This report reviews several decades of global experience in transferring management of government-run irrigation systems to farmer associations or other nongovernmental agencies in an attempt to apply the lessons of success to the African smallholder irrigation context.

This report is a view of irrigation technologies for smallholders in the context of improving rural livelihoods, especially in regard to the prospects for sub-Saharan Africa. The role of traditional technologies is evaluated and modern water distribution technologies, such as sprinkler and trickle irrigation, are reviewed. A broad classification has been made based on climate and the traditional agricultural background of the local people, which links technology options to specific places--to agricultural regions and to countries.

Through rapid assessment of existing literature and review of policy and other official documents, the report synthesizes the existing knowledge and gaps on policies and institutions and identifies key research issues that need in-depth study. The report provides an overview of the range of key livelihoods and production systems in the Blue Nile Basin (BNB) and highlights their relative dependence on, and vulnerability to, water resources and water-related ecosystem services. It also makes an inventory of current water and land related policies and institutions in the BNB, their organizational arrangements, dynamics and linkages and key policy premises. It highlights the major problems in institutional arrangements and policy gaps and makes suggestions for an in-depth Policy and Institutional Studies to be done as part of the Upstream-Downstream Research project.

The management of small scale irrigation is a key for achieving food security and sustainable agricultural development .This study uses water use, control structure and organizational activities as a conceptual frame work .To conduct the study, key informants, focus group discussion and house hold survey were used. The findings indicate that there were some problems in water use, control structure and organizational activities