Impact of tube well irrigation development in Sri Lanka: A case study

Agricultural Administration 20 (1985) 125-137

Impact of Tube Well Irrigation Development in Sri Lanka: A Case Study

H. M. G. Herath Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension, Faculty of Agriculture,

University of Peradeniya, Old Galaha Road, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka

(Received: 6 November, 1984)

SUMMARY

The impact of tube well irrigation in the Mulankavil youth settlement scheme in Sri Lanka is investigated in this study. The main criterion on which the performance was evaluated was the impact on employment, incomes and crop production. The study showed that the youth settlement farms obtained higher incomes per unit area in comparison with an old colonist scheme. In terms of employment it was apparent that the deep tube wells in the youth scheme have generated a sign$cant demand for labour. The eficiency of use of inputs investigated using various criteria also confirmed the youth scheme to be much better than the colonist scheme. However, there was further potential for improvement of the perjormance of the youth scheme. The main problems appeared to be inadequate water supply, frequent breakdowns and lack of spare parts. Attention to these aspects couldfurther enhance the potential of tube well schemes.

INTRODUCTION

Sri Lanka has two main agricultural zones, namely, the wet zone and the dry zone. The wet zone has reached a considerable level of development but the potential for further expansion is limited. In the dry zone the potential for land development is high, but the exploitation of its agricultural potential is restricted due to constraints such as low and erratic rainfall and lack of perennial sources of water.

125 Agricultural Administration 0309-586X/85/$03.30 0 Elsevier Applied Science Publishers Ltd, England, 1985. Printed in Great Britain

126 H. M. G. Herath

In 1978, the Ministry of Lands and Land Development in Sri Lanka started a few youth settlement schemes in the dry zone based on tube wells.2 The Mulankavil educated youth settlement project, situated in the North-West part of the Jaffna district, is one of the schemes started under this project. This area experiences monsoonal rains during October- December and occasional rains in April-June. The average annual rainfall varies from 600-900mm. The Ministry of Lands of Sri Lanka with the assistance of the Overseas Development Administration of the United Kingdom established an irrigation infrastructure, comprising mainly drilling tube wells, construction of a rising main, forebays, channels and other structures required for irrigation. Basically the plan was to develop forest land with irrigation water facilities from underground water.

The main objectives of this project are to improve employment and income earning opportunities of the educated youths and to increase output of subsidiary food crops. The project will be implemented in two stages. The difference between the two stages is only the time of implementation. Stage I of the project has already started. Stage II is not completed yet. This study deals with the progress of Stage I of the project and the aim is to evaluate the degree to which the objectives of subsidiary food crop production and increased employment and incomes for the settlers have been achieved.

THE ORGANIZATION OF THE SCHEME

The project envisaged developing about 200 ha of forest land using underground water. This area was divided into several 8 ha blocks. Each block is given to 10 youths with an average land allocation of 0.8 ha. One tube well serves one block and hence 10 farmers. Already in Stage I, eight blocks have been developed and water is being provided to the total extent of 0.8 ha of each farmer, albeit on a limited scale.

METHOD OF ANALYSIS AND DATA

The method of analysis used computed indices of land use and profitability. Effects on employment were assessed by examining the demand for labour in the different schemes. The data necessary for the

Impact of tube well irrigation development in Sri Lanka 127

analysis are production, input use, water availability, and prices. These data were collected through a field survey of selected farmers in the settlement schemes using a structured questionnaire. The survey was conducted over a period of six months in 1981-82. In order to study the performance of the youth scheme, two groups of farmers were identified for study as follows:

(a) Youths from the youth settlement scheme having 0.8 ha of land provided with deep tube well irrigation facilities through the government (0.8 ha farms).

(b) Old colonists living outside the youth scheme, having 2 ha of land with irrigation water from hand dug or hand drilled tube wells, all of which are privately owned (2 ha farms).

The study of the old colonists provided a basis for comparison of the youth scheme with other existing schemes. The details of the samples selected are given in Table 1.

