13

CHAPTER TWO

2. REVIEW OF THE RELATED LITERATURE

This part of the research attempts to present related literature reviewed in

relation with small-scale irrigation and household food security concepts and

definitions at various levels, indicators and measuring food security.

Subsequently, it tries to discuss the major theoretical perspectives on food

security and small-scale irrigation giving particular attention to the role of small

scale irrigation in increasing agricultural production, households‘ gross income

and reducing food insecurity. Moreover, synthesis of few related empirical

studies carried out on the role of irrigation and food security is highlighted in this

chapter. At the last section of this chapter, the conceptual framework for this

study, which is drawn from the theoretical perspectives, is explained briefly

14

2.1. Theoretical perspectives

2.1.1. Irrigation Development: Concept and

Experience

2.1.1.1. Concept of Irrigation

Irrigation is widely defined as the practice of applying water to the soil to

supplement the natural rainfall and provide moisture for plant growth (Uphoff,

1986). According to Dupriez and De Leener (2002), irrigated cultivation is

agricultural production using irrigation water in addition to rainfall. Irrigated crops

benefit from man-made watering with the help of water pipes, canals, reservoirs

and pumps. The source of irrigation water is surface water or groundwater.

Surface water is obtained in ponds, lakes, rivers and seas whereas groundwater

is obtained underground in liquid or vapor state.

Wichelns (2000) also argued that the primary goal of irrigation, from farmer's

perspective, is to deliver the volume and quality water required by plants,

throughout a season, to optimize plant growth and crop production. In the same

study irrigation is defined as "human intervention to modify the spatial or

temporal distribution of water and to manipulate all or part of this water for the

production of agricultural crops". Chamber (1988) suggested similar view that

from a farmer‘s perspective, good irrigation service involves the delivery of "an

15

adequate, convenient, predictable and timely water supply for preferred framing

practices." These perspectives of irrigation goals and performance are used to

define the concept of irrigation from farmer's viewpoint.

As Garg (1989) indicated, irrigation success considers the degree to which water

volume and quality, and the time of irrigation events match the requirements of

plant throughout the season. Perfect success occurs when the volume, quality,

and timing of water deliveries would generate maximum crop yield, given that

non-irrigation inputs are not limiting. Irrigation may, therefore, be defined as the

science of artificial application of water to the land, in accordance with the crop

requirements throughout the crop period for full-fledged nourishment of the

crops.

2.1.1.2. A Brief History of Irrigation Development

Irrigation is generally defined as the application of water to the land for the

purpose of supplying moisture essential to plant growth. It is an age-old art.

Irrigation was practiced for thousands of years in the Nile Valley. Egypt claims to

have the world's oldest dam built about 5000 years ago to supply drinking water

and for irrigation.

16

According to Zewdie et al. (2007) irrigation has been practiced in Egypt, China,

India and other parts of Asia for a long period of time. India and Far East have

grown rice using irrigation nearly for 5000 years. The Nile valley in Egypt, the

plain of Euphrates and Tigris in Iraq were under irrigation for 4000 years.

Irrigation is the foundation of civilization in numerous regions. Egyptians have

depended on Nile flooding for irrigation continuously for a long period of time on

a large scale. The land between Euphrates and Tigris, Mesopotamia, was the

breadbasket for the Sumerian Empire. Civilization developed from centrally

controlled irrigation system (Schilfgaard, 1994).

Research findings also witnessed that irrigation in China was begun about 4000

years ago. Shanan (1987) stated that there were reservoirs in Sri Lanka more

than 2000 years old. As far back as 2300 BC, the Babylonian Code of

Hammurabi provided that 'If anyone opens his irrigation canals to let in water, but

is careless and the water floods the fields of his neighbor, he shall measure out

grain to the latter in proportion to the yield of the neighboring field.' Other

indicator for irrigation development is found in the stony-gravel limestone desert

of the Negev area in Israel. Remnants of these ancient irrigation systems date

back from the Israelite period (about 1000 BC) and from the Nabattean- Roman-

Byzantine era (300 BC to 600 AD). In the absence of permanent water sources,

the ancient farmers developed 'runoff' farm systems that used sporadic flash

floods for irrigating.

17

The introduction and development of modern irrigation relatively is a recent

phenomenon in Ethiopia, where as traditional irrigation has been in existence for

long periods. Private concessionaires who operated farms for commercial cotton,

sugar cane and horticultural crops started the first formal large and medium

irrigation schemes in the Awash Valley (MoA, 1993).

Irrigation has long played a key role in feeding expanding populations and is

undoubtedly destined to play a still greater role in the future. It not only raises the

yields of specific crops, but also prolongs the effective crop- growing period in

area with dry seasons, thus permitting multiple cropping (two or three and

sometimes four crops per year) where only a single crop could be grown.

Otherwise the security provided by irrigation, additional inputs needed to intensify

production centered pest control, fertilizer, improved varieties and better tillage

become economically feasible. Irrigation reduces the risk of these expensive

inputs being wasted by crop failure resulting from lack of water (FAO, 1997).

According to FAO (1997) 30-40 percent of world food production comes from an

estimated 260 million hectare of irrigated land or one–sixth of the world‘s

farmland. Irrigated farms produce higher yield for most crops. FAO (2001) also

reports that the role of irrigation in addressing food insecurity problem and in

achieving agricultural growth at global level is well established. Clearly, irrigation

18

can and should play an important role in raising and stabilizing food production

especially in the less developed parts of Africa south of the Sahara.

2.1.1.3. Types and Methods of Irrigation

Irrigation methods are generally defined as techniques in which the irrigation

water can be applied to the fields. It is also defined as the systems how to obtain

water for irrigation purposes from its sources. The study by Dupriez and De

Leener (2002), stated that ―irrigation methods depend on several factors such as

topography, water resources, the plants cultivated, the land tenure systems, the

growing seasons and the rain and water regimes.‖

Different types of irrigation schemes can be identified: for instance, traditional

and modern. Traditional irrigation schemes were developed in different parts of

the world by communities as a response to climatic challenges over time. Modern

irrigation systems basically serve the same purpose as those of traditional

systems, except the differences in their technological advancement. Modern

irrigation systems are well designed and studied with the aim of securing their

sustainability and productivity. Moreover, it can be designed in a way it can serve

multiple purposes flexibly according to the prevailing policy, market conditions,

consumer tests and other comparative advantages.

19

As regard with the ways of supplying irrigation water to the farm, the following

four types are identified: Sprinkling or spray irrigation, Drip irrigation, Furrow

irrigation and Flood irrigation. These are the most commonly practicing irrigation

techniques in which irrigation water can be applied to the farm fields.

2.1.1.3.1. Furrow Irrigation

Furrow irrigation is the techniques in which the water is guided in the furrow or

channels that pass through the whole field. In this method, only some part of the

land surface is covered and wetted by water, it therefore, results in less

evaporation. The furrows are separated with ridges. At each ridge, water is

conveyed into furrows. Furrowing irrigation method is applied on steep slopes.

2.1.1.3.2. Flood Irrigation

Unlike that of furrow irrigation, in flooding method of irrigation water covers the

entire surface of the field to be irrigated. In this method water is conveyed in a

ditch at the upper part of plot and allowed to spread over the land in a manner

directed by the natural landscape. As a result, it is considered to be the least

controlled of all irrigation techniques.

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2.1.1.3.3. Sprinkler Irrigation

According to Dupriez and De Leener (2002), Sprinkler irrigation imitates rainfall.

