forthree main purposes in the Zimbabwe'scommunal areas: domestic water supply,livestock grazing and garden cultivation- each of which provides economic andsocial benefits to rural households.Little is known about the role of gardencultivation in the livelihood of individualhouseholds. Our research shows that thisform of cultivation forms part of anintegrated agricultural system with dryfarming on the interfluves. Families withgardens grow enough vegetables to feedthemselves throughout the year. Manyfamilies also grow rice and maize as staplecrops in the garden, with a harvest inJanuary, which is usually the "hungryseason" when nutritional levels are attheir lowest (ref. 3). Dambo farmingtherefore complements dryland agriculture,the main harvest from which is in April.Even families without gardens can benefitin areas with dambos since they often haveaccess to crops from their neighbours'gardens.

In some areas, gardens are the sole sourceof family income, providing $100 to $3,000per year from the sale of vegetables.Irrigation technology used is simple —watering cans and buckets, oil drums andhosepipes, and, in a few cases, dieselpumps.

In Zimbabwe there areregulations restrictingas a land and watercommunal areas where

government-imposedthe use of dambosresource. In thepeople do not hold

title to land, there are also local rulesand traditions affecting dambo use.These are partly affected by the nationalpolicy but also greatly influenced by localneeds and the historical use of dambos. Inthis paper the local management of dambosis discussed and compared with nationalpolicy. National legislation, which is ofcolonial origin, is compared with presentgovernment policy. A case study approachis then used to describe indigenousmanagement, drawing upon information fromone dambo which has been studied in detailfor the past two years. Brief comparisonis also made with dambos studied in otherareas. These same case studies are thenused to illustrate how the implementationof government policy affects and isaffected by indigenous management systems.

NATIONAL MANAGEMENT

Legislation

There are two pieces of legislation whichaffect dambo use: The National Resources(Protection) Regulation of 1975 (commonlyknown as the Streambank ProtectionRegulation) and the Water Act of 1976.

The Streambank Protection Regulationoriginally enacted in 1952, prohibits •cultivation within 30 metres of a stream, |and on "wetland", which includes dambos.This legislation was introduced due tofears of environmental degradation which Iwas widespread in Southern Africa during mcolonial times. Beinart (ref. 2) refers todiscussions as early as 1913 overdegradation of dambos by settler farmers.Later, this degradation was blamed onpeasant farmers. Wilson (ref. 8) contendsthat this type of legislation was enactedas a means of controlling peasants andreducing competition for agriculturalmarkets. Whatever the reasons for thelegislation, Wilson and Thiesen (ref. 6)have both shown how detrimental thislegislation was to the welfare of peasanthouseholds.

The Water Act originating in the 1930's,defines vaious uses of water and how theseuses are regulated (ref. 4). "Primary use"is for "drinking, washing, cooking and


stock watering". Usually, officialpermission is not needed for primary use ofwater. Permission is needed for "secondaryuse", which includes irrigation. There arealso restrictions on the use of "publicwater", which includes water in dairibos.These restrictions were imposed due toconcern that use of water in dambos wouldaffect downstream flow, and therefore,water supply in the catchment. Reducedflow from the catchment might, in turn,reduce the water supply available in theriver basin as a whole, thus affectingdomestic and irrigation supplies in otherareas.

National Policy on Dambos

National interpretation of these two piecesof legislation varies depending on theministries involved.

The Natural Resources Board is mostconcerned with the Streambank ProtectionRegulation. In the 1970's, the NRB becamemore lenient in enforcing this legislation.This was due to the fact that maize wassuccessfully grown during the recentdrought, without environmental damage.Work by Thiesen, which showed that cattledid more damage to the dambos thancultivation, was also instrumental inchanging the views of NRB officials. Thus,only that part of the regulation whichrefers to streambank cultivation wasenforced, while cultivation on dambos waspermitted beyond the 30 metre line. NRBpolicy is now one of education in properconservation measures, rather thanwidespread enforcement of legislation.This education is the responsibility of theMinistry of Agriculture. However, despiteNRB policy, some Land Inspectorate Officers(part of the NRB) continue to enforce theregulation. In Gutu, for example, sinceIndependence some people have beenprohibited from using their gardens.

