2025

Climate change adaptation benefits from rejuvenated irrigation farming systems in Mozambique

Miguel Tafula, Mario Chilundo, Wilson de Sousa, Henning Bjornlund, Jamie Pittock, Peter Ramshaw, Michael Wellington   07 Jan 2025     

Smallholder irrigation in sub-Saharan Africa suffers from the impacts of flooding and droughts, which are predicted to increase in frequency and severity. This increases the need to improve farmers’ adaptive capacity to climate change. This paper explores how agricultural innovation platforms and nutrient monitoring tools impact farmers’ adaptive capacity in a smallholder irrigation scheme in Mozambique. Through qualitative and quantitative data, we assess the impacts across four domains of adaptation: farm, household, community/scheme and markets. The multi-faceted interventions improved farmers’ productivity, irrigation practices, scheme maintenance and livelihoods, thereby enhancing resilience and adaptive capacity to climate change in all assessed domains. Link

ACIAR Video: Partnerships for climate resilient agriculture in Zimbabwe

14 Jan 2025     

The Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR)’s Transforming Irrigation in Southern Africa (TISA) is a research, science and innovation partnership that will improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in Mozambique, Tanzania and Zimbabwe through better management water resources. Link

Application of social network analysis in determining innovation information exchange at irrigation schemes in Zimbabwe

Xolile Ncube and Jamie Pittock   21 Jan 2025     

Irrigators holding important structural positions around agricultural innovation social networks are identified for their potential to disseminate information facilitated by agricultural innovation platforms (AIPs). Social networks at three state owned, smallholder irrigation schemes were analysed utilizing the social network analysis approach. The majority of those holding important structural positions; i) held leadership positions, ii) were AIP members, iii) were female and older than 35 years and iv) had been scheme members for prolonged periods. We find that actors that hold important structural positions have the capability to disseminate innovation information leading to more effective adoption and scaling. Link

Agroecology and circular food systems: Decoupling natural resource use from rural development in sub-Saharan Africa?

Andre van Rooyen, Henning Bjornlund, Karen Parry, Makarius Mdemu, & Angeline Mujeyi  29 Jan 2025   

This paper proposes transitioning food systems in sub-Saharan Africa to circularity and greater diversity, using agroecology principles and shifting mental models of development from scale to scope. We argue that integrated dryland and irrigated agroecosystems can increase production efficiencies when aligned with local food demands and cultures. Synergies between food enterprises, their products, byproducts and waste will generate further enterprises and tighten resource cycles, closing nutrient, water and energy loops while reducing reliance on external inputs. This will generate more economic benefits per unit of land, labour and water, decoupling local economies from natural resource use and environmental impact. Link

Institutions influencing plot access and intergenerational land transfer: policy insights from a smallholder irrigation scheme in Zimbabwe

Karen Parry, Bethany Cooper, Henning Bjornlund, Lin Crase, Martin Moyo, Thabani Dube 1 Feb 2025

Land access is a challenge for young farmers in Africa and likely to become increasingly so, with institutions and intergenerational dynamics a critical influence. Access for existing and would-be young farmers is vital to ensure an age-diverse farming population and support generational renewal on smallholder irrigation schemes. This research adds to the literature on formal and informal institutions impacting plot access and households' perspectives on farm transfer, using a smallholder irrigation scheme in Zimbabwe as a case study site. Qualitative data from interviews with young people, parents and practitioners were analysed by applying the Institutional Analysis and Development framework. The findings firstly illustrate the hybridised and multi-level nature of plot access arrangements, including the flexible leasing arrangements engaged in by young farmers. The data supports the generation of testable hypotheses and theorisation that plot transfer is a staged process, highlighting parents' dilemma of balancing their own and their children's needs and reflecting both inability and reluctance to transfer control. Suggestions for policy and development and further research are highlighted in the conclusion, including the need for schemes to have a strong focus on stimulating rural development, cross-generational approaches to support ongoing land access for young farmers and further research. Link

Mrs Thandanani Dube’s farming revolution                  

7 Feb 2025 ACIAR blog.

Mrs Thandanani Dube, a determined farmer based in the Sibasa Cluster, is transforming her homestead into a sustainable, thriving ecosystem. Link

Transforming Small-Scale Irrigation Systems from Dysfunctional to Functional Climate Smart Agricultural Systems. 3^rd special issue for the International Journal of Water Resources Development.

