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Irrigation development and its impacts on farm productivity and income distribution in Central Dry Zone Area, Myanmar
Dissertation Abstract:
The study aimed to analyze the impact of irrigation systems on farm productivity and income distribution in the central dry zone area of Myanmar, covering the Wann Twin and Nyaung U townships in the Mandalay Division.
The study found that the area under cultivation, monsoon rice productivity, cropping intensity, and farm income were higher in the irrigated area than in rainfed area. The cultivated area, farm productivity, and farm income were higher in the dam-irrigated area than in the pump-irrigated area. Within the dam irrigation system, productivity, cropping intensity, and farm income were lower in the head area than in the middle and tail areas. Productivity and farm income were higher in the upstream area of the pump irrigation system compared with the middle and downstream areas. Gross margin for monsoon rice was highest in the dam-irrigated area, but the gross margins were not significantly different across head, middle, and tail users of this system. In the pump-irrigated area, gross margin was highest in upstream area.
Irrigation and other factors such as fertilizers, labor, age of the household head, credit, and soil quality had significant effect on productivity of monsoon rice. Between the dam and pump irrigation system, the former contributed more in increasing farm productivity. However, locational differences in the dam irrigation system had no significant effect on productivity. In the pump irrigation system, upstream area performed better in terms of productivity and farm production or output.
Income inequality was higher in the irrigated area than in the rainfed area. The dam-irrigated area had higher Gini ratio than the pump-irrigated area. This means that the farther from the water source, the larger the inequality of income in both irrigation systems. The incidence of poverty was highest in the rainfed area. The Sen poverty indices of rainfed, dam-, and pump-irrigated areas were 0.64, 0.32, and 0.55, respectively. The middle area of the dam irrigation system had lower poverty incidence compared with the head and tail areas. For pump irrigation system, the farther from the water source, the greater the poverty incidence.
The determinants of poverty are absence of irrigation, low gross value product per hectare, small farm size, and large family size. The dam irrigation system performed better than pump irrigation system in reducing the probability of household being poor. However, locational difference had no effect on reducing poverty.
The study recommended the following: (1) improvement in water management, operation, and maintenance of existing irrigation facilities; (2) provision of small irrigation system to rainfed farms and production technology for high-value or diversified crops; (3) provision of awareness training to improve farmers’ managerial skills and for family planning; and (4) improvement in research and development.