IMPACT OF SMALL SCALE IRRIGATION ON HOUSEHOLD’S FOOD SECURITY IN FENTALE DISTRICT EAST SHOWA ZONE OF OROMIA NATIONAL REGIONAL STATE, ETHIOPIA

Abstract

Irrigation is one of the instruments to overcome the current negative effect climate change on food production and ensuring household food security. Assessuing the impact of irrigation on household food security helps to provide informatuion to the development planers by examining the extent to which a program has caused desired changes on the participants household well being. This study going to analyze the impact of small-scale irrigation on household food security as well as identifying factors that affect household irrigation water use in the study area. A multi- stage random sampling technique was employed to select sample households. Data was collected from160 household heads and analysis with the help of various descriptive and econometric techniques. Propensity score matching Probability model was used to achieve the objective of the study. A logit model was used to analyze the potential variable affecting household participation in small-scale irrigation. The result indicates that, participation in small-scale irrigation is positively influenced by education status of the household head, distance from local market and by frequency of extension contact. Whereas, negatively influenced by livestock holding of the household, distance from irrigation water source, household dependency ratio and by non-farm income. The intervention in small-scale irrigation result a positive and statically significant mean difference between the two groups in terms of daily calorie intake and annual caloric consumption expenditure per adult equivalent. Average treatment effect on treated (ATT) result shows that both the daily calorie intake and annual caloric consumption expenditure increase approximately by 28 percents or 908.29 and 628.94 ETB respectively because of participation in irrigation. However, there are factors that hinder households to use irrigation water in the study area, which needs attention. Therefore looking collective action should be advisable to improve and sustain the positive impact of irrigation by reducing or solve major constraints that face agro pastoralist regarding on irrigation water use in the area