MEDIT W 2/97

THE CONCEPT OF PARTICIPATORY

IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT

DAVID GROENFELDT - PETER SUN (*)

INTRODUCTION About 2/3 of the country's

ABSTRACT 3.2 million ha of govern-
round the world, ment managed systems has

A countries that once The inefficiency of the public administration, and the market failure in so far been transferred un-
promoted managing water resource, demand new organizing and managing sys-
more tems to face a performam irrigation policy. Users' involvment in manag- der this program.
government involvement ing water resource, is the most suitable solutio n to this kind of prob- In Turkey, a similar policy
in irrigation management lems; to this purpose, Spain, Usa, Australia and the developing countries of irrigation management
are adopting new policies are an example. Many advantages stem from farmers' involvment,
namely: a direct knowledge of the area specific needs, an easier cost transfer was launched in
that do just the opposite: control, a higher flexibility in different activities and so on. For a good 1993. More than half the
creating incentives for result to be gained, this organizing system needs a strong commitment, systems administered by
both on private and public sides, as for training and informing opera-
farmers to take over the tors. the government in Turkey
management of operations have already been trans-
and maintenance, while RESUME ferred to local user associa-
government agencies fo- tions.
cus on improving the man- Le manque d'ejficacite dans le secteur public et l'echec du marche pour Most of the so-called "de-
agement of water at the ce qUi est de I'administration de la ressource en eau imposent de nou-
velles formes d 'organization et de gestion pour faire face it une politique veloped" countries adopt-
main system level. Is this performante de l'irrigation. La participation des utilisateurs it la gestion ed PIM policies some time
just another management des ressources en eau s'avere la solution la meilleure it ce type de prob- ago, as a matter of fiscal
lemes; l 'Espagne, les Etats Un is, l'Australie et les Pays en voie de
fad? developpement sont un exemple. Les avantages de la partiCipation des necessity. Australia, the
Will the pendulum that is agriculteurs sont nombreux, notamment: la connaissance directe des United States, Japan, and
now swinging towards exigences specifiques du milieu, la limitation des coiits, la souplesse des Spain are just some of the
differentes activites et ainsi de suite. Mais, un tel systeme d 'organization
greater management con- pour obtenir un bon resultat, demande un engagement important, aus- countries where irrigation
trol by farmers soon swing si bien publiC que prive, en ce qui concerne les activites d 'entrafnement management has largely
back the other way, to- et d 'information de tous les operateurs. been transferred from gov-
wards greater state control? ernment agencies to the
There is very strong evi- control of the users them-
dence that the current "fad" of participatory irrigation selves. In the United States, for example, the govern-
management, or PIM, is here to stay. Governments can- ment has promoted the management turnover of irriga-
not do everything, and there are some things that they tion systems which were built and operated by the Bu-
are simply not very good at doing. Farmers who de- reau of Reclamation. Individual farms have become
pend on irrigation water for their livelihoods have the members of large irrigation districts, and the engineers
strongest incentive to manage that water very carefully. who now operate the canals and distribute water to
No public sector agency could every match the disci- each farmer are the employees of the farmers whom
pline th~lt farmers impose on themselves when they they serve. Farmers in developed countries enjoy high
manage their own irrigation systems. One of the most levels of education, and strong support services
impressive examples of PIM has been in Mexico where through both the private market and the public sector
the government adopted a new water policy in 1989 (e.g., agricultural extension services). Does a manage-
which included a resolve to transfer large-scale irriga- ment approach that works well in a developed country
tion districts to user management. The success of Mexi- setting have any relevance to developing countries
co's program on irrigation management transfer has where literacy rates may be low and support services
proved inspiring to several other countries, and has in unreliable? We suggest that participatory irrigation man-
large part served as the core model for EDI's training agement may be even more important in a developing
program on PIM. In Mexico, the government adopted a country context, for the following reasons:
new policy (1989) and enacted a new water law (1992) • Cost: there is a very high financial cost, and a social
to transfer management of large scale irrigation systems cost, involved when government agencies assume irri-
to water user associations. gation management functions which farmers could oth-
erwise handle themselves;
C') EDI-World Bank, Washington D.e. • Incentives: irrigation users have stronger incentives to

