| Summary: | South African agriculture accounts for 62% of the national water demand. Almost 45% of the water is wasted. Therefore, irrigation systems need to improve their water-use efficiency (WUE). However, the WUE of smallholder irrigation schemes in the country, including Agri-Parks, is not precisely known. A study was performed at four Agri-Parks (Rooiwal, Soshanguve, Tarlton, and Westonaria) in Gauteng province to assess the condition and performance of the irrigation systems, as part of a project that aimed to develop a WUE model for smallholder irrigation systems. The Agri-Parks were equipped with efficient irrigation systems in forms of drip and microjets. The assessments were performed at the system component level in February–March 2021. A Condition Assessment Model (CAM), developed by ARC-NRE/AE, was used for the condition assessment. Enumerators observed the system components visually and assigned conditions, which they uploaded into the model to generate condition indices (CIs). Water conveyance efficiency (<i>CE</i>) and distribution uniformity (<i>DU</i>) were assessed on delivery and infield systems, respectively. The CI values ranged 4–6, implying significant deterioration had occurred. The <i>CE</i> was 61–78%, while the <i>DU</i> was 60–95%. The infield system CI correlated positively with the <i>DU</i>, suggesting the CI could predict the <i>DU</i> in drip systems, which was encouraging for the proposed WUE model. However, further research covering a longer period and more Agri-Parks is recommended.
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