NRB literature encourages the use of dambosfor domestic water use, but permission todig a well should be obtained from both theMinistry of Agriculture and the Ministry ofWater Development. This is not enforced.NRB officials are not, at present,concerned about excessive use of water forgarden irrigation. However, as gardencultivation increases, they recognize thatfurther legal clarification of these issuesmay be needed.

Agritex (the agricultural extensionservice), is responsible for givingtechnical advice to the Natural Resources

17

Board on environmental matters. Thedefinition of wetland in the StreambankProtection Regulation was written byAgritex. However, the NRB makes the finaldecision on any regulations passedreferring to environmental resources. Interms of soil classification, dambo soilsare referred to as Class V, which meansthey are only suitable for grazing. WhileAgritex field officers generally recognizethe importance of dambo gardens to thewelfare of rural households, middle andupper-level officials remain more concernedover the environmental hazards. Thus,although field officers continue toallocate new gardens more than 30 metresfrom the watercourse, they are notwell-trained in safe and effectivecultivation of dambos. They are alsounsure whether they should be givingextension advice on gardens.

In terms of the Water Act, Agritex feelsthat as long as only handpumps and wateringcans are used for watering garden crops,this is "primary use" of water, not"secondary use". Therefore permission isnot needed. However, this interpretationadds to the official perception that gardenwatering is "domestic water use" ratherthan irrigation. Garden cultivation istherefore ignored in irrigation policy.

The Agricultural Finance Corporation(AFC) which gives loans to farmers foragricultural inputs, does not give loans tofarmers for gardens, this is not a resultof legislation, but due to the fact thatvegetables are the cash crops on gardens.The AFC argues that since vegetable pricesare not government-regulated, it cannot besure that farmers will repay their loans.Also, vegetables are more perishable thanstaple crops such as maize and rice. Thissometimes results in crops spoiling beforethey reach the market. However, somefarmers make large profits from theirgardens, at much less risk than thosefarmers depending on the rains for growingmaize. After the recent drought, most ofthe loans given to farmers for dryfieldcrops had to be written off.

The Ministry of Water Development(MWD) is most concerned with dambo use asit relates to the Water Act. As withAgritex, they see dambo cultivation asprimary use of water. They do not thereforeconsider permission to be necessary forirrigation of gardens. Officials are,however, concerned about the effects ofgarden watering on the water supply of thecatchment. This concern persists despite

18

the lack of evidence to prove that danibocultivation in coranunal areas has adetrimental affect on stream flow.

The Ministries of Health and CotmunityDevelopment are encouraging group andindividual gardens as a means of increasingfamily income and improving health. Thesegardens are often located on dambos.

National Land Use Policy

In some areas of Zimbabwe, the governmenthas enacted "villagization" programmes.These involve moving households closertogether, providing basic services such aswater and electricity, and allocating landspecifically for cultivation and grazing.In Gutu these programmes will includeprovision for wetland cultivation, as longas gardens are located more than 30 metresfrom the streambank.

LOCAL MANAGEMENT

Chizenqeni Dambo

This dambo is located in Chiota CommunalArea, some 80 kilometres southeast ofHarare. The total area of the dambo isabout 80 hectares, with approximately 30hectares under cultivation. There are27 gardens, ranging from 0.5 to 4 hectares.The remaining area is used for cattlegrazing. Twenty-nine families live aroundthe edge of the dambo, forming a totalpopulation of 180. These familiescultivate dryland plots and gardens. Halfof the families obtain their drinking waterfrom wells on the dambo. The remainder useprotected wells at their own or aneighbour's home.

Agricultural land in Chizengeni, as inall communal areas, is allocated by aVillage Chairman, in consultation with thelocal Agritex officer. Local people aregenerally aware of the 30 meter rule, butdo not think it is illegal to cultivate onother parts of the dambo. Male heads ofhousehold are given permission to use theland, but do not hold title to it. Onlythree families in the village do not haveaccess to gardens; these are youngcouples whose requests for a garden havenot yet been met. Widows are permittedto have gardens inherited from theirhusbands. Wells for irrigation are insidethe gardens and can only be used withpermission of the "owner" of the garden.