TABLE 1 Information on Samples Selected

Type of farm

Number of original settlers

Number of settlers

at present

Size of sample selected

0.8 ha 78 43 34 2ha 100 20 I1

CROPPING PATTERN

The existing cropping systems for both youths and colonists are given in Table 2. The cropping system consists of cash crops such as chillies, onions, potatoes and tobacco; local vegetables such as brinjals and tomatoes; exotic vegetables such as cabbage, cauliflower and beetroots; semi-perennials like bananas and perennials such as pawpaw, lime and coconuts. The cropping patterns between old colonists and the youth settlers indicate that most crops grown are common to both groups. The youths, however, grow small amounts of exotic vegetables such as cabbage, cauliflower, beetroot, etc. These give high returns but are very risky and are not adopted by the old colonists.

128 H. M. G. Herath

TABLE 2 The Crops Grown, Period of Cultivation and Source of Irrigation

Crop Period Source of Irrigation

Chillies Onion I Onion II Brinjals Cabbage and cauliflower Tomato Tobacco Potato Banana Groundnut Pulses Sunhemp Vegetables (luffa,

snakegourd, etc.)

November-August Irrigated April-June Irrigated July-September Irrigated July-February Irrigated December-February Irrigated January-March Irrigated March-June Irrigated December-February Irrigated Continuous Irrigated/Rainfed September-November Rainfed September-November Rainfed September-November Rainfed Continuous Irrigated/Rainfed

TABLE 3 Percentage of Farmers Reporting Different Crops and the Average Farm Size

Crop Youths“

Percentage Acerage of jhrmers jhrm size reporting (ha)

Colonistsb

Percentage Acerage of jiwmers jhrm size reporting (ha)

Chillies Onions Brinjals Cabbage and

cauliflower Tomatoes Tobacco Beetroot Banana

96.87 0.28 100 044 46.87 0.05 30 0.06 62.50 0.06 80 0.18

31.25 21.87 12.50 28.12 62.50

0.04 - - 0.01 40 0.02 0.02 40 0.16 0.08 - 0.02 100 0.34

’ Sample size: 32 b Sample size : 10


A diversified system of cropping adopted by farmers helps to maximize resource use since crops are grown according to the availability of inputs, especially water. The importance of the individual crops in the diversified crop portfolio differs however. Data in Table 3 indicate that chillies occupy the largest proportion of land in both groups and nearly 100 percent of the farmers grew it. Banana was the second important crop for the colonists both in terms of the extent of land allocated and the percentage of farmers growing it. Brinjals came as the third important crop for the colonists and tobacco was the fourth.

Among the youths, beetroot was the second important crop, in terms of land but only 28 percent of the youths grew it. However, on the basis of the percentage of farmers reporting, brinjals was the second important crop where 62.5 percent of the farmers grew it in an average area of 0.06 ha per farmer. Banana was the fourth important crop. Thus, it appears that the crop portfolio is basically dominated by chillies, brinjals, and bananas which are common to both groups and exotic vegetables grown by 30 percent of the youths. Small amounts of land were allocated to onions and tomatoes in both groups.

INTENSITY OF LAND USE

In land-scarce economies more intensive use of land is often advocated in order to maximize its optimal use. There is evidence that smaller farmers in most developing countries cultivate their land more intensively than larger farmers. The intensive use of land depends upon the availability of the necessary inputs such as irrigation water. Thus, cropping intensity is a useful index in evaluating the effects of irrigation. A diversified cropping system is adopted by the farmers both in spatial (several crops in contiguous units) and temporal (single, double or multiple) dimensions. Both these aspects must be incorporated in computing cropping intensity. In computing the intensities in this study the extent of land used for different crops and the number of times that each crop is grown are incorporated. If the total land is used by one crop but two crops are obtained within a year the intensity is 200 percent.