It is also called overhead irrigation. It is a method whereby the water is applied

to the soil in the form of a spray through a network of pipes and pumps. It is a

kind of artificial rain and gives very good results in terms of fulfilling the normal

requirements of the plant and uniform distribution of water. However, water

application efficiency under sprinkling irrigation is strongly affected by strength of

wind, especially during daytime when the air is warm and dry, and if the droplets

are small and the application rate is low.

2.1.1.3.4. Drip Irrigation

Drip irrigation is the latest techniques of irrigation. It is applied in dry and arid

region where there exists acute scarcity of irrigation water. In this method water

is slowly and directly applied to the root zone of the plant, thereby minimizing the

losses by evaporation. Therefore, the principle of drip irrigation is to wet dry

ground with small amounts of water just where the plants can absorb it.

21

Taking in to consideration the irrigating potential of a given land, irrigation

structures can be divided into different scales based on their irrigating potential of

a given land. For instance, study by Awulachew et al. (2010) stated that in

Ethiopia context, there are three types of irrigation systems based on the size of

area under irrigation. These are:

Small -scale irrigation (SSI) schemes conventionally, are those cover an

irrigated area of land up to 200 hectare,

Medium-scale irrigation (MSI) schemes are those that cover an area of 200-

3000 hectare of land;

Large-scale irrigation (LSI) schemes are those irrigation systems that cover an

area of 3000 hectares or more.

Relevance of irrigation development for specific areas should be considered

since, blanket approach of development are leaving floor to local development

activities with the aim of increasing efficiency and maintain sustainability. In this

line, feasibility of small-scale irrigation schemes for poor countries can be

justified from various angles. Recommended types of irrigation for developing

countries, given low-level of technical development, poor financial resource,

under-developed market system, poor access to maintenance of them, short-

term impacts, and limited government capacity, is small-scale irrigation System.

FAO (2000) indicated that small-scale irrigation schemes are generally financially

22

viable for third world countries. Makombe and Mainzen –Drck (1993) have also

expressed and shared the same views.

2.1.1.4. Irrigation Development Experience and potential in

Ethiopia

Ethiopia has a long history of traditional irrigation systems where simple river

diversion still is the dominant irrigation system. In this regard, Kloos (1990)

argued that in Ethiopia, irrigation has a long tradition (Kloos, 1990). According to

the report of FAO (1995c), modern irrigation was started at the beginning of the

1960s by private investors in the middle awash valley where large quantities of

sugar cane, fruit and cotton are produced. With the 1975 rural land proclamation,

the large irrigated farms were placed under the responsibility of the Ministry of

State Farms. Almost all small-scale irrigation schemes built after 1975 were

organized into producers' cooperatives.

For much of the lifetime of the Derg, very little attention was paid to small-scale

and traditional irrigation schemes constructed and managed by peasant farmers.

With the nationalization of industrial and agricultural enterprises, the

government's emphasis was to promote high technology water development

schemes managed by state controlled agro-industrial and agricultural

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enterprises. It was only in the second half of the 1980s, as a result of devastating

famine of 1984/85 that the Derg began to show interest in small-scale water

management schemes.

The establishment of the Irrigation Development Department (IDD) within MoA at

the end of 1984, a body entrusted with the development of small-scale irrigation

projects for the benefit of peasant farmers, signaled a new approach to water

development by the military government. However, progress was slow. From the

mid- 1980s to 1991, IDD was able to construct some 35 small schemes, of which

nearly one-third was formerly traditional schemes used by peasants (MoA, 1993;

Desalegn, 1999).

Small-scale irrigation development was carried out by the surface water division

of the Soil and Water Conservation Department (SWCD) of the Ministry of

Agriculture (MOA). In 1984, the division was separated from SWCD and

upgraded to IDD. In 1987, the activities of MOA were being decentralized to

zonal offices, and IDD staffs were being transferred to strengthen the capacity of

the zones. However, in 1992, a new Ministry of Natural Resources Development

and Environmental Protection (MNRDEP) was established, with the responsibility

for soil and water conservation, rural water supply and sanitation.

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Although the Ministry retained responsibility for providing agricultural support

services, the IDD was dissolved and its responsibilities were transferred to

regional Natural Resources Bureau. In August 1995, MNRDEP was dissolved

and its responsibilities were shared between MOA and the Ministry of Water

Resources (MOWR). Under the new arrangements, responsibility for irrigation

development was given to the Bureau of Water, Minerals, and Energy Resources

Development (BWMERD) while MOWR has an overall policy, planning and

regulatory role in respect to water resource development (OIDA, 2001).

Ethiopia has a high potential for irrigated agriculture. It is endowed with abundant

water resources; lakes covering 7400 square kilometers, 10 major rivers, and

other water bodies, which are expected to provide extensive potentials for

irrigation and fish farming (Mangistu, 2000).

Study by Gebremedhin and Peden (2002) stated that Ethiopia‘s irrigation

potential ranges from 1.0 to 3.7 million hectares but the recent studies indicate

that the irrigation potential of the country is higher. According to Awulachew et al.

(2010), estimates of the irrigation potential of Ethiopia may be as large as 4.3

million hectares. Traditional irrigation schemes cover more than 138,000

hectares whereas modern small-scale irrigation covers about 48,000 hectares.

The total current irrigation covers only about 6% of the estimated potential land

25

area. It is therefore clear that, although, water resource potential is said to be

abundant in Ethiopia; the country's use of its water resources is seems to be very

limited. About 6 percent of the country's irrigable land is now under irrigation.

Another sources from Ministry of Agriculture and rural development, indicated

that the irrigation potential of the country is estimated to be about 3.7 million

hectares. However, until now only about 20 to 23% of this potential is put under

irrigated agriculture (both traditional and modern irrigation systems). Recent

estimates indicate that the total irrigated area under small-scale irrigation in

Ethiopia has reached to 853,000 hectare, and by the end of 2015 it is planned to

achieve the development of 1850,000 hectares (MoARD, 2010).

The same source showed that the existing irrigation development in Ethiopia, as

compared to the resources potential that the country has, is not significant and

the irrigation sub-sector is not contributing its share accordingly. However,

irrigation development remained a key to the sustainable and reliable agricultural

development, and thus, for the overall economic development of the country.

Therefore, in order to ensure food security at the household level for Ethiopia‘s

fast growing population, smaller, medium and large scale irrigation infrastructure

needs to be developed (MoARD, 2010).

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Ethiopia covers less than three percent of the country's cropped land. Assuming

that all the irrigated land is utilized to produce food crops, the contribution of

irrigation to the production of food would not be significant when compared to the

area under rain-fed (Desalegn, 1999). Therefore, a rational management and

development of water resources is required to effectively and efficiently utilize

water resources to achieve food self-sufficiency and food security. Thus it is

essential to develop a small-scale irrigation system. Harnessing some of the

sizable rivers can produce some medium-to small-sized irrigation projects (Taffa,

2002).

In Ethiopia, there has been a revival of irrigation during the last decades in order

to enhance rural development and food security (FAO, 2006). Given that 85

percent of the people are employed in agriculture (Mengistu, 2003), developing

this sector could help to reduce poverty and enhance food security of the majority

of the Ethiopian people.

