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Impacts of Management Turnover in Two Irrigation Districts in Colombia
(1996) Vermillion, Douglas L.; Garces-Restrepo, Carlos
"This paper assesses the impacts of the transfer of management for two irrigation districts in Colombia from a government agency to farmer water users associations. Changes in governance and management roles, responsibility and rights are defined and related to incentives of the water users to achieve certain performance objectives. Since the transfer in 1976, the financial viability of the districts has improved primarily through increased water charges, sideline revenues and reductions in staff. Farmer-elected boards revised operational procedures and cropping patterns, which supported an enlargement of service area with the same water. A complete inventory of canals and structures documented that the schemes have been reasonably well maintained by the districts. Gross value of agricultural output has risen well ahead of inflation. The total cost of irrigation has declined relative to both cost of production and gross value of output. The paper also presents survey data on perspectives of farmers, irrigation staff and agency officials."
Developing Small Dams and Social Capital in Yemen: Local Responses to External Assistance
(2000) Vermillion, Douglas L.
"This paper examines six cases of small dam development along small seasonal rivers (wadi) in the rugged mountainous province of Al-Mahweet in north central Yemen. Development of small dams is a current priority of the Government of Yemen and various foreign donors. The government's objectives for small dam development are to recharge groundwater aquifers, create new irrigated area and provide sources of water for domestic uses. "The paper examines how external assistance effects local social responses of whether to invest, as groups, in further dam development, to construct water delivery systems and create rules for management. Most external assistance strategies are designed and managed in ways which discourage development of local 'social capital' for dam development--even in cases where local people desire to develop small dams. Social capital tends to develop in cases where assistance is modest, dependent on matching local investment, or is unavailable. "The cases show that where the share of farmer investment in a dam project is dominant (such as in Al-Mamar and Saheb) the cost per ha and even cost per m3 of water storage created is significantly lower compared with projects dominated by government assistance. The cases suggest that external assistance produces high-cost projects and discourage local investment. The cases with high proportions of external assistance also have poorly developed rules for investment, water rights and O&M. "The author recommends that assistance strategies be reoriented to place highest priority on facilitating development of local institutions and social capital. External technical assistance should be designed to facilitate local initiatives and financial assistance should be provided to stimulate, not supplant, local investment capacity."
Improving Irrigation Management through Better Information: Testing Practical Options in Indonesia
(1995) Murray-Rust, D. H.; Vermillion, Douglas L.
"The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that it is possible to significantly improve the information required for effective demand-based irrigation management at a relatively low cost, using simple techniques that are within the capabilities of the field staff of irrigation agencies."
Impactos del Actual Programa de Transferencia del Manejo de la Irrigación en Colombia
(1999) Vermillion, Douglas L.; Restrepo, Carlos Garcés
"Este informe presenta los resultados de un estudio para evaluar los impactos del actual programa nacional de transferencia del manejo de la irrigacion en Colombia."
Impacts of Irrigation Management Transfer: A Review of the Evidence
(1997) Vermillion, Douglas L.
"Evaluates data from 29 different studies on irrigation management transfer to assess the impacts of transfer on various aspects of irrigation system management. Twelve guiding principles to ensure a more systematic approach to research on the impacts of management transfer are proposed. Identifies key research propositions on the conditions necessary for transfer programs to succeed."
Property Rights and Collective Action in the Devolution of Irrigation System Management
(1999) Vermillion, Douglas L.
"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."
Lessons Learned and to be Learned about Irrigation Management Transfer
(2006) Vermillion, Douglas L.
"This paper includes an assessment of international experience with IMT and an analysis of strategies for mobilizing support, developing the necessary institutional framework and implementing reforms. The objectives of this paper are to: provide a framework for adopting and analyzing IMT; identify key lessons on IMT from international experience; propose strategic priorities for agency reform and provision of support services; and summarize key findings and recommendations on IMT. "The paper has drawn on the experiences of 46 countries as reported in 46 Irrigation Management Transfer Profiles collected by FAO, IWMI and INPIM."
Transferring Irrigation Management Responsibility in Asia: Results of a Workshop
(1996) Giejer, Joost C. M. A.; Svendsen, Mark; Vermillion, Douglas L.
"Transferring the responsibility for managing irrigation systems from governments to farmers' associations or other private sector organizations is being widely advocated as a solution to problems of poor irrigation management and inadequate performance. It is argued that managing organizations in the private sector have stronger incentives for achieving performance standards and can operate more efficiently than government agencies. Transfer programs are currently being develope4 or are underway in most Asian countries; however experiences and progress vary widely. "This report summarizes the results of a joint FAO/IIMI workshop held in Bangkok and Chiang Mai, Thailand in September 1995 on irrigation management transfer (IMT) in Asia. The workshop was a follow-on to the major international conference on irrigation management transfer organized by the International Irrigation Management Institute (IIMI) in Wuhan, China in September 1994 (Johnson et al. 1995), and was designed to provide opportunity for more intensive regional interaction on IMT issues. Objectives were: * to give participants a clear and detailed understanding of the various forms of IMT and the process of introducing IMT; * to enhance understanding among participants about IMT efforts currently underway in Asia, * to provide workshop sponsors with an understanding of the research and support needs of countries practicing IMT in Asia."
Results of Management Turnover in Two Irrigation Districts in Colombia
(1996) Vermillion, Douglas L.; Garces-Restrepo, Carlos
"In 1975, farmers in the Coello and Saldaña irrigation districts in the Tolima Valley, Colombia, petitioned the government for the right to take over management of the districts. They based their argument on the fact that, over the previous 20 years, they had already repaid their agreed 90 percent share of the cost of construction. They were also paying water fees to the government and were dissatisfied with the cost and quality of management that the government was providing. They argued that they could manage the systems more cost-effectively than the government. In 1976, the government agreed to the farmers’ demands, expecting that turnover would save money for the government. This paper assesses the extent to which turnover of irrigation management to farmers in the Coello and Saldaña irrigation districts in Colombia has had an impact on the cost of irrigation to farmers and the government, the sustainability of irrigation, and the quality of water distribution. The sustainability of irrigation is assessed relative to both the financial viability of the districts and the physical condition of irrigation infrastructure 19 years after turnover. The quality of water distribution is assessed relative to efficiency and equity of distribution and to productivity of water. The study found that turnover did achieve the government’s main objective of discontinuing government financing for operations and maintenance. However, since the government retained partial control over the irrigation districts after turnover, staff levels declined slowly and the cost of irrigation to farmers changed little. A detailed inventory of irrigation infrastructure found that the vast majority of structures and canal lengths were in good functional condition. The districts were able to continue to expand the irrigated area modestly and sustain high levels of production after turnover, partly due to a policy to limit rice production and deliver lower volumes of water per hectare. Perhaps the finding that would be of most concern to farmers was that while the cost of irrigation did not increase after turnover, the gross economic value of production per hectare and per unit of water grew dramatically. After turnover, irrigation constituted a relatively small and declining proportion of the total cost and value of agricultural production."
Assessment of Participatory Management of Irrigation Schemes in Sri Lanka: Partial Reforms, Partial Benefits
(1999) Samad, Madar; Vermillion, Douglas L.
"Describes the application of a standard methodology developed by IWMI to assess the impact of irrigation management transfer on the performance of irrigation schemes. Includes detailed analysis of the effects of participatory management on the performance of irrigation schemes in Sri Lanka."

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