Effect of small-scale irrigation on the income of rural farm households: The case of Laelay Maichew District, Central Tigray, Ethiopia

Abstract

Agricultural intensification is presumed to be a necessary pre-condition for the development of the agricultural 
sector in Ethiopia. To this end, various government and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), among others, 
initiated small-scale irrigation schemes throughout the country including the Tigray region. Despite these 
efforts, however, smallholder farmers particularly in the study area are found to be reluctant to participate in 
small-scale irrigation schemes. This study therefore, assessed the factors that affect smallholder farmers’ 
participation in small-scale irrigation of the study area. A two-stage sampling procedure was used to first select 
peasant associations and then sample respondents. Descriptive statistics and binary probit estimation were 
used to estimate the determinants of small-scale irrigation participation. The analysis revealed that income, 
gender, access to market information and health condition of households were found to be important 
determinants for participating in small scale irrigation schemes. Hence, improving rural farm households’ 
access to market information and health services, are likely to improve participation in irrigation schemes 
thereby improving of small holder farmers income.