| 1. |
|
|
| 2. |
- de Bont, Chris, 1990-
(författare)
-
Irrigated agriculture using wells and pumps in Kahe ward, Kilimanjaro
- 2018
-
Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This booklet was written to share research results with farmers and practitioners in Tanzania. It gives a summary of the empirical material collected during two months of field work in Kahe ward (Kilimanjaro Region), and includes maps, tables and photos. It describes the history of irrigation in Kahe, as well as current irrigation and farming practices and the challenges experience by different groups in the area. Most importantly, we found that:Using wells and pumps, farmers are less dependent on unreliable rain or limited river waterFarmers with a well harvest more maize, and are more likely to grow high value cropsThe biggest challenge for farmers is the cost of agricultural inputs and fuelInsufficient agricultural extension work means that farmers do not get the necessary support in dealing with pest and diseasesNot all farmers can benefit equally: those who are rich benefit more than those who are poor, because: 1) They can afford the agricultural inputs and labourers needed for high value crops such as onions and tomatoes. 2) They do not have to use middlemen and can take their crop to markets with better prices. 3) They often do not grow maize, and can plant early in order to sell their crops at higher prices.
|
|
| 3. |
- de Bont, Chris, 1990-, et al.
(författare)
-
Modernisation and African Farmer-Led Irrigation Development : Ideology, Policies and Practices
- 2019
-
Ingår i: Water Alternatives. - 1965-0175. ; 12:1, s. 107-128
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In both Mozambique and Tanzania, farmer-led development of irrigation is widespread, yet it is little recognised in irrigation policies and is under-supported by the government. This paper explores how this situation is exacerbated by modernisation ideas in irrigation policy and professional thinking. By means of a historical review, we trace modernisation thinking in irrigation development from the colonial period onwards, and analyse how this thinking continues to play out in contemporary irrigation policies in both countries. We then examine the relationship between modernisation thinking and practices of farmer-led irrigation development, drawing on policy documents, field studies, and interviews in both countries. Based on this analysis, we argue that the nature of farmer-led development of irrigation is consistent with many of the goals identified by state agricultural modernisation programmes, but not with the means by which government and state policies envisage their achievement. As a consequence, policies and state officials tend to screen out farmers’ irrigation initiatives as not relevant to development until they are brought within state-sanctioned processes of technical design and administration.
|
|
| 4. |
- de Bont, Chris, 1990-
(författare)
-
Modernisation and farmer-led irrigation development in Africa : A study of state-farmer interactions in Tanzania
- 2018
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- After years of relatively low investment, irrigation development in Africa has been put back on the policy agenda as a way of increasing agricultural productivity. In spite of existing evidence of farmers’ irrigation initiatives across the African continent, current policy prescriptions still revolve around (large-scale) state intervention. Farmers’ irrigation initiatives are generally considered traditional, backward, and unable to contribute to the agrarian transformation that many African nations are after.This study aims to problematize this narrow notion of farmers’ irrigation initiatives, and explores how underlying ideas of modernity/modernisation influence irrigation policies and interactions between farmers and the state. Focusing on Tanzania, this thesis consists of an introductory chapter and three separate studies.The first study is a historical analysis of the state’s attitude towards irrigation development and farmers’ irrigation initiatives in Tanzania. It shows how historically, the development narrative of ‘modern’ irrigation as a driver for agricultural transformation has been successful in depoliticizing irrigation interventions and their actual contribution to development.The second study engages with a case where farmers have developed groundwater irrigation. The study analyses how differentiated access to capital leads to different modes of irrigated agricultural production, and shows the variation between and within farmers’ irrigation initiatives. It also illustrates how an irrigation area that does not conform to the traditional/modern policy dichotomy is invisible to the government.The third study concerns a farmer-initiated gravity-fed earthen canal system. It shows how the implementation of a demand-driven irrigation development policy model can (inadvertently), through self-disciplining by farmers and a persistent shared modernisation aspiration, turn a scheme initiated and managed by farmers into a government-managed scheme, without actually improving irrigation practices.Together, these studies show how modernisation thinking has pervaded irrigation development policy and practice in Tanzania, influencing both the state’s and farmers’ actions and attitudes, often to the detriment of farmers’ irrigation initiatives.
|
|
| 5. |
|
|
| 6. |
- de Bont, Chris, 1990-, et al.
