Determination of Irrigation Supply Efficiency in Challenging Environment Case Study of Bal’ad District, Middle Shabelle Region in Somalia

Abstract

The paper aims to determine the irrigation water supply efficiency of different irrigation methods used in the challenging environment of Bal’ad district in Somalia. Data was collected from the literature, field visits using field records and scheduled interviews, GPS coordinates and from ancillary information, such as remote sensing images and existing national maps. A comparison was done by use of secondary sources, such as academic journals using information from authorities on irrigation and water loss. Sampling was done by use of Snow balling. The results highlighted response rate for farmers being 80% while that of NGO employees is 75.76%. According to the results, the main ways through which irrigation water is lost is through: evaporation; seepage through the canal bunds; overtopping the bunds; overflow losses and overwatering with the average field application efficiency of 25% and conveyance efficiency of 30%. These generated a scheme irrigation efficiency of 7.5% which is poor for surface irrigation prevalent in the study area. The loss of irrigation water was found to be reduced by the following: daily supervision; proper maintenance; water allocation to farmers; good management; lining of canals; management of irrigation methods; ongoing evaluation; good land preparation; and training farmers.