Small-holder irrigation in Malawi: Survey data

Harrison, Elizabeth (2019). Small-holder irrigation in Malawi: Survey data. [Data Collection]. Colchester, Essex: UK Data Archive. 10.5255/UKDA-SN-852104

This project examines the rules and norms governing access to and control over water by smallholder farmers, considering how these are influenced by externally-induced innovations and the effects of climate change.

The project aims to determine if general principles of water allocation and equity can be identified, and what the scope is for transferring them across contexts. It involves comparative research in Bangladesh, Tanzania and Malawi. Key questions include: (1) What are the ‘local rules’ for governing access to water and what shapes these?; (2) What is the relationship between ‘local’ rules and ‘outside’ influences such as    government, business and NGO initiatives?; (3) How are the politics of water control changing?

The Principal Investigator of the project is Dr Elizabeth Harrison in the Anthropology Department at the University of Sussex. Prof Dominic Kniveton (Geography Department) is Co-Investigator and Dr Canford Chiroro is full time postdoctoral research fellow. Research partners in the three field sites are based at Mzumbe University, Tanzania, Jahangirnagar University, Bangladesh and Bunda College of Agriculture, Malawi.

Data description (abstract)

The field data collection was conducted over a period of nine months commencing June 2013. The researcher was resident within the communities hosting the irrigation schemes over this period. The timing of the fieldwork coincided with the cropping calendars for the winter and summer crops this allowing an observation of a range of farming systems from which data was collected. The data consists of an Excel and SPSS data file of 151 household data; 12 focus group discussion notes; and interview notes from indepth and key informant interviews.

Data creators:

Creator Name	Affiliation	ORCID (as URL)
Harrison Elizabeth	University of Sussex

Contributors:

Name	Affiliation	ORCID (as URL)
Chiroro Canford	Centre for International Development and Training, University of Wolverhampton

Sponsors:

ESRC

Grant reference:

ES/J009415/1

Topic classification:

Natural environment
Social stratification and groupings
Society and culture

Keywords:

agricultural innovation, irrigation, knowledge transfer, water rights, smallholder farming, Malawi, ethnography, climate change, land

Project title:

Innovations to Promote Growth among Small-scale Irrigators in Africa: An Ethnographic and Knowledge-Exchange Approach

Grant holders:

Elizabeth Harrison, Dominic Kniveton, Katy Gardner

Project dates:

From	To
4 February 2013	31 August 2015

Date published:

28 Jun 2016 09:34

Last modified:

07 May 2019 12:41

Coverage and Methodology

Collection period:

Date from:	Date to:
4 February 2013	31 August 2015

Geographical area:

Muona and Mchacha James in TA Mlolo, Nsanje District, Malawi

Country:

Malawi

Data collection method:

An ethnographic approach was used to collect data. Household interviews with 151 households were conducted using a questionnaire. Households were initially stratified according to farming system and socio-economic status, and then randomly selected within those strata. Participants of the household interview were excluded from the focus groups (and vise-versa) to reduce bias and widen the coverage of the research.

12 focus group discussions guided by specific themes similar to those in the household questionnaire, plus others emerging from discussion, were conducted with different categories of community members, farmers and institutions within the field sites, such as women farmers, those in irrigation, management committees, etc.

In addition, the study conducted 40 in-depth interviews with farming households in the study areas to explore further issues raised in focus groups and household interviews, as well as over 65 key informant interviews with representatives of village, district and national institutions representing agriculture, water, development and policy sectors. Additional field notes were generated from observing participants in their fields, attending meetings of water users, and transect walks in the fields and within villages.

Observation unit:

Individual, Organization, Household, Housing unit, Event/Process, Group

Kind of data:

Numeric, Text

Type of data:

Qualitative and mixed methods data

Resource language:

English

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