A STUDY OF THE NATURE AND IMPACT OF SMALL SCALE IRRIGATION SCHEMES IN ANAMBRA STATE

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Date
1982-11-30
Authors
FRANCIS, IKECHUKWU NWANKWO UDE
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Abstract
This study is concerned with the description and evaluation of the nature and impact of six smallscale irrigation projects in Anambra State that are primarily devoted to the growing of rice. The aim of the study was to describe and account for the distribution of irrigation schemes in Anambra State; to analyse and evaluate the nature, degree and ramifications of their impact on agriculture and on the socio-economic and cultural environment of the project location areas; and to assess the resultant spatial linkages between them and other areas within the State. It was hypothesized firstly, that the projects' impact varied between locations and was directly related to physical and socio-cultural qualities of individual areas. Secondly that the impact also varied between individuals and groups owing to the influence their socio-economic characteristics have on their response to new ideas and opportunities. The data for the study were collected from two sets of questionnaires administered to project officials and participant farmers. Information was sought on various aspects of the projects such as organisational structure, input supply and use, institutional and infrastructural development and general project assessment. Tables, simple percentages, chi-square tests, one-way and two-way analysis were all used in the analysis of data. Findings of the study are, namely there has been growing acceptability of rice cultivation by the people in all the locations as reflected in a four-fold and five fold increase in the number of participating farm families and hecterage respectively, and also in aggregate total rice production by individuals in all the projects within the study period. 2. The projects offered employment opportunities but the local people have mostly benefitted as casual labour and junior staff. Those employed in these categories accounted for between 53 and 100% of these groups in individual locations. There has also been an enhancement in value of land and houses in the project areas. 3. There was a general rise in the rate of adoption of innovations propogated by the projects; this was found to bo more pronounced in the project farms than those outside them. 4. Employment opportunities and other prospects in the project areas were found to have induced migration of people from outside the locations as labourers, skilled workers and farmers. A majority of these were, however, found to have come from adjacent places to the project locations or from places whose people have cultural affinities with the project areas, or have long tradition of rice growing. 5. Accessibility to the project areas from outside was found to have improved considerably owing to the efforts of the project management in the maintenance of existing roads and construction of new ones. 6. The projects have contributed to economic and sociocultural dislocations in the areas where they are located. For instances as many as 40% of the people in these areas lost both land and crops or other economic plants. The traditional communal land-tenure system was being undermined in favour of individual holdings. Moreover added labour demand from the traditional family source, occasioned by the projects' activities, has led to the worsening of labour scarcity. It was also found that attachment of undue importance to rice crop to the detriment of the peoples1 traditional staples, and unenthusiastic, or at best belated support from project authorities to the development of institutional facilities like co-operatives and credit system will unlikely make the project selfsustaining in future. 7. The extent and degree of benefits derived by participants were found to vary not only between individuals but also projects. The cause of the variation was found to be strongly related to location and to the socio-economic characteristics of individual participants with reference to education, income, migrant and marital status.
Description
A Thesis submitted to the Post-graduate School, Ahmadu Bello University, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts. Department of Geography Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria Date: 30th November, 1982
Keywords
NATURE,, SCALE IRRIGATION,, ANAMBRA STATE
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