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 MEDIT N" 2/ 97

manage water productively than does a government vatization where the private "owner" is not an individ-
bureaucracy; ual but a group of irrigation users who share a common
• Efficiency: when management is decentralized to interest in the management of their irrigation resource .
users, they can respond more quickly to problems or In the cases of irrigation userism with which we are fa-
changes in the system. miliar, this user group is established as a not-for-profit
entity. "Userization" is the process whereby manage-
Definition of PIM ment is transferred from a public sector agency to an as-
sociation of users.
Participatory irrigation management (PIM) refers to the
participation of irrigation users - the farmers - in the A new role for Irrigation Agencies
management of the irrigation system. It does not refer
only to the tertiary level of management, nor does it re- When irrigation management is in the hands of the
fer to merely consulting with farmers. The concept of users, the government continues to play a vital role in
PIM refers to management by irrigation users at all lev- regulating the irrigation sector, and providing manage-
els of the system and in all aspects of management. This ment support services. The division of management re-
is the simplicity of PIM, and also its flexibility. We are sponsibilities between government and the water users
not suggesting that one style of PIM is appropriate for can be visualized as a continuum. In some countries,
every situation, that what works in Turkey will work in the government agency manages the irrigation distribu-
Egypt. But we are suggesting that management by the tion system down to the very smallest canals. In other
irrigation users, rather than by a government agency, is countries, such as Mexico and Turkey, the boundary
often the best solution. Instead of an initial assumption between government and users is generally at the sec-
that irrigation management requires a strong public sec- ondary canal heads. And in some countries, such as the
tor role, the PIM approach starts with the assumption US, France, and Japan, farmers may be responsible for
that the irrigation users themselves are best suited to managing the entire irrigation systems up to, and some-
manage their own water. times including the headworks.

"Userism" How much PIM?

We may distinguish three basic types of irrigation man- Is participation always necessary? Doesn't participation
agement. One type is by the public sector, such as an ir- interfere with efficient management in some circum-
rigation department. Another type is by a private entity, stances? Do we have to allow farmers to come into our
such as a water company selling water from a tubewell . board rooms and advise us on how to do our jobs?
A third type is through a user's organization, such as a Aren't there some natural limits to what irrigation pro-
water user association. Management control by the fessionals should be responsible for and what farmers
users can be called "userism" - a particular form of pri- should become involved in? A good rule of thumb is

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 MEDIT N° 2/ 97

that a participatory dimension is important to all man- put has the functions of quality control (ensuring design
agement functions. Perhaps there are exceptions to this standards are met) , cost savings (through guarding
general rule, but within the field of irrigation manage- against needless spending, and substituting some costs
ment, it is difficult to imagine any. This does not mean with farmers ' own labor) , and construction knowledge.
that a farmer's council has to be consulted before any Knowing how the system is constructed will help in re-
decision is taken. If the water availability is so small that pairs later on. The advantage of farmer inputs into
only 40% of the demand can be met along a given O&M, either as direct managers or as the overseers of
canal, do farmers need to be asked if they want the wa- technical managers, has been discussed.
ter? However, the farmers who receive only 40% of their • Lower costs to government. Cost savings to the gov-
demand do need to know about overall water availabil- ernment irrigation agency is often the driving force be-
ity so they can plan their response, and perhaps suggest hind irrigation policy reforms. Government run systems
better ways of utilizing their reduc ed share. are chronically short of maintenance funds leading to
deteriorating systems and more difficult operation.
What kind of PIM? Management transfer of major levels of the system to
users offers government agencies an escape from this
Participation refers to a continuum of involvement in vicious cycle. While some critics see this as merely
management decisions. One meaning of "PIM" is that passing the costs on to farmers, the picture is not usu-
the irrigation users have total control and responsibility ally so bleak. Evidence from Mexico and Turkey sug-
over the operations and maintenance of part or all of gest that farmers can manage better and more cheaply
the irrigation system. Another meaning of PIM may be than their government predecessors. Thus, both farmers
that a farmer council plays an advisory role, with real and government can benefit from these cost savings;
power remaining in the hands of the irrigation agency. farmers can enjoy better service, and cost savings; the
government incurs less management cost and can then
afford to improve service in the main system.
THE RATIONALE FOR PARTICIPATION
• Social capital. The organizations that farmers establish
for managing their irrigation systems constitute a form
Why participation? Another question might also be of social capital that can have spin-off effects in other
asked: "Why should the government be involved in ir- aspects of social and economic life. The network of
rigation?" Clearly, there are investments that only the contacts among agency staff and the water user organi-
government can make, or where the government has a zation leadership, for example, can bring the farming
definite advantage vis a vis farmers, even very well or- community into closer touch with related services, e.g.,
ganized associations of farmers. Construction of dams credit, educational opportunities, or even political ac-
and barrages, for example, or large canals, would be cess. And the skills that farmers learn through their ex-
extremely difficult for farmers to handle. Governments perience with their water user organization - account-
provide us with available institutional resources -de- ing, budgeting, planning, organizing - constitute a set
partments, agencies, trained staff, ete. - which can be of knowledge that can be used in many other produc-
used to get things done. Why re-invent the wheel and tive endeavors.
ask farmers to organize their own arrangements for
building as dam?
• Farmers have some comparative advantages. They How TO IMPLEMENT PIM
have direct incentives to manage irrigation water in a
productive and sustainable manner; they offer an on- The opportunities for participation are different in each
the-ground presence that even the most dedicated off- phase of the project cycle. Much of the emphasis on
site agency staff cannot equal, and they have an inti- PIM has focused on participation in O&M, and particu-
mate knowledge about their fellow irrigators. The logic larly in the recovery of O&M service fees on behalf of
of the PIM approach is that both governments and the irrigation agency. While this aspect of participation
farmers have separate comparative advantages. At the is of great practical importance, there are many ways
moment, governments are trying to do much more than other aspects of irrigation management where partici-
they can do well. What are the advantages that man- pation can be incorporated. These include: (1) partici-
agement by farmers - by the users - can offer? pation in irrigation project identification, planning, and
• Improved design, construction, and O&M. When farm- design; (2) participation in system layout and construc-
ers are directly involved in the design process, whether tion; and (3) participation in project monitoring and
for new systems or rehabilitation of old ones, they will evaluation. In short, any aspect of irrigation manage-
provide useful design input and they will come away ment can have a participatory dimension. We have dis-
with an understanding of the design logic of the system cussed why participation us important. In this section
they will be managing. During construction, farmer in- we will consider how to achieve it: how to implement