10 Feb 2025

One of the world’s major problems is the need to feed a growing global population with the same area of land and diminishing water resources.  Ardhi University/ICRISAT Zimbabwe/etc is part of a research project working in with other African and Australian researchers to reduce water use on irrigation schemes in southern Africa and solve some of the problems that hold back small-scale farmers. By introducing innovative soil monitoring tools and bringing farmers, extension officers and government together, the resulting positive changes have been diverse and profound: reduced time to irrigate and more time for off-farm work, reduced conflict over water, more knowledge about markets and selling, and improvements in income and food security. Overall, the irrigation schemes can now grow more food and higher value crops, support more jobs and be more profitable for the local community.  The 10-year learning journey is captured in a series of journal articles (International Journal of Water Resources Development: Vol 41, No 2), with key lessons being used in a new project to intensify agriculture and generate more economic benefit from a given amount of land, labour and water.

Institutional and technological innovations for sustained change in smallholder irrigation schemes in southern and eastern Africa        

Henning Bjornlund, Karen Parry, Andre van Rooyen, Jamie Pittock , 31 Mar 2025    

Water management systems must become more adaptable to alleviate projected shortfalls. Integrated socio-institutional and technological interventions are required to generate sustained change in irrigation water management and the profitability for smallholders and their schemes. We illustrate this by conducting an ex-post analysis of the ‘Transforming Irrigation in Southern Africa’ (TISA) project, which was implemented in two phases from 2013 to 17 and 2017–2023. The project introduced institutional and technological innovations to smallholder irrigation schemes in Tanzania, Mozambique and Zimbabwe: Agricultural Innovation Platforms as a participatory approach to engage farmers and stakeholders; and soil moisture monitoring tools to support farmer learning. We hypothesised that these innovations, despite differing socioeconomic and biophysical conditions in the three countries, would work synergistically to improve farmers’ adaptive capacity and generate sustained change. In this paper, we test our hypotheses through a synthesis of peer-reviewed TISA literature, focussing on four smallholder irrigation schemes and five factors identified in the literature as critical for increasing farmers’ adaptive capacity. Drawing predominantly on household surveys administered at the beginning, middle and end of the TISA project, we analyse a set of relevant indicators linked to the five factors. In addition to many changes, we found changes in irrigation management, including a reduction in total water use to less than half pre-TISA levels. Further, the changes were sustained when the schemes transitioned from an intensive research-for-development phase into a more operational phase. This research also shows that when governments listen to farming communities and revise institutional arrangements, such as water scheduling and scheme constitutions, this fosters more sustainable irrigated agriculture. We conclude that when initiating development projects for sustained change within smallholder irrigation schemes policy makers and donors must commit sufficient project time and funding for both a development phase and a transition to an operational phase. Programs must take a participatory approach and support multiple interventions including both socio-institutional and technological interventions. Link

2024

Agricultural innovation platforms for scaling innovations – insights from the Transforming Irrigation in Southern Africa project 

Xolile Ncube, James Pittock, Henning Bjornlund, Andre van Rooyen, 22 May 2024    

A major challenge in agricultural research for development is understanding how agricultural innovation platforms (AIPs) scale innovations to maximize environmental and socioeconomic benefits. Multilevel perspective and anchoring frameworks were used to assess the effectiveness of AIPs in anchoring innovations to go to scale under the Transforming Irrigation in Southern Africa project. Resultant scaling approaches, and whether and how scaling impacts were sustained are assessed at the sociotechnical regime. AIP collective capabilities ensured anchoring strategies and scaling approaches utilized by AIPs led to the embedding of innovations within the agricultural sociotechnical system. This resulted in changes in policy, behaviour and practices. Link

Reviewing the strategy of the Green Revolution in Africa in view of the lessons from Mexico and India 

Bjornlund, V. and Bjornlund, H.  11 Jul 2024      

The appropriateness of the new Green Revolution strategy for Africa has been challenged and donors have been called on to withdraw support and fund alternative approaches. Any revision of the strategy needs to be based on an analysis of the production system underlying the revolution and the early experiences of its implementation in the Global South. This paper provides such an analysis based on the experiences from Mexico and India, finding that the strategy has benefited the Global North and agribusiness but failed smallholders in Africa. A paradigm shift is needed to focus on approaches to provide economic development in Africa.

