Abstract

Lijalem Abebaw Elimnh

This study has investigated the socioeconomic, institutional and biophysical constraints, opportunities, to what extent irrigation could improve the income of households and create employment opportunities in irrigated crop production. The river catchment has different agro-ecology and socioeconomic situations; thus, it was classified as upper, middle and lower catchments. From Laytemamagn, Yewela and Gotu irrigation areas 35, 70 and 35 households sampled randomly, and respectively. Survey, participatory rural appraisal tools and secondary sources were employed to collect primary and secondary data. For data analysis, one way ANOVA, T-test, Chi-square test, and mean were employed. The study revealed irrigated land holding size of farmers in Yewela was greater than lower and upper which cause to diversify livelihood strategy of farmers in Laytemamagn than Gotu. Crop intensity in Laytemamagn and Yewela was 200%. The extension service was inadequate and not packaged. Credit service bureaucracy like group collateral was constrained to improve irrigated crop production. Water governance was done by water users but interference by the government bodies aggravated water use conflicts. Streams drying, percolation and seepage of water determined water availability. Irrigation created employment opportunity for household members and the rural community, and also improved income. Therefore, policy makers and development practitioners should develop policies and strategies based on the agroecology and socioeconomic settings of irrigation areas to alleviate the challenges, and consolidate the opportunities.