Abstract

Access to reliable irrigation enables farmers to adopt new technologies and intensify agricultural, water and land productivity. The Fast Track Land Reform Programme (FTLRP) of 2000 in Zimbabwe ushered in new, unskilled cadres in the irrigation sector, drastically reducing the area under irrigation from approximately 200,000 ha developed for irrigation to around 120,000 ha. This trend could be explained by lack of knowledge of institutional factors influencing farmers’ decisions to participate in irrigation development. A study was done in Mashonaland East Province to investigate the institutional determinants influencing farmer participation in irrigation development. The empirical results revealed the importance of training, cost recovery, participation in design and implementation, access to extension, and access to credit extension in influencing farmers to participate in irrigation development. The findings suggest that it is important to identify institutional mechanisms of assisting the FTLRP beneficiaries to participate in irrigation development. Thus, policy-makers should put emphasis on increasing farmers’ knowledge and perception of the merits of irrigation development through better access to technical information and extension as this assists them to develop a positive economic assessment of irrigation development.

Key words: Irrigation development, farmer participation, food security, land reform.