Link

Climate change adaptation benefits from rejuvenated irrigation farming systems at Kiwere and Magozi Schemes in Tanzania    

Makarius Mdemu, Luitfred Kissoly, Emmanuel Kimaro, Henning Bjornlund, Peter Ramshaw, Jamie Pittock, Michael Wellington, & Sophia Bongole   02 Oct 2024           

We examine whether soil moisture and nutrient monitoring tools and Agricultural Innovation Platforms improve farmers adaptive capacity to climate change in the context of two small-scale irrigation schemes in Tanzania. Analysis of household surveys and farmer field books show that these interventions have significantly increased household income and diversification and reduced water use and conflicts. This has contributed to rejuvenating the schemes and increased the willingness to collaborate. Farmers within these schemes report less COVID-19 impact than farmers within surrounding schemes. We argue that the interventions have increased farmers’, and their communities’, resilience and capacity to adapt to climate change. Link

The impact of COVID-19 and adaptive capacities of farmers in small-scale irrigation schemes in sub-Saharan Africa      

Henning Bjornlund, Karen Parry, Luitfred Kissoly, Thabani Dube, Angeline Mujeyi, Wilson de Sousa, Jamie Pittock, Vibeke Bjornlund           12 Nov 2024    

Detrimental impacts from COVID-19 restrictions on households and agricultural productivity reinforce the need for resilience building and transformation in African food systems. Capitalizing on the opportunity to learn lessons from the ‘Transforming Small-scale Irrigation in Southern Africa’ (TISA) project (2013–2023), we summarize TISA’s outcomes and compare survey data on the perceived impact of COVID-19 between three schemes involved and three not involved with TISA. Overall, participating households had greater ability to manage the impacts of COVID-19. We highlight the need to build resilience in multiple interconnecting domains to enhance adaptability to crisis events that impact agricultural systems. Link

Transitioning smallholder irrigation schemes into adaptive systems: a case of the Transforming Irrigation in Southern Africa (TISA) project in Zimbabwe           

Martin Moyo, Thabani Dube, Henning Bjornlund, Andre van Rooyen, Karen Parry, Michael Wellington, Peter Ramshaw and Jamie Pittock    27 Nov 2024   

Smallholder irrigation schemes are vulnerable to increased climate variability and change, particularly increased water stress. This paper explores whether the introduction of Agricultural Innovation Platforms and soil monitoring tools in smallholder irrigation schemes can improve the adaptive capacity of farmers and schemes in the Insiza District. Drawing on household survey and qualitative data, collected through the Transforming Irrigation in Southern Africa project, we analyse a comprehensive set of measures across four domains: field, household, community and markets. We find that social capacity and increased climate adaptation can be built with modest cost through combined social and technological interventions. Link

Youth on smallholder irrigation schemes in Zimbabwe: their livelihoods and role in the local economy

Karen Parry       29 Nov 2024    

Young people in southern Africa have limited opportunities for productive employment. This research adds to the literature on young people living around smallholder irrigation schemes and their role in the local economy. Semistructured interviews were undertaken with young people, parents and practitioners from around Silalatshani irrigation scheme in Zimbabwe and were analysed to provide insight into young people’s livelihoods and their livelihood pathways. The findings illustrate the importance of non-farm activities alongside irrigation and young people’s varied capacity to contribute to stimulating their local economy. Some implications for policy and development for young people around smallholder schemes are highlighted. Link

Equal Opportunity Sensitive Aggregate Wellbeing Measurement: Food Security and Basic Household Income on Sub Sahara African Farms.      

Anderson, G., Manero, A. and Bjornlund, H.       05 Dec 2024     

Equality of Opportunity and gender equality, key components of the UNs' Sustainable Development Goals and Inclusive Growth initiatives, require wellbeing measures that reflect the extent to which such targets are being achieved. From a measurement perspective, the Equal Opportunity literature distinguishes between inequalities arising from individual choice and inequalities engendered by circumstances beyond individual control, only the latter should enter the calculus. However, common metrics of socio-economic inequality make no such distinction confounding different inequality sources and obfuscating potential intervention pathways. Using recent intertemporal data from family farms on four Zimbabwean and Tanzanian irrigation schemes, this study introduces and exemplifies new methods for measuring Equality of Opportunity multidimensionally within an overall wellbeing framework. Results indicate a deterioration in equality of opportunity in access to land, with an improvement in equality of opportunity in revenue generation, with the former outweighing the latter in a joint analysis resulting in a decline in overall wellbeing. Link

Women, youth, and tail-end users: Improving the livelihoods of disadvantaged groups of irrigators in southern Africa  

Karen Parry, Henning Bjornlund, Makarius Mdemu, Thabani Dube and Miguel Tafula 19 Dec 2024

Tackling the inequalities that exist in sub-Saharan Africa is critical for sustainable development. In this paper we explore whether the ‘Transforming irrigation in southern Africa’ project’s interventions – Agricultural Innovation Platforms and soil monitoring tools – reduced inequity for women, youth and tail-end farmers on smallholder irrigation schemes. Our analysis focussed on access to plots, decision-making and economic well-being. We found evidence of equity improvements, though this was inconsistent across households and schemes, and complicated by COVID-19 disruptions. Equity can be an emergent outcome of complementary and participatory interventions that seek to improve profitability and functionality of irrigation schemes. Link

2023