With ever increasing number of population and highly variable nature of rainfall,

Ethiopia cannot meet its large food deficits through rain-fed agricultural

production alone. Cognizant to this fact; the government has taken initiatives

towards developing irrigation schemes of various scales, giving special emphasis

to small scale irrigation schemes. The total area indicated to be currently under

27

irrigation agriculture is estimated at about 6 percent of the potential, accounting

for merely 3 percent of the country's total food production. In the short-term,

however, the irrigation development program gives emphasis to the development

of small-scale irrigation in which capacity building in the study, design and

implementation of irrigation projects are the forefront.

The evidence from UK Trade and Investment (2003) report indicated that during

the program period of 2002/03-2004/05, irrigation program aims to develop a

total of 29,043 hectares of new land which bring the total area under irrigation to

226,293 hectares, making 114,390 households beneficiaries. The small-scale

irrigation schemes for the stated period are expected to cover an area of 23,823

hectares, benefiting about 93,510 households.

According to IWMI (2010), Ethiopia has vast cultivable land (30 to 70 Million

hectare), but only about a third of that is currently cultivated (approximately 15

Million hectare), with current irrigation schemes covering about 640,000 ha

across the country. However, the total irrigable land potential in Ethiopia is 5.3

Million hectare assuming use of existing technologies, including 1.6 Million

hectare through Rain water harvesting and ground water. This evidence clearly

indicates that in Ethiopia there are potential opportunities to vastly increase the

amount of irrigated land.

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2.1.1.5. Small scale Irrigation Management

In order to achieve sustaining irrigated agriculture for enhancing households‘

food security, adequate attention should be given to the management aspects of

irrigation schemes. Various types of irrigation management activities are stated

by researchers. For instance, according to Byrnes (1992) there are three

dimensions of irrigation management activities. These are water use activities,

control structure activities and organizational activities.

The most important performance in the distribution of irrigation water includes

adequacy, timeliness and equity in the supply of water (World Bank, 2000).

Therefore, water use activities are mainly concerned on the provision of water to

crops in an adequate and timely manner includes acquisition, allocation,

distribution and drainage. Byrnes, (1992) further explained each as follows.

Acquisition is an activity concerning with the acquisition of water from surface or

subsurface sources, either by creating and operating physical structure such as

dams‘ weirs or wells or by actions to obtain some share of an existing supply.

Whereas, allocation refers to the assignment of rights to users thereby

determining who shall have access to water. On the other hand distribution

refers to the physical process of taking the water from a source and dividing it

29

among users at certain places, in certain amounts, and at certain times. Drainage

is important where excess water must be removed (Byrnes, 1992).

The same study explained that the control structure activities are those activities

which are focusing on the basic structures required for water control such as

design, construction, operation and maintenance. Design involves the design of

dams‘ diversions or well to acquire water, of systems of rules to allocate it, of

channels and gates to distribute it and of drains to remove it. Construction

involves the construction of the structures to acquire, distribute and remove

water, or implementation of rules that allocate it. Operation refers to the operation

of the structures that acquire, allocate, distribute or remove water according to

some determined plan of allocation. Maintenances are the final control structure

activity. This provides for the continued and efficient acquisition, allocation,

distribution and drainage (Byrnes, 1992).

According to Byrnes (1992), Organization activities are those which are

emphasizing on the efforts to manage the structures that control irrigation water

like resource mobilization, conflict resolution, communication and decision-

making. The activity of resource mobilization entails marshaling management

and utilization of funds manpower, materials, information or other inputs needed

to control water through structures or to undertake various organizational tasks.

30

The activity of communication entails conveying information about decisions

made, resource requirements etc. to farmer or any other persons involved in

irrigation managements. The activity of decision making entails the processes

including planning involved in making decision about the design, construction,

operation or maintenance of structures; acquisition, allocation, distribution or

drainage of water or the organization deals with these activities (Byrnes, 1992).

It was assumed that devolving management responsibility with or without some

form of scheme and productivity, while saving public resources for agencies to

carry out such tasks (IWMI, 2005). Merrey et al. (2002) also indicate that

irrigation management transfer helps reduce the government‘s recurrent

expenditures for irrigation.

According to IWMI (2010), the development of irrigation and agricultural water

management holds significant potential to improve productivity and reduce

vulnerability to climactic volatility in any country. Improved water management for

agriculture has many potential benefits in efforts to reduce vulnerability and

improve productivity.

Despite significant efforts by the Government of Ethiopia (GOE) and other

stakeholders, improving agricultural water management is hampered by

31

constraints in policy, institutions, technologies, capacity, infrastructure, and

markets. Therefore, addressing these constraints is highly vital to achieve

sustainable growth and accelerated development of the sector in Ethiopia.

2.1.2. An Overview of Food Security:-Definition,

Concepts, Indicators and Measurement

2.1.2.1. Definitions and Concepts of Food

Security/Insecurity

Food security is a concept that can generally be addressed at global, regional,

national, sub-national, community, household and individual levels (Kifle and

Yosef, 1999). The focus in this study is on the ‗household‘ food security as it is

the most basic social unit in a society. Household in this study is defined as a

farm household as an individual or a group of people living together under one

hearth deriving food from a common resource, obtained mainly from farming

activities (Ellis, 1993). In this study a household is considered as a unit of people

living together headed by a household head. This may be a man or a woman in

case there is no man.

The distinction between national food security and household food security is

important because activities directed towards improving household food security

32

may be quite different from those aimed at improving national level food security,

the latter often being more related to macro-level production, marketing,

distribution and acquisition of food by the population as a whole (FAO, 2003).

The focus in household food security is on how members of a household produce

or acquire food throughout the year, how they store, process and preserve their

food to overcome seasonal shortages or improve the quality and safety of their

food supply. Household food security is also concerned with food distribution

within the household and priorities related to food production, acquisition,

utilization and consumption (FAO, 2003).

Food security is a multi-faceted concept, variously defined and interpreted. It is

defined by different agencies and organizations differently without much change

in the basic concept. For instance, UN (1990) defines household food security as

―The ability of household members to assure themselves sustained access to

sufficient quantity and quality of food to live active healthy life.‖

One of the most influential and acceptable definitions of food security is that of

the World Bank which defined food security as ―access by all people at all times

to enough food for an active and healthy life‖ (World Bank, 1986). This definition

encompasses many issues. It deals with production in relation to food availability;

33

it addresses distribution in that the produce should be accessed by all; it covers

consumption in the sense that individual food needs are meeting in order for that

individual to be active and healthy.

Food security is defined in its most basic form, as access by all people at all

times to the food required for a healthy life. Access to the needed food is

necessary, but not a sufficient condition for a healthy life. A number of other

factors, such as the health and sanitation environment and household and public

capacity to care for vulnerable members of society, also come in to play Von

Broun et al. (1992).

Food security concept has two interrelated components: food availability and

food accessibility (Haddad, 1997; Kifle and Yoseph, 1999). Food availability

refers to the need to produce sufficient food in a way that generates income for

small-scale producers while not depleting the natural resource base, and to the

need to get this food into the market for sale at prices that consumers can afford

(Haddad, 1997). According to Kifle and Yoseph (1999) availability is basically the

households‘ capacity to produce the food it needs. Food accessibility on the

other hand is the ability of the household to acquire economic access to this

food. Economic access is typically constrained by income. If households cannot

generate sufficient income to purchase food, they lack an entitlement to the food.

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Anderson (1988) points out that food insecurity may be chronic or transitory.

