Aditi Mukherji (IWMI)

Irrigation reforms in Asia: A review of 108 case studies of IMT¹/PIM²

Presented at 60th IEC Meeting and 5th Asian Regional Conference of the ICID

9th December, 2009

New Delhi

IMT¹: Irrigation Management Transfer, PIM²: Participatory Irrigation Management

All figures and charts used are taken from: Mukherji, Aditi et al. Irrigation Reform in Asia: A Review of 108 cases of irrigation management transfer , Forthcoming

Outline of presentation

Background of IMT/PIM Rationale of review Research questions and objectives Methods Results

Critique of case studies Evaluation of IMT/PIM cases

Conclusions

Background What are IMT & PIM? Originating from the 60s, the reform

peaked in the 90s More than 57 countries have

embarked on some kind of irrigation reform involving IMT/PIM

Common assumptions about IMT/PIM Because farmer managed irrigation systems have endured, farmers are best

placed to manage irrigation.

Rationale of our review

Comprehensive assessments to evaluate the performance of IMT Vermillion (1997); FAO (2007)

Important gaps in knowledge about the impacts of IMT/PIM remain

Many governments and donors support IMT/PIM as an article of faith

Review of 108 cases from all over Asia makes it the most comprehensive review of IMT/PIM ever

Research questions

What do we learn from the documented cases of IMT/PIM How rigorous were the studies?

How do we categorize cases as success or failure?

Conditions which promote successful IMT/PIM

Are those conditions replicable?

6 step research method

• Step 1: Select case studies– Cases post 1994 period– Only public owned irrigation schemes

Source: Figure 11, p.16

6 step research methods

• Step 2: Code the cases– Location and bibliographic coding (7)– Methodological parameters (5)– Technical specifications of the system (4)– Socio-economic and agricultural (7)– IMT/PIM implementation related indicators (9)– Total 32 indicators

• Step 3: Define successIMT/PIM intervention as successful when there is a marked improvement after transfer or transferred systems fare better than non-transferred ones because users receive adequate and reliable supply of water at reasonable and affordable costs over a sufficiently long period of time enabling them to increase their crop production, productivity and incomes.

6 step research methods

• Step 4: Choose indicators of success– Outcome indicators (7)

• ISF* collection; financial viability; maintenance; equity; reliability and adequacy; participation and reduction in disputes

– Impact indicators (2)• Crop related (production, yields, cropping intensity)• Livelihoods related (poverty, wages, employment)

6 step research methods

*ISF- Irrigation Service Fee

6 step research methods

• Step 5: Construction of composite success score (CSS)– On every success indicator, a case is scored

1 if there was a positive change after PIM, or 0 if there was no change or negative change

– Scores standardized on a scale of 0-10– Cases with score less than 5 =failed, more

than 5=success

6 step research methods

• Step 6: Correlating CSS with attributes of the case study as coded (in step 2)– One to one correlation– Logistical regression– To understand if there is any pattern in

success– Our regressions are not good enough to

attribute causality

Distribution and location of cases

Source: Figure 2, p. 6

Source: Figure 3, p. 7

Methodological critique of cases

Very few studies that combine

before after and with-without

1/3rd of them are short term assessments

Source: Figure 13, p. 17

Source: Figure 14, p. 8

Distribution of success/failure as per CSS

Region Success Failure

S Asia 18 20

E Asia 7 2

SE Asia 12 24

C Asia 4 14

Source: Figure 3, P. 7

Finding patterns in success: Success by type

Lift and pump

schemes succeed

marginally more

Source: Figure 18, p.23

Success by size of system

Schemes serving lesser

number of farmers succeed

marginally more

Small schemes succeed

marginally more

Source: Figure 21, p.25

Source: Figure 20, p.24

Success by complexity

Simple schemes succeed

marginally more

Source: Figure 22, p.25

Success by crops grown

Non-paddy systems succeed

significantly more than

paddy systems

Source: Figure 23, p.26

Rehabilitated systems fare better than non-rehabilitated ones

Source: Figure 26, p.28

Cases where full O&M is transferred fare better

Source: Figure 30, p.30

PIM, when implemented by government are more likely to fail

Source: Figure 31, p.31

Not much relationship between per capita GDP and CSS

Source: Figure 33, p.32

Multivariate analysis: Logit regression

coefficient std. error t-ratio slope

Constant -2.83790 1.63066 -1.740

STORAGE 0.118054 1.33783 0.08824 0.0292580

SIZE 0.359527 0.757043 0.4749 0.0888251

CROP 1.69093 0.885667 1.909** 0.388653

NEWREHAB 0.233163 0.965311 0.2415 0.0581703

IMPLMNT 2.01105 0.846505 2.376* 0.457774

LVLTR 0.0510247 0.776525 0.06571 0.0126965

ELECT 0.147760 0.783830 0.1885 0.0366978

Correctly predicts 76.1% of the cases

Source: Table 6, p.34

IMT/PIM Successes in Asia Bayi in China: The “smart

transition” Large schemes (more than 2000 ha) First disrepair and chaos Then: Incentives as input

Introduction of incentives to water resource bureau officials to increase work productivity

Introduction of village irrigation management groups

Introduction of water duty and diversified sideline enterprises

Results: Increased yields and net returns/ha due to access to irrigation water,

but also chemical fertilizers and pesticides and introduction of high-yield varieties

Viable local management of irrigation Successful sideline enterprises (must purchase water)

IMT/PIM Successes in AsiaPanchakanya Irrigation System in

Nepal

Small scheme (600 ha), relatively simple water control structures and free from threat of inundation and flooding

Farmers are educated and innovative and knowledgeable in collective action in irrigation development and management

Local people believe in their organization:the WUA* is accountable to its members and is financially capable to take up new management responsibilities

The WUAs were able to craft their institutions as needed, expanded their networks and provide continuity in water management

*WUA- Water Users Associations

Baldeva Left Bank Co-operative Irrigation Society, India: AKRSP’s

model case

Long-term NGO involvement

Progressive and innovative farmers (Patels)

Long-time personnel (institutional memory)

AKRSP: Aga Khan Rural Support Programme

A conceptual fault in IMT/PIM

• Search for condition under which success happens proved elusive

• Unlike FAO (2007) and others, we do not attribute this to implementation failure

• But to a conceptual failure– PIM as a policy is not participatory– Assumptions are dubious and not much

evidence to support them

Thank you

Related Publication Forthcoming.

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