PRDA: A PARTICIPATORY METHODOLOGY FOR ANALYZING AND IMPROVING IRRIGATION PERFORMANCE: CONCEPTUALIZATION AND EXAMPLE OF APPLICATION IN KENYA

In Sub-Saharan Africa, agriculture is the backbone of the economy and employs approx 70% of the active work force. Rain-fed agriculture is largely dominant and agricultural production is increasingly vulnerable to erratic rainfalls and recurrent droughts. Although irrigation development is still in its infant stage in most countries and its performance remains largely below expectations of policy planners, it is believed it has a strong potential for rural development and economic growth. The APPIA project is implemented in several countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. APPIA is a French acronym for “Improving Irrigation Performance in Africa”. One of the major activities of the project was to develop and test in the field a participatory methodology for analysing and improving the performance of farmer-managed irrigation scheme. This methodology has been named PRDA for “Participatory Rapid Analysis and Action Planning of Irrigated Agricultural Systems”. A manual published by IWMI and the FAO presents the details of the methodology. The present document aims to illustrate the approach of the project in one of the APPIA countries. This paper first describes briefly the situation of smallholder irrigation in Kenya and the numerous questions regarding the performance of such schemes. PRDA is then presented and a case study of its application in one Kenyan scheme is given. In conclusion this paper suggests a set of recommendations for effective use of PRDA based on the lessons learnt in the African countries where it was tested. This paper discusses the issues at stake at different level: government, Water Users Association and individual farmers for successful smallholder irrigation. It highlights the following key principles of the PRDA methodology: • A systemic approach of irrigation management using a conceptual framework including irrigation technology; individual and collective farmers’ practices, institutional and economic issues; • Adapting Participatory Rapid Rural Appraisal tools to the specific context of smallholder irrigation; Establishing multi-disciplinary partnerships between farmers’ organizations, engineers, agronomists, extension agents, economists, decision and policy makers; • Acquiring a shared vision of irrigation management and of a long term sustainability of irrigation systems, including economic, social and technical perspectives; • Promoting information, collective awareness and mutual learning processes amongst irrigation stakeholders. Finally and based on the results obtained during the course of the APPIA project, the present document suggest that PRDA may be one tool to achieve successful participatory irrigation management that can be used by multi-disciplinary / multi purpose organization such as National Irrigation and Drainage Committees.