Title: Transaction costs of Rainwater Harvesting System management and their effects on access to runoff
Abstract
Rainwater harvesting for crop and livestock production have been practiced for a long time in Western Pare Lowland within the Pangani River basin in Northern Tanzania. Western Pare Lowland is among the dry areas in Tanzania with little and unreliable rainfall. Over time, rainwater harvesting practices have been changing to suit circumstances characterized by an increase in demand for food security and improved livelihoods. However, management of rainwater harvesting systems entails invisible costs – the cost of information transacting; direct participation in system maintenance; and conflict management that might affect the distribution of resources in a heterogeneous community. Management of rainwater harvesting systems has proven crucial in order to ensure equitable access to runoff and related resources. This study identifies and quantifies transaction costs incurred by individual farmers in the appropriation of runoff resources and maintenance of rainwater harvesting systems. The study also focuses on the effects of transaction costs in accessing resources, especially by poor people and other perceivably marginalized social groups in the community. Using Tobit limited independent variable analysis, data from a survey of 379 rainwater harvesting system beneficiaries are used to measure the relative importance of various transaction costs and farmer characteristic variables for access to runoff and related common pool resources. Results indicated that distribution of runoff was skewed to favor powerful groups in the community and marginalized weak ones.