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"Within water-scarce environments, household characteristics such as family size, income, dependence on markets, and influence of external agents, among others, interact with the biophysical environment to produce socio-hydrological outcomes. Livelihood decisions and outcomes not only are dependent on socio-economic factors such as proximity of employment sources and the number of individuals to tend to farming operations, they are also tied to periodicity of rainfall and the reliability of surface water to maintain livelihood operations. As a result, an understanding of both social and biophysical characteristics is essential when examining coupled outcomes within water-scarce environments.
In the Mount Kenya region, livelihoods are heavily dependent on the availability of water, whether through rainfall or surface water. To manage this essential resource, irrigation projects have been established on the western and north-western slopes of the mountain. The management committees of these irrigation projects determine water availability during seasonal dry periods, enforce penalties for water misuse, make repairs to damaged infrastructure, and collect membership and maintenance fees. The ability of the irrigation projects to reliably deliver water is essential in determining the agricultural performance of the member households.
The 2012 household questionnaire was designed to understand household characteristics, seasonal water availability, irrigation project management, and, most importantly, how these forces combine to create socio-hydrological outcomes. Such outcomes include household food security, agricultural sustainability, and appropriate water use. The 2012 household survey was administered within five formal irrigation projects which used pipe infrastructure and three formal irrigation projects which relied on direct water extraction from rivers rather than pipe infrastructure. A total of 315 households were visited within the eight irrigation projects." |
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