Comparative Performance Evaluation of Small-Scale Irrigations by Using Internal Process and External Indicators on Chiro and Sewur Irrigation Schemes in North Shewa Zone, Amhara, Ethiopia

This study ventured to evaluate the performance of two small-scale irrigation schemes in North Shewa Zone, Efratana gidim, and Kewet woreda. The schemes were Chiro with 175 ha of irrigable, 125 ha of irrigated land, and Sewur with 191 ha designed, and currently, it expands to 301 ha of irrigable. Primary and secondary data collection methods were used. Nine sample fields were selected from each irrigation scheme under their location to evaluate the irrigation water use efficiency at the field level (from the upper, middle, and lower water users). CROPWAT 8.0 software was used to estimate the crop water. The average application efficiencies were 63.36 and 69.52%, conveyance efficiencies were 82.73 and 77.94%, storage efficiencies were 77.55 and 82.22%, and the overall scheme efficiencies that were 54.07 and 53.25% were internal performance indicators at Chiro and Sewur irrigation scheme, respectively. In addition to this, the comparative performance indicator analysis, outputs per unit irrigated area of the two schemes were 3823.05 and 5568.60 US$/ha on Chiro and Sewur, respectively. The value of the output per unit command area of Chiro 3329.63US$/ha was too lower than the value of Sewur 14,737.85US$/ha. The output per unit irrigation supply for Chiro was 1.02, while in Sewur 1.93 US$/m(3). Output per water consumed was 1.01 in Chiro and 1.32 US$/m(3) for Sewur. The ratios of relative water supply and relative irrigation supplies were 2.33 and 2.66 for Chiro and 1.99 and 1.80 for Sewur irrigation projects, respectively. This indicates that irrigation water is not a constraint and a higher amount of water was diverted at Chiro, but the reverse is true for the Sewur irrigation scheme. The cropping intensity, irrigation ratio, and sustainable irrigated lands were 122, 7, and 51% in Chiro and 168, 100, and 158% in Sewur, respectively. To sustain the schemes, proper water and land management are mandatory.