Management Processes on Two Small-Holder Sprinkler Layouts: A Case Study from Zimbabwe

Abstract

Management patterns on two sprinkler schemes forsmall-holders are compared. The one overridingdifference is in the layout – soils, crops, climate,altitude, plot size, source of water and hardwarebeing similar or identical. Both schemes are used bysmall-holders to grow vegetables for cash. One layoutallows for individual control over both crop choiceand water application, and requires one group meetingeach month, to set the fee for the payment of theelectricity bill for the pump-set. The other layout,copied from Zimbabwe's large farms, is shown to imposegroup decision making on the choice of crop andvariety, the area to be planted and the planting date,forcing farmers to hold 17 meetings between July 31stand November 23rd. The case study shows the impact ofthe layout of the hardware on the managementprocess.