Wells for Domestic Water Supply can bedug on the dambo anywhere outside thegardens without permission. They are

generally shared between 2-3 families andare dug on the dambo margins close to thehomes. Clothes washing normally involves Iusing water from irrigation wells in the •gardens, not domestic water supplies.

Cattle obtain water from irrigation wells Ion the edge of gardens or fran the river. "They are kept away from domestic wells.Herding is organized in groups during the •rainy season in order to protect dryfield |crops and save labour. In the dry season,when only gardens are cultivated, cattleare not herded, although they must be kept Iin the kraals at night. Good fencing is •therefore needed to protect garden crops.Households with inadequate fencing either •do not cultivate their gardens during the |dry season, or ensure a family member isalways in the garden to keep the cattleaway. •

Dambos in Other Areas

These indigenous practices relating to Iaccess to dambo land in Chiota are found •also in Zwimba and Gutu Communal Areas.Zwiinba is in the same agro-ecologicalregion as Chiota, and is a similardistance from Harare. Gutu is in a moremarginal agro-ecological region some 300kilometres from Harare. In Zwimba, 90percent of those surveyed have gardenswhich are much smaller than those inChizengeni due to the need for more •elaborate fencing to keep out the goats. IIn Gutu, people have a similar problem withgoats. However, a greater constraint ongarden cultivation is access to a plotsince the Land Inspectorate is muchstricter in enforcing the StreambankProtection Regulation. Thus, only 52percent of those surveyed have gardens.

DISCUSSION

Effects of National Policy on LocalManagement

It is apparent that the national approachto dambo cultivation in Zimbaber isdivided. Policies of the NRB, Agritex andMWD towards cultivation are notwell-defined. Officials in theseinstitutions are primarily concerned withthe effects of dambo cultivation on bothland and water resources, notably soilerosion, water loss in the immediate dambocatchment and in the overall river basin.In contrast, the Ministries of Health andCommunity Development, in their concern toimprove the nutritional and economic statusof farming households, support group •gardens on dambos. |

IIThis ambiguous government policy results in—conflicting messages to communal farmers,•making successful dambo cultivation more"difficult- Since dambos tend to be ignoredin policymaking, they are also left out

Iwhen budgets and development plans areformulated. Farmers have no access tocredit for dambo gardens and littleextension advice. Research on cropping

• patterns and pumping technology is minimal•• Furthermore, families in some areas areseverely restricted from using gardens.

IWith the exception of a few experimentalgrazing schemes, there is no governmentcontrol over grazing on dambos.IIIIIIIIIIIIII

Local Conflicts

Government policy on land and water usecreates constraints to dambo cultivation inall communal areas in Zimbabwe. However,one additional constraint not addressed bygovernment has been identified by localpeople. This relates to a perceivedconflict over access to land for gardensand cattle grazing. The severity of thisconflict varies between dambo areas.While in Zwimba and Gutu it was notreported to be a problem, in Chizengeni nofurther allocation of dambo gardens isplanned due to the need for grazing land.This decision has been made by the VillageChairman in consultation with localfarmers.

CONCLUSION

Two major policy issues emerge from theabove discussions: the first relating topriorities, the second to governmentintervention.

Clearly, problems and priorities relatingto dambo use are different at local andnational levels. National policymakers areconcerned with the effects of dambo use onland and water resources at local andregional levels. By contrast, communalfarmers are primarily concerned with thelocal effects of dambo use as a landresource. Thus, government concerns andthose of communal farmers only coincideover local problems with use of dambo land.Yet even here there is a difference inpriorities. The government is mostconcerned with land degradation in the formof sheet and gully erosion on dambos.Communal farmers do not ignore the problemsof land degradation, but their moreimmediate priority is the conflict overland for grazing and cultivation.

