SOCIO-HYDROLOGICAL STUDY OF WATER USERS’ PERCEPTIONS ON THE MANAGEMENT OF IRRIGATION SCHEMES AT TOMAS IRRIGATION PROJECT, KANO, NIGERIA
Classical irrigation management entails the coordination of water source and infrastructures to equitably, efficiently and sustainably share water among farmers. Although human unlawful actions are reportedly linked to the poor performance of irrigation schemes, these activities are typically ignored in the analysis of irrigation water management as perceived as non-quantifiable. To overcome this notion, the concept of socio-hydrology was proposed and aimed at exploring, modelling and coupling the interactions and feedbacks between the impact of humans and various water management sectors (including irrigation schemes). The research aim was to get insights into how human actions impacted water systems, and how water systems could, in turn, affect humans in terms of their well-being and decisions. Before embarking on socio-hydrological study, a preliminary study needs to be conducted to historically ascertain the inherent relationships between stakeholders and water systems. Herein, we report water users’ perceptions on the management of Tomas Irrigation Project, Kano, Nigeria and the data was generated using structured questionnaire, site visit and analyse using descriptive statistics and percentage. The study revealed that majority of the farmers have no confidence on water managers’ competence as 46%, 43%, 11% and 0% of the farmers scored managers as poor, fair, good and very good respectively. Conversely, water managers accused irrigators to lack enthusiasm and provided evidence of unlawful water usage. 32% of the farmers are illegally abstracting water using pumps as their farm plots were initially considered non-irrigable. In average, 42% of the users do not participate in the maintenance of the infrastructures. Although the scheme was designed to supply water through gravity, only 29% of the farmers received water using gravity while 39% obtained water using pumps and 32% using both pumps and gravity. About 50% of the farmers do not receive the required amount of water, and 29% complain bitterly about the current water allocation method. This study, therefore, recommended the need for sensitization and awareness campaigns to enlighten water users to understand that their participation in the management, operation and maintenance of Tomas Irrigation Project is not an option but a necessity.
Authors : N.J. Shanono, N.M. Nasidi, M.M. Maina, M.M. Bello, A. Ibrahim, S.I. Umar, I.M.T. Usman and M.D. Zakari
Category : Open Access Volume (Issue) : 5(2) Date Uploaded : 18th July 2020