The purpose of this study has been to assess the role of smallholders' irrigation developmentrnand issues of community management with special reference to Doni Kumbi and Bato DegagarnilTigation systems in eastern shoa zone of Oromia Region. Both in'igation systems are locatedrnin the arid and drought-prone areas where crop failure is a reculTent phenomenon due torninsufficiency and elTatic rainfall. The study has been focused on examining the social andrntechnical aspects of ilTigation by which the benefits and constraints of ill'igation has beenrninvestigated. In order to undertake this research household survey, focus group discussion andrnkey infoITnants were interviewed to collect primary data. In addition, relevant literatures andrnessential documents were reviewed that was useful for the study.rnThe finding of this study show that smallholder ill'igations are very important specially inrnthose areas where insufficient and erratic rainfall is a reculTent phenomenon as a result rainrnfed agricultural production is not a dependable enterprise. For instance, of the availablernincome sources, the average household income obtained from irrigation cultivation constitutedrn69.18%,76.15% and 75.92% during the three years period (2001-2003) in Doni Kumbi SSI.rnIn Bato Gegaga SSI, there was no ilTigation in 2001 because of failure in electric powerrnsupply. After the ilTigation system re-operated in 2002 and 2003, the average householdrnincome obtained from ilTigation cultivation was 75.49% and 61.49% as compared to otherrnsources of income respecti vely.rnHowever, as the study revealed, there are many technical, institutional , policy andrnmanagement problems that constrain ilTigation perfOlmances. Despite the exi sting weaknessesrnof IWUAs, lack of support is very crucial. The IWUAs were registered and became legalrnentity but this did not give them any advantage since they were not different from those whorndid not get the legal entity. For instance, they do not get facilities such as credit and marketrninformation because the agricultural policy gives priority to farmers that rely on rain fedrncultivation. Generally, the result of this study shows that the development of ilTigation canalsrnby it self cannot bring about significant change. Together with, it is important to consider thernsocial aspects in order for in'igation systems to be successful.past experiences and also to help policy makers in formulating sound policies for furtherrnilTigation development.rnCurrently, the government of Ethiopia is developing master plans for various types ofrninÂ·igation, including diversion/gravity schemes from major rivers, pumping from rivers, andrnsmall storage reservoirs by giving priority to low cost small-scale irrigation systems. (OIDA,rn2000).rnAs explained by Rosegrant Cai and Cline (2002), sociologists should interface closely withrntechnical specialists in agronomy, livestock/pasture, irrigation, etc. Sociologists and technicalrnspecialists should work together to understand poor household's land and labor allocationrnstrategies, their way of minimizing risk and their constraints for adopting proposedrntechnologies. Together they should weed out solutions, which are technically possible butrnunlikely to be adopted and make judgments about the estimated rate of adoption and thernnumber of households likely to benefit from each component (ibid).rnGenerally, according to Uphoff (1989, in mollinga 2002), irrigation requires the integration ofrnboth dimensions that are social and technical. Without the incorporation of institutional andrnother social relations such as human interest, rational decision-making, power relations,rnconflict, etc. to the technical ilTigation discourse, it limits the comprehensive understanding ofrnirrigation. It can thus be seen that the proper development and management of irrigation is arncomplex and comprehensive undertaking, requiring attention too much more than hydraulicsrnand agronomy.rnAs Woldeab (2003) noted, in inigation development more emphasis is given to thernconstruction of infrastructure while the management aspect of irrigation is often neglected. Forthe community based small scale irri gation systems to be successful, the interaction of bothrnhuman and physical aspects of ilTigation is very important.rnThis study is therefore aims at assessing the contribution of in'igation in households incomernand the condition of ilTigation management by emphasizing on two irrigation systems found inrneast shoa administrative zone of Oromia Region, namely; Doni Kumbi and Bato DegagarnSmall Scale Irrigations (551). It intends help to generate infOlmation and increasernunderstanding to assist in future planning and development of smallholder irrigation ..