In Sub-Saharan Africa, empirical evidence has shown that irrigation can have positive effects on agricultural production and farm incomes. However, it’s not yet clear: (i) the effects of irrigation on other aspects of livelihoods such as food security, education, health status, etc.; (ii) how different types of irrigation development processes may affect farmers’ livelihoods; (iii) whether women and youth benefit differently from farmer-led irrigation development (FLID). This paper aims to fill these research gaps and contribute to investments and policy-making through a propensity score matching (PSM) analysis applied to clustered data from two state-led and two farmer-led irrigation examples in Ghana. The results of our study indicate that although FLID enhances farmer incomes, this does not necessarily translate into poverty alleviation and prosperity. In addition, the study reveals that the effects of FLID on young men, young women and adult women are of a different nature.  Investments by and collaborations with state, private or civil society actors must be aligned with farmer groups’ own investments and needs, in order to foster gender equality and engage and empower the youth.

Comparing the impacts of different irrigation systems on the livelihoods of women and youth: Applying propensity score matching to clustered data

ACS Fall 2021

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