<b>An Investigation into the Smallholder Agricultural Entrepreneurs' Irrigation Water Supply and Utilisation in Vhembe District Municipality, Limpopo Province of South Africa</b>

Abstract

The irrigated smallholder agricultural enterprises led by women and youth (ISHAEs-WY) are operating their businesses in transition from traditional to modern farming systems. The greatest increases in water use in ISHAEs-WY have not come from improved irrigation technology or management, but rather from higher crop yields, driven by more efficient water application to preferred field crops. The purpose of the study was to investigate the insights of irrigated smallholder agricultural entrepreneurs led by women and youth (ISHAEr-WY) towards irrigation water supply and utilisation in their smallholder irrigation schemes in Vhembe District. A simple random sampling was used to select respondents, with a total of 294 units in this study. Primary data were collected using a questionnaire. The results show that surface water was generally the most used (55.4%); groundwater (used by 44.2% of respondents) was also an important source of irrigation water. Groundwater provides a better supply quantity than surface water and is always available. Irrigation scheduling was generally poor, based on intuition and rotation practices rather than on science. In conclusion, competition for irrigation water appeared to be an issue, though not yet at a level that would cause major conflicts among the ISHAEr-WY.