In the communal areas, the managementsystems for controlling dambo use arewell-established and effective.Policymakers need to understand local

19

priorities in order to work effectivelywith these indigenous systems.Generalizations about communal areas needto be avoided. The study of localpractices and constraints should be asarea-specific as time and financialresources allow. Government will then bebetter able to assist with the safe andbeneficial use of dambos.

This paper arises from the dambo researchproject, based at WEDC, LoughboroughUniversity. We would like to thank theOverseas Development Administration forfinancial support for the project (no.R3869) and the University of Zimbabwe forproviding facilities and funds.

REFERENCES

1. ACRES, B.D. et al. African dambos: theirdistribution, characteristics and use.Zeitschrift fur Geomorpholoqie, 1985,Suppl.-Bd. 52, 63-86.

2. BEINART, W. Soil erosion, con-servationism and ideas about development: aSouthern African exploration, 1900-1960.Journal of Southern African Studies

3. CHAMBERS, R. Health, agriculture andrural poverty: why seasons matter.Journal of Development Studies, 1982, 18,2, 217-238.

4. GOVERMENT OF RHODESIA NaturalResources (Protection) Regulations,Rhodesia Government Notice. No. 1190 of1975. Salisbury.

5. GOVERNMElSrr OF RHODESIA Act No. 41 -Water. 1976. Salisbury.

6. THIESEN, R.J. An investigation into thedeclining natural resource problem.Unpublished. 1972. Salisbury, Rhodesia.

7. WHITLOW, R. A survey of dambos inZimbabwe. Zimbabwe Agricultural Journal,1984, Vol. 81, 129-137.8. WILSON, K. Aspects of the history ofvlei (dambo) cultivation in SouthernZimbabwe. Unpublished paper submitted toWorkshop on the Use of Dambos in Zimbabwe'sCommunal Areas, University of Zimbabwe,1986.

9. WINDRAM, A. et al. The use of dambosin small scale rural development. Waterand Sanitation in Africa, Report of 11thWEDC Conference, ed. by M. Ince.Loughborough, UK, 1985.

20

ttf&sJV) 73th WEDC Conference


Micro-scale irrigation in Africa

R A Lambert and others

INTRODUCTION

Food security is one of the highestpriorities of rural development insub-Saharan Africa. Variations in rainfallfrom year to year lead to conditions of foodsurplus being followed quickly by conditionsof shortage or even famine. In some casessurplus and shortage may exist at the sametime in one country due to the difficulty oftransferring the surplus production to theareas where it is needed.

The development of irrigation has been seenas the means to reduce vulnerability toclimatic variations. However, with theexception of Sudan, Madagascar and Nigeria,irrigated agriculture has a minor place inthe economies of sub-Saharan Africancountries (ref 1). It has been estimatedthat in 1982 only some 20% of potentiallyirrigable land was actually being irrigated,whether under modern or traditional methods(ref 1).

Much of this irrigation is devoted to theproduction of cash crops, so reducing theimpact on food security. The performance ofmany of the irrigation schemes has not comeup to expectations (refs 2 & 3). This is inspite of considerable investment.

One reason for this failure of irrigation tolive up to the expectations has been thereluctance of planners to acknowledge formsof irrigation not conforming to theirdefinitions. A large area of irrigation,that of garden cultivation on dambos andsimilar wetlands, goes unrecorded in thestatistics.

In Zimbabwe it has been estimated that thisarea may be in the order of 30,000 hectares(ref 4), and contributes significantlyboth to rural cash incomes and to foodsecurity. In Nigeria, it is reported (refs5 & 6) that fadama (wetland) irrigation has

. increased almost seven-fold between 1958 and1978. This is a far greater increase thanthat achieved in the formal sector, despitemassive investment.

An analogy may be drawn with the field ofenvironmental health through the provisionof clean water and sanitation. It is nowbeing accepted that conventional schemes,

III1Iwith piped water, flush toilets andcentralised sewerage systems, cannot servethe needs of most of the rural population in

the foreseeable future. Hand-dug wells,•simple pumps and, especially in Zimbabwe, IBlair improved pit latrines are theaccepted, appropriate and very effectivemeans to achieving the end of improved •enviromental health. I

While this type of informal small-scale™irrigation, which we refer to as micro-scale •irrigation, does not receive the recognition™it deserves, policy formulation on foodsecurity and irrigation development willremain far from optimal.