Chronic food insecurity refers to extreme food insecurity when there is a

continuously inadequate food caused by the inability to acquire food. Transitory

food insecurity is whereby a household experiences a temporary decline in

access to adequate food. Transitory food insecurity emanates as a result of

instability in food prices, food production or people‘s income. In its worst form, it

produces famine. Jayne (1994) further identifies groups‘ most vulnerable to

chronic and transitory food insecurity. Accordingly, the asset-poor rural people

and resettlement areas that farm but are often net purchasers of food are the

most vulnerable groups (Jayne, 1994).

Transitory food insecurity can be further divided into cyclical and temporary food

insecurity (CIDA, 1989, cited in Maxwell and Frankberger, 1992). Temporary

food insecurity occurs for a limited time because of unforeseen and unpredictable

circumstances; cyclical or seasonal food insecurity when there is a regular

pattern in the periodicity of inadequate access to food. This may be due to

logistical difficulties or prohibitive costs in storing food or borrowing.

Moreover, there are four core concepts, implicit in the notion of ―secure access to

enough food all the time.‖ These are sufficiency of food, defined mainly as the

calories needed for an active, healthy life; access to food, defined by entitlement

35

to produce, purchase or exchange food or receive as a gift; security, defined as

the balance between vulnerability, risk and insurance; and time, where food

insecurity can be chronic, transitory or cyclical (Maxwell and Frankenberger,

1992).

The concept of ―enough food‖ is explained in different ways by various

researchers in their work. For instance, according to Maxwell and Frankenberger

(1992) enough food is referred to a minimal level of food consumption, as the

food adequate to meet nutritional needs. In more descriptive formulations, it

refers to enough (food) for life, health and growth of the young and for

productive effort, enough food for an active, healthy life and enough food to

supply the energy needed for all family members to live healthy active and

productive lives.

The same study argued that the concept of enough food is problematic.

Nevertheless, it appears to make sense (1) to concentrate initially on calorie (2)

to define needs not just for survival, but also for ―an active and healthy life‘‘ (3) to

assess not just the fact of a short fall but also its gravity and (4) to begin with

individual needs and build up to the household (Maxwell and Frankenberger,

1992).

36

The second core concept is ―access,‖ the question of whether individuals and

households (and nations) are able to acquire sufficient food. An individual‘s

entitlement is rooted in her/his endowment, which is transformed via production

and trade into food (Maxwell and Frankenberger, 1992).

Different literatures indicated that food access is ensured when households and

all individuals within them have adequate resources to obtain appropriate food for

a nutritional diet. Access depends up on income available to the household, on

the distribution of income within the household and on the price of food.

Accordingly, household food access is defined as the ability to acquire sufficient

quantity and quality of food to meet all household members‘ nutritional

requirements for productive lives. Food access depends on the ability of

households to obtain food from their own production, stocks, purchases, and

gathering or through food transfers from relatives, members of the community,

the government, or donors (FAO, 2003).

Study by Bilinsky and Swindale (2005) disclosed that a household‘s access to

food also depends on the resources available to individual household members

and the steps they must take to obtain those resources, particularly exchange of

other goods and services. Debebe (1995) stated that access to different

resources and the pattern of social support have greater impact on the

37

procurement strategies of food supplies. The basic resources like cash, labor,

land, markets and public services determine the possibility of increasing

entitlement to food. These are the key factors for either promoting food security

or increasing vulnerability to food insecurity.

According to Sen (1981) mere presence of food in the economy or in the market

does not entitle a household or a person to consume it. Same study stated that

people usually starved mainly because of lack of the ability to access food rather

than because of its availability. In a sense, income or purchasing power is the

most limiting factor for food security.

The third main concept is that of "security", that is, secure access to enough

food. This builds on the idea of vulnerability to entitlement failure, focusing more

clearly on risk. Maxwell and Frankenberger, 1992) argued that it is necessary to

identify the risks to food entitlements. These include variability in crop production

and food supply, market and price variability, risks in employment and wages and

risks in health and morbidity. Conflict is also an increasingly common source of

risk to food entitlements (Maxwell and Frankenberger, 1992).

The most food secure households are those which achieve adequate access to

food while using only a small proportion of available resources. Whereas, the

38

most food insecure are those most at risk and fail to achieve adequate access

even by devoting a large proportion of available resources to food. The food

insecure have lost, or are at risk of losing, availability of and access to food or the

ability to utilize it (Maxwell and Frankenberger, 1992).

Sen (1981) stated that risks to food entitlement could originate from a number of

sources such as: weather variability, food production and supply variability,

variability in price and market, health hazard and morbidity causing risks,

employment and wage variability. In general, it could be environmental, natural,

political, social, cultural and economic risks.

The fourth main concept is ―time", that is, secure access to enough food at all

times. The topic is not much discussed in the literature. However, following the

lead of the World Bank (1986) it has become conventional to draw distinction

between chronic and transitory food insecurity. Chronic food insecurity means

that a household runs a continually high risk of inability to meet the food needs of

household members.

In contrast, transitory food insecurity occurs when a household faces temporary

decline in the security of its entitlement and the risk of failure to meet food needs

is of short duration. Transitory food insecurity focuses on intra and inter-annual

39

variations in household food access. This category can be further divided in to

cyclical and temporary food insecurity. Temporary food insecurity occurs for a

limited time because of unforeseen and unpredictable circumstances. Cyclical or

seasonal food insecurity occurs when there is a regular pattern in the periodicity

of inadequate access to food. This may be due to logistical difficulties or

prohibitive costs in storing food or borrowing (Maxwell and Frankenberger, 1992).

2.1.2.2. Indicators of Household Food Security

It is assumed that food security requires multi-dimensional considerations since it

is influenced by different interrelated socio-economic, environmental and political

factors (Debebe, 1995). Along with the development of the concept of food

security, numerous indicators of food security have been identified to make

monitoring of food situation possible. For instance, three sets of indicators are

often used to identify possible collapses in food security. These include food

supply indicators (rainfall, area planted, yield forecasts and estimates of

production); social stress indicators (market prices, availability of produce in the

market, labor patterns, wages and migration) and individual stress indicators

(which indicate nutritional status, diseases and mortality) (RRC, 1990). Study by

Debebe (1995) confirms that these indicators are important to make decisions on

the possible interventions and timely response.

40

Frankenberger (1992) identified that household food security indicators can be

classified as process and outcome indicators. He further explained each indicator

as follows.

Process indicators reflect food supply/availability that includes inputs and

measures of agricultural resources, institutional development and market

infrastructures and exposure to regional conflict and its consequences. In short it

provides an estimate of food supply and food access situation. Outcome

indicators serve as proxies for food consumption. Process indicators mainly

include food supply and food access indicators. Food supply indicators are

known to provide information on the likelihood of shocks or disaster events that

affects household food security. Food access indicators, unlike supply indicators

are relatively quite effective to monitor food security situation at a household

level. Their application as mentioned by Frankenberger (1992) varies between

regions, seasons and social strata reflecting various strategies in the process of

managing the diversified sources of food, i.e., shift to sideline activities,

diversification of enterprises and disposal of productive and nonproductive

assets.

41

Outcome indicators are used to measure the status of food security at a given

point in time. Household food security outcome indicators can be grouped into

direct and indirect indicators. Direct indicators of food consumption include those

indicators which are closest to actual food consumption rather than to marketing

channel information or medical status. Indirect indicators are generally used

when direct indicators are either unavailable or too costly in terms of time and

money to collect. Some of the direct indicators include household budget and

consumption surveys, household perception of food security and food frequency

assessment. The indirect indicators include storage estimates, subsistence

potential ration and nutritional status assessment (Frankerberger, 1992). In

general, when the two indicators are compared for food security measurement at

household level, direct outcome indicators are preferable due to the fact that

indicate actual consumption by the household.

