Irrigation, productivity and poverty linkages in irrigation systems in Java, Indonesia

This paper analyzes irrigation-poverty linkages, and determines how and to what extent irrigation contributes to poverty alleviation, and whether there are any spatial patterns in poverty in irrigation systems. It also identifies conditions under which irrigation has greater anti-poverty impacts. The analysis is based on primary data collected during the 2000--2001 agricultural year, from four selected irrigation systems and rainfed areas in Java. The results indicate that irrigation has significant poverty reducing impacts. Poverty varies across irrigation systems and across locations within the systems. In general, crop productivity is relatively higher and poverty is lower in middle parts of the systems compared to head and tail parts. Further, locational differences in poverty are more pronounced in larger systems where locational inequities in water distribution and productivity differences are also high. Crop productivity, the size of landholdings and location of households are important determinants of poverty, in addition to demographic factors such as family size. The smaller the systems with well managed infrastructure, relatively equitable water distribution and diversified cropping patterns supported with market infrastructure, the greater the poverty reducing impacts of irrigation. Overall, the study findings suggest that improving the performance of irrigation systems by enhancing land and water productivity, diversifying cropping patterns and improving water distribution across locations would help reduce poverty in presently low productivity-high poverty parts of the systems.