The dissertation was written by Victor Mbande and was defended on September 23, 2022.
Abstract:
Smallholders in Tanzania and elsewhere in Africa are increasingly
differentiated. This thesis contributes to the empirical and conceptual
understanding of the differentiation processes in irrigation by following the
internal dynamics among smallholders linked to public investments in improving
smallholder initiated small scale irrigation schemes in Kilombero district,
Tanzania. The aim of the thesis is to examine the role of public investments in
irrigation in transforming rural smallholder farmers and how inclusive these
investments are likely to be, specifically, in the current context where
policies in irrigation are widely focused on poverty reduction among the
smallholders. In this thesis I have used data collected from both irrigating
and non-irrigating villages in Kilombero district, Tanzania so as to capture
overall transformations in the area and how irrigation contributes to
agricultural development and differentiation among smallholders. A combination
of methods was used in this thesis, these includes participatory wealth rankings,
interviews and walking interviews, focus group discussions, questionnaire
survey, and remote sensing data. This thesis consists of four papers and an
introductory “kappa”. The study mainly problematizes the general conception
within agriculture and irrigation policies that smallholders are homogenous and
builds on theories of ‘accumulation from above’ and ‘accumulation from below’
to analyse development and differentiation among the smallholders in
irrigation. In following processes of accumulation among the smallholders, the
study links public investments in smallholders’ small-scale irrigation with the
processes of ‘accumulation from below’.
Findings of this thesis indicate that public investment in smallholders’
small-scale irrigation builds on pre-existing social differences among the
smallholders. In all sub-cases in Kilombero, initial development of irrigation
was done by farmers through their own initiatives as a form of a ‘farmer-led’
irrigation development. These developments were mainly traced from the late
1970s to early 1980s, and attracted state investments in lining the canals
later in the 1990s onwards. However, it was until the late 1990s to early 2000s
where there was increased cultivation in the irrigated areas. The increase went
hand in hand with neo-liberalisation of the Tanzanian economy since late 1980s
and privatisation of agriculture in the area from 1998. As smallholders were
responding to market stimuli and increased productivity in both irrigated and
rain-fed cultivation, they became increasingly differentiated. The wealthier
farmers were cultivating mostly extensively in relatively larger pieces of
land, and the less wealthy farmers were combining cultivation in smaller
rain-fed fields and providing labour to other wealthier farmers. Most of the
middle wealthy farmers were concentrated in irrigation, and therefore
investment in irrigation was clearly benefiting the middle wealthier farmers.
The thesis argues that expansion of rice irrigation in Kilombero plays a
crucial role in the current agricultural transformations in Kilombero as rice
is both a food and commercial crop in the area. In conclusion, the thesis
argues that the current investments in smallholders’ small-scale irrigation are
fueling processes of ‘accumulation from below’ which are more inclusive as they
benefit middle smallholders rather than the large wealthier farmers. These
findings points to the importance of focusing on smallholders’ in agriculture
and irrigation development for a more inclusive agricultural transformation.
The thesis is available here.