Study by Maxwell and Frankenberger (1992) also stated that, Process indicators

are divided in to two: indicators that reflect food supply and indicators that reflect

food access. They further explained each as:

Indicators that reflect food supply: One critical dimension of household food

security is the availability of food in the area for the households to obtain.

Regional food shortages have a strong influence on household food availability.

42

A number of factors play a role in limiting food availability and the options

households have for food access. These are indicators that provide information

on the likelihood of a shock or disaster event that will adversely affect household

food security. They include such things as inputs and measures of agricultural

production, food balance sheet information, and access to natural resources,

institutional development, market infrastructure and exposure to regional conflicts

or its consequences.

Indicators that reflect food access: unlike supply indicators, food access

indicators are relatively quite effective to monitor food security situation at a

household level. Their use varies between regions, seasons and social strata

reflecting various strategies in the process of managing the diversified source of

food that shift to sideline activities, diversification of enterprises and disposal of

productive and nonproductive assets (Debebe, 1995).

Another important indicator for food security is a coping strategy, which is related

to food access indicators. According to Davies (1994) qouted Debebe (1995)

coping strategies developed by households and the sequential responses

through which people used to pass at times of decline in food availability is one

indicator of food security; the responses vary from commitment of low domestic

resource to distress migration depending on the intensity of crises.

43

Furthermore, other researchers explained that the strategies for dealing with

insufficient food at a household level as indicators of food security. Such

strategies include short-term dietary changes, reducing or rationing consumption,

altering consumption composition, altering intra-household food distribution,

depletion of stores, increased use of credit for consumption purposes, increased

reliance on wild food, short-term labor migration, pledging, mortgaging and

selling of assets, and distress migration (Frankenberger, 1992; Teklu, 1992;

Davies, 1993; Eele, 1994) quoted ( Maxwell, 1996).

2.1.2.3. Measurement of Household Food Security

Measuring households‘ food security is necessary at the outset of any

development projects as it helps to identify the food insecure group/ area, to

assess the severity of their food shortfall, and to characterize the nature of their

insecurity.

Von Braun et al. (1992) describe the measurement of food insecurity at different

levels. These are:

44

Country level: Food security at the country level can be monitored in terms of

demand and supply indicators; that is, the quantity of available food versus

needs and net imports needed versus import capacity.

Household level: Food security at household level is best measured by direct

surveys of dietary intake in comparison with appropriate adequacy norm.

However, it measures existing situation and not the down side risks that may

occur. The level of, and changes in socio economic and demographic variables

such as real wage rates, employment, price ratio, and migration properly

analyzed, can serve as proxies to indicate the status of and changes in food

security. Indicators and their risk patterns needed to be continually measured

and interpreted to monitor food security at the household level.

Individual level: Anthropometric information can be a useful complement

because measurements are taken at the individual level. Yet such information is

the outcome of change in the above indicators and of the health and sanitation

environment and other factors.

Household food security can be measured by food poverty indicators and by

anthropometric data (Bickel et al., 1998). A food poverty indicator shows the

number of individuals living in a household whose access to food is sufficient to

provide a dietary intake adequate for growth, activity and good health. The

45

anthropometric measure refers to nutritional status at individual level. Thus,

individual food security implies an intake of food and food absorption of nutrients

sufficient to meet an individual's needs for activity, health, growth and

development. The individual's age, gender, body size, health status and level of

physical activity determine the level of need.

The study made by Saad (1999) stated that at the household level, food security

is measured by actual dietary intake of all household members using household

income and expenditure surveys Using a survey data the minimal standard of

living is proxy by the level of consumption expenditure that will enable the

household or individual to attain the basic needs. This usually refers the ability of

the household to purchase a basket of goods containing the minimum quantity of

calories and non-food commodities. Households who are not able to achieve this

critical level of consumption expenditure or income can be described as poor.

Hoddinot (2002) clearly point out the four outcome measures of household food

security as follows. These are individual intakes (either directly measured or 24-

hour recall), household caloric acquisition, dietary diversity and indices of

household coping strategies.

46

Individual Intake: According to Hoddinot (2002) Individual food intake is a

measure of the amount of calories or nutrients consumed by individual in a given

time period usually 24 hours. Methods of generating data with this method are

that an enumerator resides in the household throughout the entire day,

measuring amount of food served to each person. The enumerator also notes the

type and quantity of food consumed outside the household.

The second method is recall of the previous 24 hour consumption for each

household member. When implemented correctly, it produces the most accurate

measures of individual caloric intake and it is possible to determine that sufficient

calories are being consumed within the household. Against these advantages, it

needs to be made repeatedly ideally for seven nonconsecutive days and require

highly skilled enumerators who can observe and measure quantities repeatedly

and quickly and in a fashion that does not cause households to alter typical level

of food consumption and distribution within the households. The recall method

requires interviewing carefully every household member which obviously is an

extremely difficult task.

Household caloric acquisition: The second way of measuring household food

security proposed by Hoddinot (2002) is household calorie acquisition. This is the

number of calories, or nutrients, available for consumption by household

47

members over a defined period of time. Here the person responsible for

preparing meals is asked how much food was prepared for consumption over a

period of time. The most knowledgeable person in the household is asked a set

of questions regarding food prepared for meals over specific period of time

usually 7 or 14 days. It requires listing out food types on questionnaire and

distinguishing unambiguously between the amounts of food purchased, prepared

for consumption and the amount food served. This measure produces a crude

estimate of number of calories available for consumption in the household.

Because the questions are retrospective rather than prospective, the possibility

that individuals will change their behavior as a consequence of being observed is

lessened. The level of skill required by enumerators is less than that needed to

obtain information on individual intakes.

Dietary diversity: The third way of measuring household food security given by

Hoddinot (2002) in the same study is dietary diversity. This is the sum of the

number of different foods consumed by an individual over a specified time period.

It may be a simple arithmetic sum, the sum of the number of different food

groups consumed. To collect data one or more persons within the household are

asked about different items they have consumed in a specified period. Where it is

suspected that there may be differences in food consumption among household

members, these questions can be asked of different household members.

Calculating a simple sum of the number of different foods eaten by that person

48

over the specified period of time or calculating a weighted sum where the weights

reflect the frequency of consumption are used. The disadvantage of this measure

is that simple form does not record quantities. If it is not possible to ask about

frequency of consumption of particular quantities, it is not possible to estimate

the extent to which diets are inadequate in terms of caloric availability.

Indices of coping strategy (ICS): According to Hoddinott (2002), the fourth way

of measuring household food security is Indices of household coping strategies.

This is an index based on how households adapt to the presence or threat of

food shortages. The person within the household who has primary responsibility

of preparing and serving meal is asked a serious of questions regarding how

households are responding to food shortages. Among several ways of

summarizing the result, counting the number of different coping strategies used

by the household is one. The higher the sum, the more food-insecure the

household would be. Calculating the weighted sum of these different coping

strategies where the weights reflect the frequency of use by the household is

another method. Merits of this measure are that it is easy to implement and it

captures the notion of adequacy and vulnerability. As it is subjective measure,

comparison across household or localities is problematic.

