Climate change poses a critical threat to global food security, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, where most farmers depend on vulnerable rain-fed agricultural systems. Strengthening irrigation system is therefore essential for building sustainable smallholder agri-food systems. However, designing effective interventions requires understanding which specific irrigation system improvement attributes smallholder farmers value most. There remains limited insight into how specific design attributes, including water governance, irrigation seasons, watering frequency, and crop types, shape smallholder preferences and willingness to pay (WTP). This study employed a Discrete Choice Experiment administered to 601 randomly selected farmers in Ethiopia. Using a mixed logit model, we analyzed preferences for irrigation system improvements, examined preference heterogeneity, and quantified marginal WTP. Findings reveal farmers strongly prefer formal water governance over informal user groups, two dry seasons over one, watering four times monthly over two, and cash crops over staples. Although farmers generally prefer lower costs, they demonstrate substantial WTP for prioritized attributes. The analysis also uncovered significant preference heterogeneity. Preference for formal water governance is strongest among farmers with larger landholdings, whereas education and credit access drive the valuation of extended irrigation seasons. Furthermore, although market access encourages a shift to commercial crops, this preference is significantly stronger among male and younger farmers. These findings suggest that policymakers should enhance scheme sustainability and farmer welfare by establishing formal water governance, providing differentiated services, and facilitating market-oriented commercialization.
Wassihun et al. (Wed,) studied this question.