(författare)
-
Policy Over Practice : A Review of Groundwater Governance Research in Sub-Saharan Africa
- 2024
-
Ingår i: International Journal of the Commons. - 1875-0281. ; 18:1, s. 82-93
-
Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Groundwater is increasingly seen as crucial to both agricultural and domestic water supply in sub-Saharan Africa. Citing climate change and growing populations, there is especially a notable shift towards promoting groundwater for irrigation to ensure food security. Increased use of the resource will undoubtedly be accompanied with new questions of governance, with groundwater overexploitation in other parts of the world functioning as a strong cautionary tale. This article provides an overview of the current groundwater governance literature on sub-Saharan Africa. Using a critical water governance lens we analyse how groundwater governance is framed, what terms, categories, and measurements are used to describe and assess groundwater governance, and whose perspectives are considered. We also assess whether groundwater governance research has taken place across sub-Saharan African countries in a balanced way. We find that groundwater governance research in sub-Saharan Africa, even more so than elsewhere, ignores the voices and perspectives of those physically encountering the resource. Instead, it is dominated by the views of formal, technical groundwater experts focusing on the need for more hydrogeological data and formal policies. While the existing contributions to the literature are valuable, the current bias in perspectives calls for others to join the field of groundwater governance and to supplement current conceptualisations and approaches with those of users and others dealing with groundwater management on a daily basis. We argue that groundwater users’ practical governance experiences, locally adapted solutions and knowledges, can add important complementary perspectives and insights towards crafting effective, sustainable and equitable groundwater governance processes across the continent.
|
|
| 7. |
- de Bont, Chris, 1990-, et al.
(författare)
-
State Engagement with Farmer-led Irrigation Development : Symbolic Irrigation Modernisation and Disturbed Development Trajectories in Tanzania
- 2020
-
Ingår i: Journal of Development Studies. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0022-0388 .- 1743-9140. ; 56:12, s. 2154-2168
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Farmer-led irrigation development, a process in which farmers initiate the establishment of irrigation, is increasingly recognised as the driving force behind irrigation expansion, agricultural intensification, and commercialisation in sub-Saharan Africa. Governments and development agencies aim to build upon these practices to further stimulate agricultural production and expand the irrigated area. In what seems the recognition of farmers’ ability to take the lead, various African states have developed policies for ‘demand-driven irrigation development’. This article scrutinises the actual practices of such a policy through a case analysis of an intervention in Northern Tanzania. The analysis demonstrates how even demand-driven policies can disturb the development trajectory of farmer-led irrigation development by reinforcing modernisation ideals adhered to by both farmers and government employees. An emphasis on the aesthetics of modernity leads to symbolic modernisation, cementing the dominant role of the state and formal expertise and paralysing farmers’ irrigation development initiatives. This does not necessarily lead to agricultural intensification and commercialisation, which the formal policies seem to aim for and which is central to processes of farmer-led irrigation development.
|
|
| 8. |
|
|
| 9. |
- de Bont, Chris, 1990-, et al.
(författare)
-
The fluid nature of water grabbing : the on-going contestation of water distribution between peasants and agribusinesses in Nduruma, Tanzania
- 2016
-
Ingår i: Agriculture and Human Values. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0889-048X .- 1572-8366. ; 33:3, s. 641-654
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article contributes to the contemporary debate on land and water grabbing through a detailed, qualitative case study of horticultural agribusinesses which have settled in Tanzania, disrupting patterns of land and water use. In this paper we analyse how capitalist settler farms and their upstream and downstream peasant neighbours along the Nduruma river, Tanzania, expand and defend their water use. The paper is based on 3 months of qualitative field work in Tanzania. We use the echelons of rights analysis framework combined with the concept of institutional bricolage to show how this contestation takes place over the full spectrum of actual abstractions, governance and discourses. We emphasise the role different (inter)national development narratives play in shaping day-to-day contestations over water shares and rule-making. Ultimately, we emphasise that water grabbing is not a one-time event, but rather an on-going struggle over different water resources. In addition, we show how a perceived beneficial development of agribusinesses switching to groundwater allows them to avoid peasant-controlled institutions, avoiding further negotiation between the different actors and improving their image among neighbouring communities. This development illustrates how complex and obscured processes of water re-allocation can be without becoming illegal per se.
|
|
| 10. |
- de Bont, Chris, 1990-
(författare)
-
The Mawala irrigation scheme
- 2018
-
Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This booklet was written to share research results with farmers and practitioners in Tanzania. It gives a summary of the empirical material collected during three months of field work in the Mawala irrigation scheme (Kilimanjaro Region), and includes maps, tables and photos. It describes the history of the irrigation scheme, as well current irrigation and farming practices. It especially focuses on the different kinds of infrastructural improvement in the scheme (by farmers and the government), and the challenges that farmers face.Most importantly, we found that:Water is not enough for the current area and cropping schedule, with the area increasing and water decreasing due to water weeds and increased water use by TPC.There are big inequalities in the scheme when it comes to water access, with the head-end benefiting more than the tail-end.The system of water fee collection is not fair and needs to be reconsidered to become more effectiveThere are communication problems between the government and farmers leading to unnecessary disruptions in farming activitiesThe current method of constructing small bits of the irrigation scheme at a time is disrupting farming activities and not leading to major improvements in irrigation practicesFarmers' challenges are larger than only irrigation infrastructure, and more and better exentsion services could raise yields considerably
|
|