49

Among the four types of food security measurement indicated above the last two

methods didn‘t capture consumption of particular quantities and as a result it is

not possible to estimate kilocalorie consumption per household. For household

caloric acquisition method, conversion of gross household food consumption into

calories, and dividing the calories figure by the number of adult equivalents in the

household and the number of days in the recall period results in a concise figure

for average calories consumed per adult equivalent per day, which is then

compared with an estimate of caloric requirement. Since focus of unit of analysis

for this study was household level, employing household caloric acquisition has

been preferred than the rest three methods.

Jecob,P (2009) in his study of ―Identifying targets of Food Insecurity in South

Africa‖ indicates four commonly used tools for measuring food security, such

as: 1. Food balance sheets/models, 2. Household expenditures models, 3. Food

expenditures ratio, income elasticity, 4. Poverty Hunger Index, Food security Gap

Index.

The Food Balance Sheet/Model is a widely used tool for analyzing the overall

food supply situation and estimating import requirements of a country or region.

The original Food Balance Sheet was introduced by FAO under its Global

50

Information and Early Warning System for Food and Agriculture based in

Zimbabwe in 1994 (SADC, 2009).

The Household Food Balance Model (HFBM) is developed by Degefa in 1996,

which is adopted from FAO, to simplify the method of gathering data in food

security research nationally as explained by (Messay, 2009). The same author

conveyed that the food balance sheet tool has been used by many scientific

studies to measure the contribution of development projects mainly in agriculture

sector. Hence, based on the data available, this study employed the Food

Balance Model in order to analyze the household food security and to calculate

the per capita kilocalorie per adult per day beyond which a household is food

secure or not.

2.1.2.4. World Food Security Situation

Food insecurity remains a key concern in the world because millions of people

lack access to sufficient food. According to recent reports of FAO 852 million

people were estimated to be undernourished in 2004, of which 815 million were

living in developing countries, 28 million in the countries in transition and 9 million

in the industrialized countries. The number of under nourished people in

developing countries decreased by only 9 million during the decade following the

51

world food summit base-line period of 1990-1992. During the second half of the

decade, the number of chronically hungry in developing countries increased at a

rate of almost 4 million per year, wiping out two third of the reduction of 27 million

achieved during the previous five years (FAO, 2004).

Evidence from various literature showed that, worldwide per capita food

availability is projected to increase around 7 percent between 1993 and 2020,

from about 2,700 calories per person per day in 1993 to about 2,900 calories.

Increases in average per capital food availability are expected in all major

regions. China and East Asia are projected to experience the largest increase

and West Asia and North Africa the smallest. The projected average availability

of about 2300 calories per person per day in Sub Saharan Africa is just barely

above the minimum required for healthy and productive life. Since available food

is not equally distributed to all, a large proportion of the region‘s population is

likely to have access to less food than needed (Andersen, 2001).

According to the reports of FAO, in sub-Saharan Africa caloric intake is still only

2150 kilocalories per day compared to 2950 kilocalories per day thirty years

before. In contrast the average kilocalorie consumption in south Asia rose from

2000 to 2350 kilocalories per day in the same period (FAO, 2003). The

overwhelming majority of food insecure and hungry people live in the developing

52

region: South Asia (36%), East and Southeast Asia (31%), sub-Saharan Africa

(23%), and North Africa, Middle East and Latin America together (10%) (Degefa,

2005).

Both the number of food insecure people and incidence of poverty are growing in

Sub-Saharan Africa in general and in the arid zones of the region in particular. In

Sub-Sahara Africa, slow growth of the agricultural sector has led to the poor

performance of cash crops, which are the main sources of exports to finance

food imports. Sub-Saharan Africa's share of global agricultural exports declined

from 13 percent in 1970 to about 2 percent in 2000. If the region had maintained

its global market share, the value of its agricultural export would have been $44

billion higher in 2000. In other words, the region's agricultural exports would have

been five times their actual level if Sub-Saharan Africa's share of global exports

had remained at 13 percent, thus increasing the regions food import capacity and

perhaps improving food security (Shapouri and Rosen, 2003).

2.1.2.5. The Food Security/Insecurity Profile of Ethiopia

Ethiopia by any standard is leveled as one of the poorest countries in the world.

Its economic status is incompatible with the ever-increasing number of

population. According to UNDP (2010), the current population of Ethiopia is 83

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(of which 85 percent is rural population) million with the average annual growth

rate of 2.9 per cent.

The modern history of Ethiopia shows that the country has failed to adequately

feed population. Food deficit and famine occurrences in the country is claimed to

be as a result of the erratic nature of rainfall or drought. Ethiopia has faced three

large-scale drought induced food shortage and famine in recent times (i.e. in

1972/73, 1984/85, 1991/92 and 2002/03), which claimed thousands of lives. The

most recent tragic famines were experienced in 1984/85 (Webb and Braun,

1994). Therefore, there is a pressing and urgent needs to assist farmers to be

able achieve food security through rapid increase in food productivity and

production on an economically and environmentally sustainable basis (Gezahegn

et al., 2004).

Agricultural production in Ethiopia is primarily rain fed, so it depends on erratic

and often insufficient rainfall. As a result, there are frequent failures of agricultural

production. The dependency on rain-fed agriculture coupled with the erratic

nature of rainfall is the major factors blamed for the poor performance of the

agricultural sector and main cause of widespread food insecurity in the country

(FAO, 2008). Due to heavy dependency on rainfed agriculture in Ethiopia,

harvest failure leads to household food deficits which in the absence of off farm

54

income opportunities and/or timely food aid assistance, leads to asset depletion

and increasing level of destitution at the household level. The effect is mirrored at

the national level, resulting in overall declining food availability and increased

reliance on food aid import to prevent wide spread mortality.

DPPC (2006) in its report clearly showed that the people in need of relief food

assistance are highly vulnerable crop-dependent farmers or livestock-dependent

pastoralists and agro-pastoralists affected by acute shocks such as adverse

weather conditions, below normal or erratic rainfall and extended dry spells

during critical periods of the cropping cycle. In fact poverty, food insecurity and

land/natural resource degradation are crucial and persistent interlinked problems

facing Ethiopia.

The country faces a related problem of severe food insecurity that manifests itself

in the lowest kilocalorie intake in Africa at 1845 kilocalories per person per day

(Degefa, 2000). The figure is less than the world minimum standard for survival

of 2100 kilocalories and much less than standard for an adequate diet of 2,400

kilocalories.

A complex combination of factors has resulted in such sharply increased levels of

vulnerability to food insecurity for a great number of Ethiopians. These factors

55

include: changes in climate leading to more frequent drought; widespread land

degradation; limited alternative income opportunities; increased population

pressure; poor market integration; limited access to basic services, inputs, credit

and information; technological issues having to do with national policies and

implementation constraints.

In order to achieve food security and reduce poverty, the logical and paramount

goal of the government of Ethiopia is to pursue objectives of sustainable

development. Sustainable development entails the harmonization of population

growth with utilization and exploitation of the natural resource. This requires

redirection and reorientation of research and development as well as institutional

change. The basic requirement in this harmonization process is to address

change posed by negative synergy arising from rapid population growth,

environmental degradation and low agricultural production, leading to food

insecurity (Gezahegn et al., 2004).

The same study indicated that in many parts of Ethiopia most households are

only able to produce sufficient food to meet their food requirement for less than

six months of the year. This is particularly true in the dry land areas where rainfall

is generally low, extremely variable and unpredictable. This leads to low yield

and frequent crop failures (Gezahegn et al., 2004).

