Basic Principles for Sustainable Participatory Irrigation Management

Abstract

IntroductionIn the 1950s and 1960s, there was significant global concern over the capacity of agricultural production systems to produce enough food for rapidly growing populations, especially in developing countries. Episodes of severe food scarcity were frequent, especially in the populous countries of southern Asia. The world community responded to the perceived threat in various ways. A major strategy was the rapid creation of new irrigation schemes. These efforts reached a peak in the mid-1970s, when the world's stock of irrigated land was increasing by about 2.5 percent per annum 2 . Many irrigation facilities were planned, constructed, and managed by the government. Invariably, farmers were not consulted in the design or the management of the irrigation facilities. There is clear evidence to show that the spread of irrigation has been a major contributor to the success of the green revolution in Asia and the remarkable increases in agricultural output. By the early 1980s, however, there was widespread dissatisfaction with the performance of irrigation projects, particularly in the large government-managed canal systems, casting doubts on the efficacy of bureaucratic management in the irrigation sector. The 1980s saw the beginning of a search for a new type of relationship between the managers of the irrigated agriculture sector and farmers. With regard to irrigation, this trend led to efforts to promote a participa- REVIEW AbstractParticipatory irrigation management (PIM) is an approach in which farmers participate in all stages of irrigation development through to operation and maintenance, and is implemented in many developing countries. Irrigation management transfer (IMT), a program of transferring the management of irrigation system from government to local user groups, has also been promoted. However, in most cases these approaches have not been successful, because, for example, of the unfair cost sharing and financial weakness in farmers' organizations. This paper summarizes the current problems of PIM/IMT, proposes basic principles for sustainable PIM, which can be applied to IMT, through a review of the previous studies, and discusses future areas for the sustainable use and management of irrigation systems. The key issues that have contributed to the failure of PIM/IMT are a lack of awareness among farmers of the role and necessity of water users' associations (WUA) and the inherent weakness of WUA. We propose the following principles for functional sustainable irrigation management: (1) The roles of WUA and governance are clear and adequate; (2) Through participation in WUA, farmers are guaranteed that their demand for water is supplied in a timely manner; (3) Farmers receive financial benefits through the use of water, which then allows them to cover the costs of water and associated services; (4) All members are treated equally with respect to water allocation, cost sharing, and decision-making; and (5) Information on the financial status and transactions are disclosed to members of WUA in a...

Community-based participatory irrigation management at local government level in Ghana

“…This finding agrees with many reports including that of Hamada and Samad (2011) that transparency in the account conditions in WUAs was among the reasons for low rates in water fee collection.…”

“…Thus, adhering to the latter should in principle increase the Association's membership, which should reflect on the size of the Association's 'Water Fee' funds and the 'capital build-up' account. This should ultimately result in stable financial conditions for the FBOs (Hamada & Samad, 2011).…”

“…This could be achieved by ensuring that the financial situation is reported to the farmers especially at Bontanga. Indeed, Sato et al (2007) cited in Hamada & Samad (2011) stressed that equity and transparency in water allocation and costs sharing among members were essential for sustainable PIM.…”

Full Issue

“…This finding agrees with many reports including that of Hamada and Samad (2011) that transparency in the account conditions in WUAs was among the reasons for low rates in water fee collection. Bontanga and Golinga Source: Field survey, 2012 In fact, the application of the principles of equity and transparency at both schemes need improvement.…”

Irrigation Governance in Developing Countries: Current Problems and Solutions

“…Farmers were rarely consulted during the phases of irrigation design and maintenance. By the 1980s, the performance of these new irrigation projects was dissatisfactory [4]. State-owned projects showed financial problems related to the low irrigation fees and to the difficulties in collecting them [5].…”