The intensities were computed both for individual farmers as well as for the total sample. The average cropping intensity is 77 percent for the youth scheme and 68 percent for the colonists (Table 4). Although the cropping intensity for the youths is higher than that of the colonists, in

130 H. M. G. Herath

TABLE 4 Average (Annual) Cropping Intensity”

Type of Settler

No. of Lund farmers available reporting (ha)

Land utilized

(ha)

Cropping intensity (percent)

Youths 22 21.7 169 77 Old colonists 10 20.2 13.8 68

a Only 22 farmers had completed a full cropping year and hence intensity was calculated only for these farmers. As Block 5 farmers and some of the resettlers had only six months of cultivation they were omitted from the sample in calculating the intensity. The land available for the 22 farmers is greater than 17.6 ha (at 0.8 ha each) due to renting land from non-residents.

absolute terms the intensities indicate further scope for improvement of cropping intensity. The individual intensities indicate marked variability amongst the farmers.

One of the main reasons for variation and lower cropping intensity is the inadequate water supply. The delivery of water for four hours at four- day intervals is sufficient to irrigate 0.8 ha. Those who showed a higher cropping intensity had additional water from other sources. For example,

TABLE 5 Cost of Irrigation per Hour in Different Blocks”

Block number

Number of Total number cost oj Total cost of jhrmers of’hours fire1 and costb of irrigation reporting irrigated repairs irrigation per hour

VW) (Rs.1 (Rs.)

2 5 255 10.48 I 1904 46.68 3 7 585 12.24 14 577 24.90 5 9 519 IO.10 10075 19.41 6 9 1008 9.93 16515 16.38 7 8 1035 8.84 16672 16.12 8 8 1370 IO.50 21041 15.35

’ Calculated using 6 months data from January to June 1982. b Total cost = fuel + repairs + wages for operator and.watcher. Source: Water Resources Board, Sri Lanka.


two farmers in Block 8 had intensities of 136 and 176 percent. These farmers had the opportunity to illegally tap water from the test bore holes.’ Regularity of water supply also affected cropping intensity. Frequent breakdowns of suction pumps resulted in a low pumping discharge rate and a limited area of cultivation. Block 3 farmers for example, showed lower cropping intensities due to breakdown of the suction pump.

Cropping intensity is also affected by the cost of irrigation. The cost of irrigation to a farmer consists of charges on fuel, lubricants, and wages for pump operator and watcher. The hourly costs of irrigation of different blocks given in Table 5 show that Blocks 2 and 3 had a higher cost than other blocks. The hourly cost of irrigation of these blocks (excluding operator and watcher cost) are Rs. 10.48 and Rs. 12.24 per hour, respectively. But the total hourly cost was Rs. 46.68 and Rs. 24.90, respectively. This is because of the constant fixed cost of the pump operator and watcher. In addition, the cost of repairs was also slightly higher in these blocks due to the bad performance of the pumpsets. The risk involved in the pumping technology in these blocks, and the consequent low participation of members, increased the individual farmer’s irrigation cost which affected cropping intensity.

The capital availability of the farmer may also influence the intensity of land use. In the youth scheme, payment for water should be made in advance. Those farmers who do not have the capital to pay the advances on time are not able to get water for cultivation.

EFFECTS ON INCOME AND EFFICIENCY

In this analysis several indices were used to examine the returns to the different factors in the Mulankavil scheme. Farm business income and farm net profit were used to measure profitability. Expressed returns to variable capital invested, system index and profit index were used to assess its efficiency. In working out these measures, two cost concepts usually used in farm management studies, namely cost A and cost B, were used (Table 6). These indices are defined as

1. Farm business income = Gross income minus cost A 2. Farm net profit = Gross income minus cost B

132 H. M. G. Herath

3. Crop yield index = Measure of crop yields in relation to the average of the area. Total farm expenses per unit area in a

4. Intensity index = particular farm x 100

Total farm expenses per unit area of all farms

Average profit per unit area in a

5. Profit index particular farm x 100 = Average profit per unit area of all farms

The results given in Table 6 indicate that the settlers on the 2 ha allotments earn an average farm business income and net profit of Rs. 21675 and Rs. 13 581 respectively. The youths on the 0.8 ha farms earn an average of Rs. 13 527 as farm business income and a net profit of Rs. 9671 per annum. These figures indicate that the returns to a unit of land are higher on the 0.8 ha farms,

