Failure and success factors of irrigation system developments: A case study from the Oueme and Zou valleys in Benin

In the period 1960–1980, Chinese and Taiwanese cooperations developed irrigated rice schemes throughout West Africa withvariable success. In Benin for instance, schemes in Zonmon and Bamè (Ouémé Valley) were abandoned upon withdrawal of theproject developers and have been sub-optimally used ever sin...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Djagba, J.F., Rodenburg, J., Zwart, Sander J., Houndagba, C.J., Kiepe, P.
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Wiley 2014
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/115539
_version_ 1855519437406339072
author Djagba, J.F.
Rodenburg, J.
Zwart, Sander J.
Houndagba, C.J.
Kiepe, P.
author_browse Djagba, J.F.
Houndagba, C.J.
Kiepe, P.
Rodenburg, J.
Zwart, Sander J.
author_facet Djagba, J.F.
Rodenburg, J.
Zwart, Sander J.
Houndagba, C.J.
Kiepe, P.
author_sort Djagba, J.F.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description In the period 1960–1980, Chinese and Taiwanese cooperations developed irrigated rice schemes throughout West Africa withvariable success. In Benin for instance, schemes in Zonmon and Bamè (Ouémé Valley) were abandoned upon withdrawal of theproject developers and have been sub-optimally used ever since, while the neighbouring scheme of Koussin-Lélé (Zou Valley) isstill functional (double rice cropping) and well operated and maintained by the farmers. The factors for success and failure were in-vestigated by comparing the two abandoned schemes with the successful one, using field observations and stakeholder surveys. Weobserved that (i) operation and maintenance costs associated with irrigation were presumably lower in the successful scheme ––where irrigation was driven by gravity––compared to the failed ones––where part of the schemes were designed for motor-pumpdriven irrigation. Moreover, contrary to the situation in the unsuccessful schemes, farmers in the successful scheme of Koussin-Lélé benefit from (ii) external technical support, (iii) a favourable land tenure policy, entailing seasonal redistribution of plotsfavouring active and motivated producers, (iv) reliable access to credit, and (v) an effective farmer organization. These observationsunderscore the importance of addressing the longer-term technical and financial needs of the beneficiaries for the successful devel-opment of irrigation schemes advancing smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa.
format Journal Article
id CGSpace115539
institution CGIAR Consortium
language Inglés
publishDate 2014
publishDateRange 2014
publishDateSort 2014
publisher Wiley
publisherStr Wiley
record_format dspace
spelling CGSpace1155392025-12-08T09:54:28Z Failure and success factors of irrigation system developments: A case study from the Oueme and Zou valleys in Benin Djagba, J.F. Rodenburg, J. Zwart, Sander J. Houndagba, C.J. Kiepe, P. rice research irrigation In the period 1960–1980, Chinese and Taiwanese cooperations developed irrigated rice schemes throughout West Africa withvariable success. In Benin for instance, schemes in Zonmon and Bamè (Ouémé Valley) were abandoned upon withdrawal of theproject developers and have been sub-optimally used ever since, while the neighbouring scheme of Koussin-Lélé (Zou Valley) isstill functional (double rice cropping) and well operated and maintained by the farmers. The factors for success and failure were in-vestigated by comparing the two abandoned schemes with the successful one, using field observations and stakeholder surveys. Weobserved that (i) operation and maintenance costs associated with irrigation were presumably lower in the successful scheme ––where irrigation was driven by gravity––compared to the failed ones––where part of the schemes were designed for motor-pumpdriven irrigation. Moreover, contrary to the situation in the unsuccessful schemes, farmers in the successful scheme of Koussin-Lélé benefit from (ii) external technical support, (iii) a favourable land tenure policy, entailing seasonal redistribution of plotsfavouring active and motivated producers, (iv) reliable access to credit, and (v) an effective farmer organization. These observationsunderscore the importance of addressing the longer-term technical and financial needs of the beneficiaries for the successful devel-opment of irrigation schemes advancing smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa. 2014-07 2021-10-20T08:45:38Z 2021-10-20T08:45:38Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/115539 en Limited Access Wiley Djagba, J.F. Rodenburg, J. Zwart, S.J. Houndagba, C.J. Kiepe, P.Failure and success factors of irrigation system developments: a case study from the Oueme And Zou Valleys in Benin.Irrigation and Drainage.2013, Volume 63, Issue 3:328–339.
spellingShingle rice
research
irrigation
Djagba, J.F.
Rodenburg, J.
Zwart, Sander J.
Houndagba, C.J.
Kiepe, P.
Failure and success factors of irrigation system developments: A case study from the Oueme and Zou valleys in Benin
title Failure and success factors of irrigation system developments: A case study from the Oueme and Zou valleys in Benin
title_full Failure and success factors of irrigation system developments: A case study from the Oueme and Zou valleys in Benin
title_fullStr Failure and success factors of irrigation system developments: A case study from the Oueme and Zou valleys in Benin
title_full_unstemmed Failure and success factors of irrigation system developments: A case study from the Oueme and Zou valleys in Benin
title_short Failure and success factors of irrigation system developments: A case study from the Oueme and Zou valleys in Benin
title_sort failure and success factors of irrigation system developments a case study from the oueme and zou valleys in benin
topic rice
research
irrigation
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/115539
work_keys_str_mv AT djagbajf failureandsuccessfactorsofirrigationsystemdevelopmentsacasestudyfromtheouemeandzouvalleysinbenin
AT rodenburgj failureandsuccessfactorsofirrigationsystemdevelopmentsacasestudyfromtheouemeandzouvalleysinbenin
AT zwartsanderj failureandsuccessfactorsofirrigationsystemdevelopmentsacasestudyfromtheouemeandzouvalleysinbenin
AT houndagbacj failureandsuccessfactorsofirrigationsystemdevelopmentsacasestudyfromtheouemeandzouvalleysinbenin
AT kiepep failureandsuccessfactorsofirrigationsystemdevelopmentsacasestudyfromtheouemeandzouvalleysinbenin