56

Thus, there is an urgent need to harness soil and climate resources in an agro

ecological balance sense for sustained and increased crop production in the

country. Effective technologies are needed to sustain dry land agriculture. The

primary socioeconomic concern which should be taken into account is that rain

fed agriculture particularly in the dry land is very complex and a high – risk

enterprise. Thus, a system approach and risk management is key issue

(Gezahegn et al., 2004).

2.1.3. The Role of Irrigation in Food Security via

Household Income, Product Diversification, and Crop

Production and Productivity

Irrigation helps to diversify product types. Research findings by FAO (2000)

proved that choices of crop types could be facilitated by irrigation and increase

food variety and availability. Irrigation can contribute a lot to grow different crops.

It is oblivious that product diversification reduces risk against a number of

calamities such as flood, drought, and crop failure.

According to FAO (2000) product diversification can be sought as a strategy for

coping with food insecurity problem due to the fact that it has several dimensions

57

which include: i) Diversifying income sources, ii) Diversifying food sources,

and iii)Diversifying nutritional mix (composition of meals).

Using Irrigation is one way to enhance agricultural production. This is because,

such interventions can increase number of harvesting times (multi-harvest) within

a year; and enables to bring uncultivated land under cultivation. In this regard,

study by G.Gopal Reddy (1988) indicated that the contribution of Irrigation in

bringing more uncultivated land in to cultivation can provide fallow period for

farmlands thereby an increased productivity. Besides, the contribution of

irrigation to increase soil fertility by enabling crop rotation is popular. Another

study confirms that the increase in agriculture productivity through the

development of irrigation enabled the increase of food supply and food security in

Asia and South America (Lipton, 2007).

Simeon William DiGennar (2010), stated that irrigation has the potential to

increase agriculture production and improve the livelihoods of small-scale

farmers. Moreover another study indicated that irrigation is linked to poverty

reduction through its effect on crop production and increased farm income. In

addition to increasing overall production, irrigation increases the reliability and

consistency of production (Smith, 2004). Irrigation enables the farmer to control

the available water throughout the growing season, which boosts production and

58

reduces exposure to water shortfalls or seasonal droughts. In many areas where

rainfall is inadequate, unreliable, or incorrectly timed, reducing the farmer‘s

dependency on suitable weather patterns is important for the best production.

Study by Hussain and Hanjra( 2003) prove that Irrigation in South and South-

east Asia has been shown to improve crop productivity, enable households to

grow higher valued crops, lead to higher incomes and wage rates for family

labor, benefit the poor and landless through increased food availability, and lower

food prices. An empirical study by Tesfaye et al. (2008) finds access to small

scale irrigation leads to increased and stable production, income and

consumption in Ethiopia. Drip irrigation in India increased production of crops,

reduced water consumption and environmental problems such as soil salinization

and fertilizer run-off (Narayanamoorty, 2004).

Analysis of household data from 13 villages in Northern Mali shows increases in

total household consumption, agricultural production, caloric and protein intakes,

and savings, for households with access to irrigation (Dillon, 2008). In addition to

increased production, irrigation reduces the variance of production levels from

rainfall shocks and the variability of production. In India, the growth of crop output

per year from irrigated areas had a 2.5 times lower standard deviation than

59

growth rates of rain fed areas (Lipton, 2007). Stability in household food

production is a major contributor to household food security.

Irrigation is the major infrastructural input that would make all the difference in

agriculture. It helps to stabilize agriculture and hence the farm income generation

and food security. Therefore, farmers in irrigated areas are thus able to maximize

production and improve their levels of income. Increased agricultural production

can also reduce the cost of food grain procurement. Hence, irrigation, as an

attempt to increase agricultural production it usually reduces food prices and

makes it easier especially for the urban poor to obtain food. Irrigation also

generates additional employment and incomes for the poor, both directly through

employment in agriculture and indirectly through multiplier effect as incomes are

spent, generating more employment and incomes.

The role of irrigation in increasing income has been studied, and found

significant. For instance, Meinzen–Dick et al (1993) stated that irrigation can

increase income which in turn enables to get access to food by improving

purchasing power of individuals, and Irrigation can provides the chance for

increasing income. Moreover, Fuad (2001) also stated that Increase in

agricultural productivity increases income of the people engaged in it and thereby

purchasing power; thus, it secures access to marketable food items Irrigation

60

also enables producers to select high calorie crops for their production using

continuous flow of water. The availability of such facilities affect cropping pattern

and related cropping decisions.

In general, the contribution of irrigation to food security can be seen in terms of

availability, access and utilization or food distribution as explained below.

Availability can be increased by agricultural intensification, expansion and

diversification;

Access can be maintained by increasing income of the rural poor and

increasing purchasing power to procure from market. It is possible since irrigation

creates job opportunity; and

Utilization/food distribution can be affected by the existence of irrigation

since it enable to produce various food items at different seasons like dry season

irrigated agricultural production is viable by using irrigation.

In general, many research findings proved that irrigation development contributes

a lot to short-term and long term alleviation of social problems like food

insecurity. This is mainly because, the development of irrigation schemes affect

agricultural productivity positively, which in turn results in increased supply of

products. Increased supply of food in turn increases food availability level

whether at household and/or market levels. For instance, previous studies by

61

FAO (2001) have proved that Irrigation contributes a lot in alleviating famine in

disaster prone and food deficit areas.

2.2. Empirical Evidence: The Role of Irrigation in

Household Food Security

In this part, attempt was made to provide a synthesis of relevant empirical

evidence on the impacts of irrigation on food security. More specifically, this sub

section focuses on the review of empirical studies on the contribution of irrigation

to household food security that is measured in terms of calorie acquisition

increases in crop yield, income, diversification and generating off-farm activities.

A number of studies conducted in various settings and countries show that

cropping intensity, crop productivity and per hectare employment are higher in

irrigated than in rainfed settings. Hussain and Hanjar (2004) stated that cropping

intensity is higher in the irrigated setting than the rainfed setting. Cropping

intensity ranges between 111 and 242% in irrigated and 100 and 168% in the

rainfed setting. The availability of irrigation facilities has therefore enabled

farmers to raise nearly an extra crop a year, with consequent implications for

household food security (Hussain and Hanjar, 2004).

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Irrigation has also contributed to increase land productivity of major crops,

including rice and wheat, the main staple foods of Asian rich and poor alike. For

example, rice yields fall in the vicinity of 3.0–5.5 t ha1 in irrigated settings, while

the upper bound corresponding figure in rainfed settings is around 4.0 t ha1 ,

implying that farmers can harvest an extra tone per hectare of rice due to access

to good irrigation water. Similarly, wheat yields are higher in the irrigated than the

rainfed setting (Hussain and Hanjar, 2004). Likewise, labor employment per

hectare, and wage rates, are higher in irrigated than non-irrigated settings.

Further, the former serves as an employer of surplus labor of adjoining non-

irrigated areas (Hussain and Hanjar, 2004).

Similarly, there is a body of empirical studies that show that household income is

higher in the irrigated than the rainfed setting, and poverty is lower. For instance,

study by Hussain and Hanjar (2004) indicated that income in irrigated settings is

higher than in the rainfed, and a 50% point gap is common; also income

inequality is lower in irrigated than rainfed settings, at least for these studies.