BACKGROUND /CONVENTIONAL IRRIGATION IWhile formal irrigation schemes will remainimportant in sub-Saharan Africa it is usefulmto appreciate some of the factors which Ilimit their widespread success.

Large scale conventional irrigation schemes Ioften require a massive upgrading of t h e |existing infrastructure. Roads may need tobe built, housing provided and facilities —such as health and education provided from Iscratch. ™

The cost of conventional irrigationdevelopment can be immense. An investmentcost of US$10,000/ha is considered standardwith seme schemes such as the Bura scheme inKenya costing many times more,up toUS$50,000/ha (ref 3). While a large pro-portion of this cost takes the form ofnon-productive infrastructure, this infra-structure is necessary for the success ofthe schemes. It has recently been estimatedthat when investment costs exceedUS$6,000/ha none of the cereal crops canmake a profit (ref 1), and high value cropsmust be grown. This leaves the problem offood security unsolved.

The demands of the market are notoriouslyhard to predict in advance. Where a demandexists the sudden entry of a new large scalescheme can have undesirable effects on thosealready supplying that demand.

In many cases,be relocated

large numbers of people mustto the new scheme. These

IIIIIII

II

21

le need to be given the skills toicipate in the schemes, skills that take

a long time to acquire. Of particularirtance is the fact that in Africa, womenmost of the agricultural work and it is

the men who are targeted in many of thearge new schemes. Conventional irrigations a high cost, high risk and very lumpy

restment.

—th

fcIIIIIIIIIII1

solution to the problems encountered bylarge scale schemes has been to promote11-scale schemes. However, in many cases

the only small-scale element in theses is the size of the individual plots,

ile a scheme extending over only 80hectares is indeed snail compared to some of,the large schemes the problems of'-ordination among a large number of usersill still remain. The area under

irrigation is not the only factor to beconsidered.

WHAT IS MICRO-SCALE IRRIGATION ?

iMicro-scale irrigation has been around for along time. A system of rice cultivation ondambos was described by Leask in 1867 as hetravelled through southern Zimbabwe (ref 7).It has continued in Southern and CentralAfrica despite official lack of recognitionand even prohibition (ref 8). Similar typesof cultivation are widespread throughoutAfrica with the lack of recognition beingemphasised by the dearth of statistics.

An example

As one travels through certain parts ofrural Zimbabwe in the dry season, onefrequently sees snail gardens situated ondambos. Cultivation is by ox-plough or hoeand the plants receive water either throughresidual soil moisture in the early dryseason or from a shallow well using wateringcans and occasionally pumps.

A wide variety of crops is grown on thesegardens, with staples such as rice and maizebeing grown in the wet season and vegetablesfor home consumption and for sale in the dryseason.

Generally the plots are worked by individualfamilies although there is often a lot ofco-operation with their neighbours throughthe tradition of 'nyimbe'- This may takethe form of shared labour at peak periods ofthe year or a collectively erected fence toprotect the gardens from animals.

illustrated the potential for developingthis resource. Until recently dambo gardenshave been given little recognition and haveoften been prohibited by the authorities.

Objectives

The two main objectives of micro-scaleirrigation as it is currently practised are:

(i) Food security for the individual orgroup involved and;

(ii) Income from the sale of produce.This income is often the only means by whichthe rural poor, particularly women canobtain cash for such things as clothing andschool fees.

Main features

The main features of micro-scale irrigationare:

Control: is the single most importantfeature of micro-scale irrigation. Controlis exercised as far as possile by theindividual, family or group that does thework. This control covers croppingpatterns, choice of technology, labourtiming, marketing and use of incomegenerated.

Investment Cost: is low. In assessingwhat is low, account should be taken notjust of the strict financial viability ofthe investment but of the reduction in theneed for food relief and the advantages ofhaving a healthy food production sectorwidely dispersed in the rural areas.

