Checklist for Focus Group Discussions (FGDs)

1. What are the sources of irrigation water? Is the irrigation water available throughout

the year?
Ella: source of irrigation Hamassa River.
Flow: throughout the year but the volume of water/discharge decreases after
December.
Abaya Bilate: source of water

2. What is your perception and understanding about small scale irrigation?

There was poor perception and understanding (e.g. I am not a forage assumption,
like Durge regime are you going to plough us like oxen) but currently they have
good perception and understanding. Moreover, they all said that we have given
great efficiencies about water management and utilization e.g.

Waste water from

each household member. Now a days those young farmers are highly motivated to
practice this technology and they are very interesting to accept any advise that are
given by NGOs and extension workers.

3. Have you ever got training on irrigation activities from anybody?

Some model farmers were taken minor training that was given by World Vision and
Areka Research center, but it was not address the whole irrigation users in modern
way.

4. Have you got any kind of support regarding to irrigation activities from the
government/ NGOs? (If yes, how much it is effective?)
Those institutions are mostly support us to shift our farming activity from cereal
crops to cash crops like tomato, paper, garlic, cabbage, etc. Even if the frequency
of the training is limited and not covers the whole irrigators but we are very
interesting and apply their idea properly. Still we are very egger such types of short
term training even there is no any perdiam.

5. What are the major challenges in using small scale irrigation in this area (capital,
conflict, market, etc)?
Lack of infrastructure such as road, transport
Lack of market chain, such as they have only Humbo market.
Lack of improved seed variety, they mostly access poor quality seeds per cup.
Lack of agric-chemicals

 Lack of capital and skill manpower to maintain the water supply structures
Conflict due to illegal turn utilization
6. What are the rules and regulations (bylaws) practiced by water users association?
They have water users association and through this association there is a strong rules and

regulation. E.g. six hours for only one household irrigators and penalty he/she abuse before the
given time is not overcome there will be punishments of 100 birr for day time and 200 birr for
night time. There are number of commits to implement their objectives. If a household has small
irrigation farm land he must transfer/give another users and if the land size is large there is time
adjustment by water distributer commits.
7. What are the major constraints for the development and management of
irrigation schemes in this area?
Lack of technical support
Lack of maintenance such as division box
Use of poor construction material e.g. mostly use concrete and natural soil rather not
cement, etc
Poor watershed management
There is high siltation or sediment problem
Poor community mobilization on watershed management
Soil acidity and salinization challenges
There is no any soil test/check up regularly from the concerned bodies
Operate, re-design and plan those unlined canals to lined canals
Poor design of furrow length
8. What organizational set-up of water users associations are you practicing?
9.

(organizational structure)
What is the nature of conflict related to irrigation water and measures taken to solve

conflicts?
Turn abuse especially by those kids and youngsters
Advise by management commits
Penalty either 100birr or 200 birr.
He/she will block water user members.
10. What marketing support is given to producers to tackle marketing bottleneck? Is there
adequate market linkages?
There is no adequate market linkage (even if we are working day and night time we are
not happy by current market system).
We are highly affected by middlemen. There is no any market access for agricultural
inputs like improved seed variety, chemicals, fertilizers, etc.

 The extension agents advise and increase us to work hard so as to produce three times per
year using irrigation water but after harvesting our product they leave us or they do not
facilitate market access and linkage for us.
S/N
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Name of Kebele

Total

No. of
Schemes

Actual Irrigated
Area (in Ha)

No. of
Beneficiaries