Gender sensitive irrigation design (part 5): an assessment of the implications of pump breakdown and community participation in masvingo province, Zimbabwe

Abstract

Future development of smallholder irrigation in southern Africa will depend on improved returns to investment in irrigation. Subsidy is likely to decrease. It is therefore important that the users of irrigation have the capacity to make profits and to improve livelihoods by choosing the systems best suited to their situations. Women are key actors in irrigation in the region but their needs have not been considered closely in design, nor have they been included among participants in decision-making. \'An Assessment of the Implications of Pump Breakdown and Community Participation in Masvingo Province, Zimbabwe\', provides a rough costing of pump failure and draws attention to the gender impacts that were evident in the province