Table 7 gives the ‘Expressed returns to variable cost’ of the different farms. The return to capital is Rs. 1.40 and Rs. 1.55 in the 2 ha and 0.8 ha farms respectively. The expressed returns to other inputs also indicate

TABLE 6 Annual Average Costs of Production of Crops and Measures

of Income on Sample Farms, 1981/82

Item 2ha farms

0.8 ha farms

Cost of production: Cost A” 25645 13804 Cost B* 33139 17660

Gross income (Rs.) 41320 21331 Farm business income (Rs.) 21615 13527 Farm net profit (Rs.) 13581 9761

’ Cost A: Cost of cultivation excluding family labour. It covers items such as cost of hired labour, hired and owned bullock labour, seeds, manures, fertilizers, irrigation, crop protection expenditure, depreciation and hiring of imple- ments and machinery etc. * Cost B: Cost A plus value of labour of the farmer and his family valued at the wage rate for hired labour.


TABLE 7 Returns to Variable Cost in the Youth Scheme and the Old Colonist

Farms

Variable cost 2ha fbrms

0.8 ha farms

Returns to variable cost’ Net return to variable cost Return to unit cost of water Net return to unit cost of water Returns to unit cost of fertilizer Net return to unit cost of fertilizer

1.40 I.55 0.40 0.55 6.30 8.70 2.10 3.20

1 I .60 12.30 3.88 4.55

’ Returns to variable cost, water and fertilizer are computed by dividing the gross returns by the total cost of each of these items. The net return to variable cost, water and fertilizer are computed by dividing net return (net profit) by the total cost of the above items.

these returns to be comparatively higher in the 0.8 ha holdings, specially the returns to unit cost of water and fertilizer.

The efficiency of these two groups of farming systems is measured in terms of efficiency indices, shown in Table 8. These indices show that the 0.8 ha farms had a higher intensity index while the 2 ha farms showed a higher profit index.

IMPACT ON LABOUR USE AND EMPLOYMENT

A study of labour use provided an insight into the employment effects of the project. For this reason labour use was studied in detail. The annual average number of man days of labour used for the 0.8 ha and 2 ha farms are approximately 390 and 620 man days respectively (Table 9).

Hired labour accounted for 51 and 49 percent of total labour in the 0.8 ha and 2 ha farms respectively and family labour constituted the rest. The average labour use per ha is 484 and 307 man days for the 0.8 ha and 2 ha farms respectively, which indicated a higher intensity of labour use in 0.8 ha farms. It is worth noting that the hired women labour was relatively high in both cases. It amounted to 64.5 and 49.9 percent of total hired labour in the 0.8 ha and 2 ha farms respectively. The greater use of women

TABL

E 8

Effic

ienc

y In

dice

s of

the

Diff

eren

t Ty

pes

of F

arm

s

Indi

ces

0.8

ha fa

rms

2 ha

.far

ms

Gro

ss in

com

e G

ross

cost

s Pr

ofit

Syst

em in

dex

Inte

nsity

ind

ex

Prof

it in

dex

Aver

age

for

the

whole

sa

mpl

e

27 3

31

1722

5 10

106

10

0 10

0 10

0

Aver

age

for

Aver

age

for

Aver

age

for

the

25 p

erce

nt

the

25 p

erce

nt

the

whole

m

ost

prof

itable

le

ast

prof

itable

sa

mpl

e fa

rms

farm

s

44 2

42

1675

0 47

320

30

908

11

479

3149

6 13

334

5271

15

824

162

61

100

179

66

100

132

19

100

Aver

age

for

the

25 p

erce

nt

mos

t pr

ofita

ble

farm

s

73 3

01

4941

4 23

882

15

4 15

7 15

0

Aver

age

for

the

25 p

erce

nt

.s

leas

t pr

ofita

ble

is fa

rms

9 5 26

777

3

18 5

05

s=

8271

57

59

52


labour is due to the sex-specific nature of some operations such as picking of chillies, planting, weeding, and harvesting of onions.