According to FAO report, irrigation has tremendous impact on income of a

household. The value of per hectare crop production under irrigated settings is

about twice that of under rain-fed settings. Household income and consumption

are much higher in irrigated settings than in rain-fed settings, and a 50 percent

63

point gap is common (FAO, 1995). Moreover, FAO (2007) and Mein Zen-Dick et

al (1993) stated that 72% of farmers could secure better food production/self-

sufficiency and ensured source of livelihood income through the use of irrigated

land in Zimbabwe. Similarly, another study conducted in Ethiopia by Awulachew

et al (2005) stated that, it is estimated that in Amhara Region farmers earn up to

about Birr 15,000.00 (about $1,800.00) from farm products, mainly horticultural

crops from modern Small scale irrigation schemes.

A study made by Mengistu (2007) on socio-economic assessment of two small-

scale irrigation schemes in Adami Tullu Jido Kombolcha Woreda, Central Rift

Valley of Ethiopia, revealed that irrigation schemes increased households‘

income compared to situation before implementation of the schemes and thus

contributed to improvement of household food security status.

Moreover, (Lemma, 2004) studies in two irrigation schemes around Doni Kumbi

and Bato Degaga peasant associations in East Shewa showed that average

income obtained from irrigation agriculture for three consecutive years accounts

for 69 %, 76 %, 76 % in Doni Kumbi and 0, 75 %, 61 % in Bato Degage. The

study has shown the importance of smallholder irrigation development as a

drought mitigation measure and improvement of household food security.

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Empirical evidence from Desta (2004) revealed that contribution of irrigated

agriculture to income is about 70 % in the highly irrigated villages as compared to

60 % in two other low irrigated areas. At the same time, the absolute size of

agricultural income is also the highest in the highly irrigated village despite the

lower landownership size and cultivated holding by more than 30 % over the low

irrigated village. The share of agricultural income (in terms of both owned and

cultivated land) is also found to increase with the increase in irrigation intensity of

the village. The highly irrigated village has higher per hectare agricultural income

by over 50% over the low irrigated village.

Research findings by Fuad (2002) confirmed that cash crop economy with

important cash flow offers a wide range of off-farm income possibilities as

compared to subsistence farming. In absolute terms he indicated that about 45%

of farmers involved in cash crop production are engaged in income generating

off-farm activities while 13 % are from the non-cash crop producers.

K. Nhundu et al. (2010) stated that among the farmers using irrigation in Mopane

irrigation scheme in Zvishavane (Zimbabwe) , the majority (72%) were found to

be food secure and had stable incomes. The study also showed that the gross

margins of irrigation schemes were significantly greater than those not using

irrigation. As a result, they had more crop output compared to the non-irrigators.

65

This ensures availability of food for them. More income implies a much better

security position for irrigators giving them the opportunity to purchase more

nutritious foods.

The same study carried out on five irrigation schemes in Zimbabwe, the schemes

were found to act as sources of food security for the participants and the

surrounding community through increased productivity, stable production and

incomes. The farmers participating in the irrigation schemes never run out of food

unlike their counterparts that depend on rain-fed agriculture (K. Nhundu et al.,

2010).

Some empirical studies confirm Irrigation schemes can play a significant role in

improving household food security. For instance, a study conducted in South

Africa by S.S. Tekana and O. I. Oladele (2011), confirms that 84% of

respondents acknowledged that irrigation contributes to food security. The same

study showed that irrigation is considered as one of the best technologies for

ensuring household food security and for sustainable rural development within

South Africa‘s largest semi-arid zone. Hence, it increases gross income and

household food security.

66

A study conducted in 10 Indian villages in different agro-climatic regions shows

that increasing irrigation by 40 percent was equally effective in reducing poverty

as providing a pair of bullocks, increasing educational level and increasing wage

rates Kumar (2003) also stated that irrigation has contributed significantly in

boosting India's food production and creating grain surpluses used as drought

buffer.

Hussain et al. (2004) also confirms access to reliable irrigation water can enable

farmers to adopt new technologies and intensify cultivation, leading to increased

productivity, overall higher production, and greater returns from farming. This in

turn opens up new employment opportunities; both on farm and off farm and can

improve incomes, livelihood, and the quality of life in rural areas.

The study identified five key dimensions of how access to good irrigation water

contributes to socioeconomic uplift of rural communities. These are production,

income and consumption, employment, food security, and other social impacts

contributing to overall improved welfare. The same study by Husain et al. (2004)

reported that in Sri Lanka irrigation development has been a major instrument

used by the government in its attempt to enhance food security and eradicate

poverty for over 5 decades.

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The study by Ngigi (2002) disclosed that for the two decades in Kenya

agricultural production has not been able to keep pace with the increasing

population. To address this challenge the biggest potential for increasing

agricultural production lies in the development of irrigation. According to the

same study, irrigation can assist in agricultural diversification, enhance food self-

sufficiency, increase rural incomes, generate foreign exchange and provide

employment opportunity when and where water is a constraint. The major

contributions of irrigation to the National economy are food security, employment

creation, settlements and foreign exchange.

In Ethiopia a study conducted by Woldeab (2003) identified that in Tigray

irrigated agriculture has benefited some households by providing an opportunity

to increase agricultural production through double cropping and by taking

advantage of modern technologies and high yielding crops that called for

intensive farming. Moreover, the study conducted in Fogera District, in Ethiopia

showed that the total mean annual cropping income of irrigating households was

substantially higher than that for non-irrigating households (Getaneh, 2011).

According to IFPRI (2006), in the mid-1990s, irrigated agriculture contributed

nearly 40% of world food production on 17% of the cultivated land. In India, for

example, irrigated areas (one third of total cropped area) account for more than

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60% of total production. Thus, irrigation plays a vital role in achieving food

security and sustainable livelihoods in developing countries, both locally, through

increased income and improved health and nutrition, and nationally, through

bridging the gap between production and demand.

2.3. Conceptual Framework of the Study

Various studies confirmed that in household food security, irrigated agriculture

plays a crucial role in the sustainable livelihoods of rural communities in different

ways. For instance, according to Hussian (2004), there are five key dimensions

how irrigated agriculture contributes to socioeconomic uplift of rural communities.

These are production, income, consumption, employment, food security, and

other social impacts contributing to overall improved welfare. The same study

further indicated that irrigation can benefit the poor through raising yields and

production, lowering the risk of crop failure, and generating higher and year-

round farm and nonfarm employment. It can enable smallholders to adopt more

diversified cropping patterns and to shift from low-value subsistence production

to high value market-oriented production, which increase income of household.

Access to irrigation also creates an opportunity for rural farm households to

produce crop throughout a year since water will be available for crop to grow

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whenever needed, that means risk of crop failure is reduced. Hence, the

household will not face consumption shortfall, as production of crops are possible

during off periods. However, it is impossible to generalize that only accessing

irrigation water by rural poor solves the problems of food insecurity. There are

also various factors such as, institution, policies, market situations and rural

household characteristics that could affect directly or indirectly the food security

and income situation of rural household.

The framework of the study consists of various variables. The following diagram

indicates the conceptual framework of this study that was developed for the

interplay of access to irrigation and socio-economic variables in determining

households‘ food security level. The diagram also revealed that in addition to

irrigation, there are various socio-economic, institutional and demographic factors

that are responsible for improving households‘ food security.

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Figure 2.1: Schematic Representation of Irrigation and Food Security

Linkage

Source: Adapted from Tsegaye & Tamene (2005).

Reduction of Rainfall Risk

Irrigation

Diversification/

Commercialization

Household

Characteristic,

Socio-

economic,

Demographic,

Institutional and

physical

Alternative Employment

Increase in Food Production

Increase Income

Food Security