Scale: The basic unit of the traditionalmicro-scale irrigation plot varies from afew hundred square metres to severalhectares. In addition to unit size, theconcentration of plots within any one areamust relate to the ability of the existinginfrastructure to sustain it. Traditionallythe growth of micro-scale irrigation islimited by constraints such as lack offinance or markets. This means that whengrowth does occur it is sustainable, as itonly occurs when conditions allow it. Thescale is small and growth is organic.

Recent research (refs 8 and 9) has

22 II

Integration: Because micro-scaleirrigation is firmly set in the localcommunity, it fits in with local practicesand capabilities. New developments must fitin with the existing situation and involvethe local community as far as possible. Inparticular, they should fit in with theexisting farming system. In these systems,labour is generally a scarcer resource thanland and rain-fed agriculture will retain adominant role in food production.

Water source: the water source in mostmicro-scale irrigation is small, localisedand directly accessible to to the user. Thisobviates the need for complex watermanagement systems.

Technology The technology that is mostlikely to succeed is that which relates tothose tools that are presently used, such aswatering cans, simple hand-pumps, ox-ploughsand hoes. The value of indigenous technicalknowledge and the dangers of imposedtechnology, not firmly rooted in localpractices, are now being recognised (ref10).

Present extent

Few figures are available for the extent ofmicro-irrigation in Africa. In Nigeria ithas been estimated that 800,000 ha ofwetland is under cultivation (ref 2). InMali flooded rice is grown over an area of80,000 ha in holdings of about 1.5 ha; inSierra Leone about 30,000 ha of boliland iscultivated, with similar areas beingutilised in Guinea, Burkina Faso, Coted'lvoire and Ghana (ref 10). In Zimbabwedambo cultivation may account for between10,000 and 50,000 ha with a provisionalestimate of 30,000 ha (ref 4). In Tanzania,a wide variety of micro-scale irrigation ispractised from the traditional furrowirrigation on the slopes of MountKilimanjaro to the mbugas (dambos) in thecentral plateau.

When looking at the total area cultivated itis important to keep in mind the fact thatmicro-scale irrigation, as with any form ofirrigation, allows a more intensive use ofthe land than it is possible with rain-fedcultivation. On the dambo gardens ofZimbabwe two to three crops are oftenharvested in one year from the same piece ofground.

It is also important to have some idea ofthe number of people affected. Micro-scaleirrigation plots are generally in the order

of one hectare. When one considers an areaof 30,000 ha under micro-scale irrigation inany one African country one can appreciatethe large numbers of people affected. InZimbabwe cash incomes from larger gardens Ican reach US$3,000 per annum (ref 8). I

Finally, one must consider which people _benefit. In Zimbabwe most people living near •dambos have access to them. The dambo ™gardens are particularly important towomen, and hence to family nutrition andfood security.

Environmental Health

IIIrrigation projects can be serious health

hazards and micro-scale irrigation is notexempt. However, in the case of dambos •people are using a resource that is close to •where they live and encountering hazardswith which they are familiar. They are not beexposed to the type of new health hazards Iassociated with large-scale schemes with |large areas of open water, especially thoseinvolving extensive population relocation. _In Zimbabwe a positive correlation was shown Ibetween the health of families and their use •of dambos for micro-scale irrigation (ref11). The important question is whether ornot the improved nutritional and incomestatus justifies the risk to health.

MICRO-SCALE IRRIGATION AND RURAL DEVELOPMENTIFundamental to the promotion of micro-scale mirrigation is its recognition not only as a ldesired end result but also as part of t h e "development process. This process is mostlikely to succeed if it is a series of small Isteps where an assessment of success o r (failure can be made at each stage of theprocess. Thus sudden cultural o r _organisational change or quantum leaps inHtechnology must be approached very warily. •

Small scale irrigation is often viewed a s auseful entry point to rural development (ref10). However, given the successes ofmicro-scale irrigation, governmentencouragement or attempts to link it withBother forms of development must be given orBmade with due recognition to theself-reliance and sustainability that are«»among its chief characterisitics. TheBcreation of dependancy must, as far a s *possible, be avoided.

