The main objective of the study was to access the impact of Mede Telilasmall-scale irrigation scheme on household poverty alleviation in Gorogutu District of Eastern Hararghe, Oromia National Regional State, Ethiopia. To achieve the objective of the study, data were collected from 200 households, 100 from participants and 100 from non-participants in the irrigation scheme, in the study district. Descriptive statistics, the Foster, Greer and Thobeck (FGT) poverty indices and Propensity Score Matching (PSM) were used to analyze the data. The study revealed that the small-scale irrigation scheme significantly reduced the incidence, the depth and the severity of households’ poverty in the study district. The empirical model also revealed that access to the irrigation scheme significantly influenced the households’ consumption expenditure level. The Average Treatment effect of Treated (ATT) indicated that, the per capita consumption expenditure of irrigation users is 25% more than non-users of irrigation. These results indicate that the small-scale irrigation scheme improved the livelihood of households in the study district.
Keywords: Consumption Expenditure, Ethiopia, Gorogutu, Household Poverty, Impact, Irrigation Scheme