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 MEDIT N" 2/97

participatory irrigation management. There is no recipe two parties and help arrange the legal procedures fOJ
for this; indeed, the process of formulating a strategy establishing water user groups.
that fits the specific features of any given country is the In other parts of India, irrigation engineers are invited
first - and ongoing - step. There are some common to volunteer for new assignments as organizers, and are
issues to consider, however, of which we will discuss given special training for this purpose. The question of
two: (1) creating an enabling environment, and (2) or- how best to help farmers organize themselves into wa-
ganizing methods. ter user groups must be answered according to the spe-
• Creating an enabling environment. cific context of the local area. Are there existing farmer
For participation to work, the government, which is the associations that could help launch a new organization?
incumbent power broker in most national irrigation sec- Are there NGOs that are familiar with agriculture and
tors, must be willing, and preferably eager, to make it (preferably) irrigation? Is there an active extension ser-
work. Participation is really a political issue; it involves vice that could be pulled into the irrigation sector on
giving up power to local entities (e.g. , water user orga- secondment? Is there adequate training capacity to train
nizations), and dealing with those farmer-controlled en- irrigation staff to do organizing work? Is there an inter-
tities in a cooperative, rather than bureaucratic manner. est within the Irrigation Department to take on the or-
These features of participation are normally considered ganizing role, or is this viewed as a distraction?
as a "cost" from the perspective of vested interests in
the government irrigation bureaucracy. But there are al-
so some attractive benefits from this same perspective: THE NEED FOR TRAINING
The financial burden on the government agency is re-
duced, political pressures on technical staff are often re- At both phases of a PIM program - creating an en-
duced, and greater management attention can be given abling environment, and then actively organizing user
to the large infrastructure without the distraction of op- groups - there will be a strong need for training. Both
erating and maintaining the lower ends of the irrigation agency staff and farmers will need to learn new skills
network. The first step towards creating an enabling en- and adopt new attitudes.
vironment is political will. Once the government is will-
The behavioral changes which PIM implies, for both
ing, what next? Some of the factors to consider are:
farmers, who must now become the managers, and for
(a) Is the physical design "user friendly" and if not, can
the agency, which must now become more "client-ori-
it be enhanced to render it more manageable?
ented", are big changes. Are the farmers prepared for
(b) Are the policies in the irrigation sector conducive to
their new roles?
user management? Are there incentives to the agency
Do they understand how their new association will
staff to work with farmers, and are there incentives to
farmers to accept the investments of time and energy work? Do the agency staff understand and accept their
that management entails? new role which gives them less direct power over farm-
(c) Do the irrigation staff have the skills and under- ers? The training needs will be different in each coun-
standing needed for dealing cooperatively with farmers try, of course, but it is probably safe to assert that for
in a management role? Do farmers have the skills for any country adopting PIM, there will be an important
handling their own affairs? new set of training needs. These can be summarized as
• Organizing user groups. follows:
Are specialized social organizers needed, or can exist- for policy makers - Awareness training to become fa-
ing agency staff be trained to do the job? This is one of miliar with the concept of PIM and the supporting poli-
the most frequently asked questions relating to the par- cies it requires;
ticipatory approach, and there is no quick answer. In for mid-level officials - Awareness training, with de-
the Philippines, a special cadre of social organizers was tailed information about best-practices from countrie
recruited and then trained in both organizing as well as that have adopted PIM;
in irrigation management. In Mexico, the emphasis was for agency/ NGO staff - Details on organizing and corn
on extension and training of farmers to understand the munication skills, legal and financial aspects of estab-
implications of management transfer, and to help them lishing WUAs, etc.;
establish water user organizations. for WUA leaders - Organizational and financial man-
Specialized organizers were not used, but existing fame agement.
producer associations (e.g., tomato growers associa- What are the specific details of these training needs,
tion), where were already functioning organizations, and what institutes or organizations can provide this
helped their membership establish a separate water training in each country? These are the issues that EDI
user organization. In some parts of India, NGOs have and MAIB have joined forces to address in the work-
been invited to work with both farmers and irrigation shop on "Capacity Building for Participatory Irrigation
department staff to negotiate agreements between the Management". •

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