532
(Frausto 1999). In many cases, the capital costs are lower and local labour and skills
are employed. Accordingly, smallholders can be more productive with their yields
and more efficient in water use than larger irrigation schemes (Ruotsi 1999;
McCartney et al. 2007). This has also been accentuated by Shah (2009) who notes
that there are several positive microeconomic benefits of pump irrigation over gravity flow irrigation in India, and most are related to the fact that water can be better
controlled. This study examines the type of water control technologies that are
mostly preferred by smallholder farmers and which ones maximize returns to
investment.
2 Materials and Methods
2.1 Description of the Study Area and Approaches
The study was carried out in two regions of Tanzania mainland, namely Iringa and
Mara (Fig. 1). Iringa region is located between latitudes 6
°
55′ and 10
°
30′ south of
the Equator and between longitudes 33
°
45′ and 36
°
55′ east of Greenwich. The
region’s total surface area is 58,936 km
2
at an altitude varying between 900 m asl.
and 3000 m asl. It is made up of six districts, namely Iringa Rural, Kilolo, Makete,
Mufindi, Njombe, Ludewa and Iringa Urban, with Iringa Rural district being the
largest. The human population was estimated at 941,238 in 2012 (URT 2016a) and
948,882 in 2016, with an intercensal growth rate of 1.1% between 2012 and 2016.
The region experiences one rainy season, mainly from November through May each
year. The off season/dry season farming activities take place in the valley-bottom
wetlands (locally known as vinyungu), utilizing residual moisture in the dry season.
In some areas, the wetlands are drained to allow dry season farming. The main horticultural crops grown in the dry season include tomatoes, beans, okra, spinach and
maize (green), while the main field crop grown in wet season is maize.
Mara region is in the northern part of Tanzania. The region is located between
latitude 1 and 2 degrees south of the Equator and between longitudes 33
°
10′ and
35
°
15′ east of Greenwich. It has an area of 30,150 km
2
of which 7750 is covered by
Lake Victoria water and 7000 km
2
by Serengeti National Park. The area available
for human settlement and agricultural production is 14,799 km
2
. Only about
3000 km
2
of this area is used for crop cultivation. On average, the altitude of the
region varies between 1100 m asl. and 1800 m asl. The five administrative districts
in the region include Musoma Urban, Musoma Rural, Serengeti, Bunda and Tarime.
According to the 2012 national census, the population was estimated at 1,743,830;
in 2016, it was estimated to be 1,924,230 with an annual intercensal growth rate of
about 2.5% between 2012 and 2016. A large part of the region receives rainfall less
than 900 mm per year, with few areas along the Lake Victoria and in the highlands
receiving more than 1500 mm per year. The major crops grown include maize, cassava and sorghum.
J. J. Kashaigili
(Frausto 1999). In many cases, the capital costs are lower and local labour and skills
are employed. Accordingly, smallholders can be more productive with their yields
and more efficient in water use than larger irrigation schemes (Ruotsi 1999;
McCartney et al. 2007). This has also been accentuated by Shah (2009) who notes
that there are several positive microeconomic benefits of pump irrigation over gravity flow irrigation in India, and most are related to the fact that water can be better
controlled. This study examines the type of water control technologies that are
mostly preferred by smallholder farmers and which ones maximize returns to
investment.
2 Materials and Methods
2.1 Description of the Study Area and Approaches
The study was carried out in two regions of Tanzania mainland, namely Iringa and
Mara (Fig. 1). Iringa region is located between latitudes 6
°
55′ and 10
°
30′ south of
the Equator and between longitudes 33
°
45′ and 36
°
55′ east of Greenwich. The
region’s total surface area is 58,936 km
2
at an altitude varying between 900 m asl.
and 3000 m asl. It is made up of six districts, namely Iringa Rural, Kilolo, Makete,
Mufindi, Njombe, Ludewa and Iringa Urban, with Iringa Rural district being the
largest. The human population was estimated at 941,238 in 2012 (URT 2016a) and
948,882 in 2016, with an intercensal growth rate of 1.1% between 2012 and 2016.
The region experiences one rainy season, mainly from November through May each
year. The off season/dry season farming activities take place in the valley-bottom
wetlands (locally known as vinyungu), utilizing residual moisture in the dry season.
In some areas, the wetlands are drained to allow dry season farming. The main horticultural crops grown in the dry season include tomatoes, beans, okra, spinach and
maize (green), while the main field crop grown in wet season is maize.
Mara region is in the northern part of Tanzania. The region is located between
latitude 1 and 2 degrees south of the Equator and between longitudes 33
°
10′ and
35
°
15′ east of Greenwich. It has an area of 30,150 km
2
of which 7750 is covered by
Lake Victoria water and 7000 km
2
by Serengeti National Park. The area available
for human settlement and agricultural production is 14,799 km
2
. Only about
3000 km
2
of this area is used for crop cultivation. On average, the altitude of the
region varies between 1100 m asl. and 1800 m asl. The five administrative districts
in the region include Musoma Urban, Musoma Rural, Serengeti, Bunda and Tarime.
According to the 2012 national census, the population was estimated at 1,743,830;
in 2016, it was estimated to be 1,924,230 with an annual intercensal growth rate of
about 2.5% between 2012 and 2016. A large part of the region receives rainfall less
than 900 mm per year, with few areas along the Lake Victoria and in the highlands
receiving more than 1500 mm per year. The major crops grown include maize, cassava and sorghum.
J. J. Kashaigili