The labour utilization pattern in the different blocks also differs markedly. For example, the total labour used in Block 8 is about 3700 man days, while in the other blocks it is less than 2000 man days. It is also observed that the proportion of family labour in Blocks 2 and 3 is higher than hired labour. This is reversed in the other blocks. These differences

TABLE 9 Total and Average Labour Use in 0.8 ha and 2 ha Farms

(man days per ha)

Type of labour 0.8 ha jhrms 2 ha jhrms

Total labour: Family Hired Total

Labour per ha Family Hired Total

173 (5.78) 259 (9.6) 217 (64.5) 361 (49.9) 390 620

215 129.5 269 179.0 484 307.5

’ Figures within parentheses indicate percentage of female labour in the given category.

are due to the type of cropping system adopted. In Blocks 2 and 3, only chillies are grown in part of the land for about nine months and for the rest of the period even this land is left fallow. In the other blocks (except Blocks 2 and 3) in addition to chillies other crops, such as brinjals, cabbage, onions etc., are also grown, The land in these blocks is used more intensively which required a higher level of labour use. There are also crop-wise variations in labour use. Short-term crops, like onions and potatoes, utilize more hired labour than family labour. Hired labour is essential here due to the need to complete operations within a short time.

A comparison of labour generated by a deep and a hand-drilled tube well indicated that the former generates about 2000 man days of labour (Table 10). The hand drilled tube wells used by the old colonists generate only about 620 man days. Employment-wise, the tube well scheme has been beneficial and further increases in land intensity can generate even more demand for labour.

136 H. M. G. Herath

TABLE 10 Use of Labour by Type of Well

Type of’ well Labour (man days)

Family Hired Total

Tube well scheme (youth scheme) 971 1017 I 988 Open dug well (old colonist) 259 361 620

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

The foregoing analysis provides evidence that the 0.8 ha farms established by the government under the youth scheme have out-performed the colonists in terms of cropping intensity, and the level of employment generation. More than 50 percent of the employment generated required hired labour. Also the average business income level is about Rs. 6760 per ha in the youth scheme, which is very high in relation to average income levels in many occupations in Sri Lanka. The gainful employment objective could be considered to have been met, in the youth scheme. These objectives are less well reached in the colonist farms. Profitability is also higher in the youth farms. The profit index, which is higher in the colonist farms, needs careful interpretation. The profit index shows that the 25 percent of the best farms gets a considerable slice of the income. Thus a higher profit index indicates that the dispersion of income is more unequal. In this respect the youth farms, which show a lower profit index, show a lower inequality, a desirable feature.

It should, however, be emphasized that the full potential of the project does not appear to be realized and that there is scope for further improvement of the project in terms of land use intensity, incomes and efficiency. The major constraints identified in this study are the irregular delivery of water and lack of spare parts for the tube well system to effect immediate repairs in case of a breakdown. Irregular delivery has severe disadvantages. Farmers lose confidence in spending cash on crops due to the uncertainty involved and also the irregular supply increases the cost of delivery of water. Lack of spare parts affects timely delivery and frequent breakdowns can again increase costs. Attention must be paid to improving the delivery of water, particularly to some blocks, by effecting timely repairs and providing spare parts readily.


This study, however, is based on data collected from one project and only one year’s data were used. Several potential problems in tube well schemes, such as salinity, were not considered. However, the study suggests that with careful control of the performance of the project some development goals could be achieved.

REFERENCES

1. Nagendran, A. Economics of tube well irrigation in Sri Lanka. M. Phil Thesis, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, 1984.

2. Robertson, C. A. et al. Land water resources in the North West Dry Zone of Sri Lanka. Proposals for investigation and development. London, Overseas Development Administration, Land Resource Development Centre Project Report 59, (1978).

Documents

Impact of tube well irrigation development in Sri Lanka: A case study