CONSTRAINTS AND NEEDSI

Inattention by government, research andj

IIfunding agencies has resulted in a situation

re a successful form of irrigation2ives negligible consideration. It may

appear that this inattention has beenfceneficial, especially in the light of theAttention given to many large schemes andtheir lack of success. However there is a

for sympathetic attention, respectingsuccesses and addressing the real

rceived problems.

Pinance is never sufficient for farmersat there are special requirements formicro-scale irrigation. Large numbers ofsmall fanners needing small amounts of

Bfinance can impose difficulties for the•traditional financial institutions. This isespecially so in the case of vegetable

»produciton where markets and prices can•fluctuate sharply. Financing institutions•such as community revolving funds or creditunions may be necessary.

[Technology requirements include the need forimproved water lifting devices (ref 8).Micro-scale irrigation deserves the same

•sort of attention that has rightly and•effectively been given to appropriate ruralsanitation.

IIIIIIIIII

Environmental Issues such as soil'degradation and the impact on catchmenthydrology must be addressed. This should bedone using the knowledge and experience ofthe local community, who are often the onlyreal experts on the likely effects ofchanges in land use, in addition to standardtechniques.

ICONCLUSION

In the context of rural developmentmicro-scale irrigation deserves recognitionfor the role it plays in providing foodsecurity and incomes in sub-Saharan Africa.It should however be considered inconjunction with conventional irrigation andnot simply as a replacement.

For governments and aid agencies, thepromotion of a dispersed micro-scaleirrigation programme involves low cost andan evolutionary growth. The risks involvedare far fewer than those associated withlarge scale schemes, the failure of whichcan be disastrous to both finances andmorale. The potential for micro-scaleirrigation is very real and the rewards arealready evident.

23

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This paper arises from the dambo researchproject, based at WEDC, LoughboroughUniversity. We would like to thank theOverseas Development Administration fortheir financial support for this project(no. R3869) and the University of Zimbabwefor providing facilities and funds.

REFERENCES

1 Biswas, A.K. (1986) Irrigation in Africa.Land Use Policy October 1986, 269-285.

2 The World Bank (1981) AcceleratedDevelopment in Sub-Saharan Africa:An Agenda for Action

3 Gunnel1, B. The great Bura irrigationscheme disaster. African BusinessApril 1986

4 Lambert, R.A. and Hotchkiss, P.F. (1985)Shallow Ground Water for Micro-Scaleirrigation Unpublished Paper presentedto workshop on Irrigation Policy in Kenyaand Zimbabwe. Nairobi November 1985

5 Kay, M.G. e t a L (1985) The prospectsfor small-scale irrigation in sub-SaharanAfrica. Outlook on Agriculture, 14: 3:115-121

6 Turner, B. Changing land-use patterns infadamas of northern Nigeria.Life before the drought Ed. Earl ScottAllen & Unwin, London 1984.

7 Wilson, K.B. Aspects of the history ofvlei cultivation in Southern Zimbabwe.Unpublished paper submitted toworkshop on dambos, University ofZimbabwe, Aug 1986

8 Windram, A. et al^ (1985) The use ofdambos in small scale rural developmentWater and Sanitation in Africa Reportof 11th WEDC Conference, edited byM. Ince.

9 Anon. Drive to develop dambos.World Water March 1986.

10 Underhill, H.W. e t a L (1984)Small-scale irrigation in Africa in thecontext of rural development FAQ 1984

11 Theisen, R.J. An investigation into thedeclining natural resource problem.Unpublished Salisbury, Rhodesia 197?

24

SESSION 1 - DISCUSSION

Chairman: B H MwakikungaMinistry of Works and SuppliesPB 316, Lilongwe 3 Malawi

J A STOUTESDIJK and J B SIAKANTUSMALL-SCALE IRRIGATION IN ZAMBIA

1. Mr STEPHENS wished to know if the diff-erence in elevation levels between Kariba'sdry season low and wet season high levels(2.5 m, peak in July, low in February/March)was high enough to affect efficiency of pumpas pressure duty is only 10 m.

2. Mr STOUTJESDIJK replied that pumps hadbeen designed on a maximum operating head,which included the annual fluctuations andalso a further drop of the lake level.

