Functionality of Smallholder Scheme and Evaluation of Decisions: Evidence from Zanyokwe Irrigation Scheme in Eastern Cape, South Africa

This book chapter examined farmers’ functional decision making and participation in Zanyokwe smallholder irrigation scheme situated in Amathole district in Eastern Cape Province. It surveyed households’ willingness to continue participation in Zanyokwe smallholder irrigation scheme. The study's precise aims were to investigate the determinants of functional participation of smallholder irrigators in the scheme; and to examine the relationship between households and farm characteristics. The book chapter adopted and used focus group discussion, structured and semi-structured questionnaires, interviews, observation, and field measurement. Six of the twelve independent variables were shown to be significant in explaining households' decision to engage in the Zanyokwe smallholder irrigation scheme. Farm experience, farm asset, land rights, water sufficiency, marketing information, and produce variation were the major independent variables in the scheme. The low agricultural production caused public apathy for the system, according to the study. The average size of food plots was far too small for households to achieve better agricultural output. The chapter suggests that beneficiaries should be encouraged to receive training in agricultural infrastructure maintenance, and that increasing beneficiaries' land size will have a minimal beneficial effect on their functional involvement in the scheme.