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Abstract:
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"The purpose of this paper is to identify policy recommendations and research priorities which will lead to more effective efforts to devolve the management of irrigation systems from governments to water users associations. This paper focuses on the question, 'What are the essential motivating factors which will invoke collective action among water users to ensure effective and sustainable management of irrigation systems after devolution?' We will see that the most important motivating factors are property rights, broadly defined, which provide security and incentives for farmers to invest in irrigation management. How devolution programs are structured and implemented can also shape farmer perceptions about related property rights, and hence, can have an important impact on collective action among water users.
"In brief, our analysis is structured as follows. How irrigation management devolution programs are structured, or organized, will determine what kinds of property rights are given to water users. What property rights are held by water users will, in turn, determine to what extent farmers are willing to provide collective action for irrigation management. The quality of management will, in turn, affect how well irrigation systems perform and what outcomes they produce, such as financial viability, condition of infrastructure and agricultural productivity."
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