3. Mr HUNINK asked who was going to executethe construction works - the beneficiariesthemselves or (hired) labour from elsewhere?In addition, if beneficiaries were executingthe works, were they paid for their contri-bution and, if so, how much (cash/hired)?

4. Mr STOUTJESDIJK said that preferablybeneficiaries should be involved in projectexecution. However, as this project was anew development in the area, interest was lowand local people were hired to work as casuallabourers for approximately US$ 0.50 per day.

5. Mr BHAIJI queried the extent of FAO fun-ding of the project and wished to know whenwould the farmers take over. He also askedhow the funds from the orchards were utilisedfor the revolving fund.

6. Mr STOUTJESDIJK replied that constructioncosts of the project are jointly funded by theGovernment of Zambia and FAO and that farmersare not required to pay back these capitalcosts. Ini t ial ly farmers are assisted withsome grants and loans to sett le in the scheme:once they are established they will run theschemes with l i t t l e Government involvement.Funds from the orchard are important, there-fore, to serve as a buffer. Money will beplaced in the bank in the name of the 'Far-mers' society and will be used when needed,e.g. to pay for electricity or repairs.

7a. Dr KENNEDY expressed the opinion that thepaper seemed to suggest that the farmers arenot really interested in the irrigation scheme,He asked how the farmers were motivated andwhat community participation process was used.

7b. Mr SIBALE also wished to know, in orderto make the scheme successful, how farmershad/would be motivated.

III

8. In reply Mr STOUTJESDIJK suggested thatreal motivation might only come when the far-«mers are used to the new ways of farming, andlafter seeing the benefits. He stated that *to motivate by talking alone is not easilyaccepted: farmers must be interested throughBinvolvement from the beginning, preferably |from the planning phase and during each dec-ision phase. Farmers participate from field _level, i . e . cleaning canals, land preparation!etc. The project should guide the farmers •when needed but never impose decisions.

I9. Mr POLELA suggested that motivationcould have been a problem in the Zambianirrigation scheme because of the nonavaila-bility of other related facilities like Ischools, clinics, prayer houses etc. He |asked the authors if these factors resultedin the lack of interest shown by farmers to Mmoving and hence being separated from their Ifamilies and existing social set-up. ™

10. Mr STOUTJESDIJK explained that as thiswas not a resettlement scheme, as farmerscome from within a 5 Km radius, this couldnot explain the problem.

II11. Mr MPHANDE commented that there is alwaj

a problem where schemes are introduced to thepeople in an effort to make them accept and •adopt a new technology. Eventually i t ends Iup being a l iabil i ty to the government, far-mers not having much responsibility towardsthe scheme. With these experiences, he Iwished to know what steps were being taken Iin order to avoid proliferation of such smallschemes amongst the rural community and what alevel of input came from the government, I

12. Mr STOUTJESDIJK explained that through.a long duration process farmers are made •ready to run the scheme through a Cooperation^Society, without Government support, exceptfor extension work. If the Society fails _the scheme fails and the Government seems Inot ready to take i t over. B

13. Mr TAREMBA put the following questions:-•Had a pre-feasibility study been carried out^HHow were farmers selected for membership?Before setting up the scheme, what consider-ation of infrastructure and i t s impact had •been made? |He also wished to know if rice was the bestalternative available or was this crop/seed »being imposed on local farmers resulting in •their lack of interest. •

I

II14. Mr STOUTJESDIJK replied that:~t reconnaissance study was carried out.artners were selected by a committee after aaseline socioeconomic survey was complete.Poor infrastructure limits the choice of cro-

^

ping pattern, but the aim was to set up ailot irrigation scheme: the road was noweing considered.

He informed participants that rice grows wellI n the Gwembe Valley and that interference of• h e irrigated crop with the rain-fed cropwas a more important factor. Farmers have

g;o divide their work, which is new for them,therefore results during the rainy season^ r e not as good as during the dry season when

farmers show more interest. Maybe consider-

ttion has to be given to whether an irrigatedrop should be grown during the rainy season.J.5a. Mr JENNINGS commented that

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