| Author | Shrestha, Shiddi Ganesh |
| Call Number | AIT Diss. no.AS-04-02 |
| Subject(s) | Irrigation farming--Nepal
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| Note | A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Technical Science, School of Environment, Resources and Development |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Dissertation ; no. AS-04-02 |
| Abstract | Agriculture is an industry of life support and is the heart of rural livelihoods and irrigation is an important component. Multiple uses of and growing requirements for irrigation water has made its demand increasingly competitive. This competition demands for a framework and an approach that comprehensively and reliably assesses the performance of irrigation systems. The conventional approach that mainly considers the factors from within an irrigation system boundary for evaluating the performance of irrigation system is not sufficient. In reality these factors cross across such boundaries. Hence, an analytical framework was developed incorporating grossly overlooked but crucial livelihood factors that influence the performance of irrigation systems. The analytical framework is composed of five major components such as: livelihood assets; transforming structures and processes; overall irrigation performances; and livelihood strategies and vulnerability contexts. The framework was developed from those offered by several bilateral and multilateral assistance agencies based on the models of sustainable livelihoods. Livelihood assets form the core of the framework and these include human, natural, physical, financial and social capitals. Variables that are built on livelihood assets were identified and their measurement methods were developed. Variations in peoples’ access to these assets were expected to yield different performances of irrigation systems. Thus, the general objectives of this study were to develop an analytical framework that comprehensively describes the performance of irrigation systems and develop methodologies to measure the variables included in the framework. To achieve the research objectives, a census survey was conducted into 76 farm households in the lowland of Surtani Fanner Managed Irrigation System (FMIS) and 110 households in the upland of Pampa FMIS both of which are situated in Chitwan district of Nepal. Information were also collected through participatory rural appraisal, observations, discussion meetings, and secondary information sources. Comparisons between performances by locations of holding and farm sizes were made to examine water allocation and socioeconomic equities respectively. Similarly, the lowland and the upland systems were compared to analyze system performance in terms of their variation in access to livelihood resources. A special Standardized Productivity (SP) equation was developed to compute overall performance indicators that enables make comparisons between and within the systems. Statistical testing of variables was done in three stages. The first stage statistical testing involved paired t-test, ANOVA and Post Hoc tests of variables to qualify them as livelihood variables in terms of their contribution and significant differences by location, farm size, and the upland and the lowland irrigation settings. The second stage testing involved correlation analysis to identify variables that were significantly correlated with the overall performance of irrigation systems as dependent variable. Final stage statistical testing involved regression analysis, which was done to identify explanatory variables that significantly influenced overall performance of irrigation system. The major findings of this study based on the asset pentagon diagram, made of livelihood capital index values, showed farm households in both systems had higher access (>0.66) to natural, physical and social capitals, higher medium (0.66) to high access (>0.66) to human capital, and low access (<0.33) to financial capital. It implied that these systems were vulnerable to financial capital shocks. Irrigation system with higher access to livelihood capitals resulted into the higher overall performance. Hence, the lowland system with comparatively higher access to livelihood capitals was more productive in physical, gross and energy value of production and used labor more productively than the upland system. Higher performance of the lowland system was attributed mainly to higher access to water resources, closer proximity to road network, processing facilities and farm inputs, and land distribution and irrigation equities. Final modeling of livelihood asset pentagon was done through statistical testing of regression models and the contribution and significance of livelihood variables included in these models. Among 34-livelihood variables analyzed through correlation analysis 33 independent variables that were significantly correlated with the overall performance indicators defined as dependent variables entered in different stepwise regression models. Regression models that explained at least 50 percent variation in the dependent variable were chosen to select the livelihood variables for modeling asset pentagon. Only 10 of 33 livelihood variables that explicitly entered into selected regression models were chosen for modeling. These variables were: economically active in-living population; water adequacy both at field and at source; natural capital index; access to road and processing facility indices; off-farm, non-farm and total cash incomes; irrigation equity and social capital indices. The asset pentagon with these empirically selected livelihood variables showed a distinct access gap after modeling. Hence, these variables should be included in the analytical framework for the comprehensive and reliable assessment of irrigation system performance. Natural and social capital indices were the complex indices computed from the aggregation of 5 and 8 variables respectively. Hence, there were 21 livelihood variables, 8 explicit and 13 implicit that were chosen through regression analysis. The asset pentagon made of livelihood variables showed resource endowments and asset gap simultaneously. The non-shaded part in the asset pentagon showed the access gap to livelihood assets. Wider access gap to livelihood assets provided clues for point of policy interventions. Hence, policy intervention on: watershed management and development to increase access to water resources; road network development to create comparative advantage in the market; land consolidation to increase productivity, employment and access to credit; and maximization of irrigation equity to integrate users in irrigation system operation, maintenance and rehabilitation were recommended to increase access to irrigation water and the overall performance of irrigation systems. The empirically tested methodologies are valid for the practical application of the overall assessment of irrigation system performance. The methodologies developed for statistical testing were empirically validated. Thus, the livelihood variables chosen as indicators, the approach adopted to measure them and the analytical framework developed are valid for reliable and comprehensive assessment of irrigation system performance. |
| Year | 2004 |
| Corresponding Series Added Entry | Asian Institute of Technology. Dissertation ; no. AS-04-02 |
| Type | Dissertation |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources (Former title: Department of Food Agriculture, and BioResources (DFAB)) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Agricultural and Aquatic Systems(AS) |
| Chairperson(s) | Shivakoti, Ganesh Prasad;Zoebisch, Michael Albert; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Soparth Pongquan;Rauniyar, Ganesh Prasad; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | His Majesty’s Government of Nepal;Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives;Agricultural Research and Extension Project; |
| Degree | Thesis (Ph.D.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2004 |