2 HOW TO TURN OVER IRRIGATION SYSTEMS TO FARMERS?
Questions and Decisions in Indonesia
Bryan Bruns and Sudar Dwi Atmanto
The Indonesian government has begun turnover of small irrigation systems to water user associations. Trained agency field staff facilitate local participation in preparation and implementation of turnover. Participatory design and construction of improvements prepare farmers and irrigation systems for turnover. Water users register their associations. The associations receive management authority and ownership rights, for the entire irrigation system including headworks. Questions remain over the appropriate role for government in assisting systems after turnover.
Agency and NGO in Indonesia's Program to Turn Over Small Irrigation Systems to Farmers
Bryan Bruns and Irchamni Soelaiman
The Institute for Social and Economic Research, Education and Information (LP3ES) helped the Indonesian Ministry of Public Works to develop and institutionalize methods for turning over small irrigation systems to water user associations. A series of pilot studies strengthened LP3ES' capability and explored ways to improve participation in irrigation design, construction and management. For turnover, LP3ES trained irrigation staff who worked with farmers, trained trainers, provided consultants to provincial irrigation services and collaborated in drafting regulations and manuals. Conditions for collaboration in institutional innovation included willingness to compromise, mutual trust, funding linkages and educated opportunism.
4 PROMOTING FARMER CONTRIBUTIONS IN IRRIGATION SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT
Bryan Bruns and John Ambler
In the Philippines, Thailand, Bangladesh and Indonesia, farmers have contributed substantial levels of resources to supplement government investments in irrigation. Such contributions lead to a more successful process of irrigation development. Farmer contributions in the Small Scale Irrigation Turnover Project can be encouraged in many ways, including measurement, use of force account (swakelola) and prioritization of government assistance.
Water Users Associations and Episodic Mobilization
Much effort has been invested in forming water users associations, unfortunately often with little result. On their own farmers tend to take a minimalist approach to irrigation organization, relying where possible on informal, episodic mobilization to accomplish specific tasks. WUA development will be more successful if it is focused in the same way. Flexible, responsive intervention and an enabling institutional framework can provide resources - legal, technical and financial - to assist WUA in developing just enough organization to manage irrigation systems well.
6 INTERVENTION IN SMALL SCALE IRRIGATION
Some Principles in Assessment
There is a shortage of information about the performance of intervention in small scale irrigation. It is not safe to assume that worthwhile results will appear simply because money is being spent. Benefits can be assessed quickly and efficiently using a mixture of methods including rapid appraisal, case studies and surveys. Care is needed to make sure information is representative and adequately comprehensive. Results of evaluation can correct mistaken assumptions, provide information about returns to different approaches to intervention, encourage better analysis of the cost effectiveness of investment and contribute to improving the process of intervention.
7 PARTICIPATORY MONITORING OF TURNOVER
Preliminary Concepts
Monitoring can involve water users and implementing officials in a participatory learning process. Indicators and methods should be carefully chosen to support the project goals. Monitoring methods should optimize the flow of information. Opportunities lie in encouraging self-assessment by water users associations and strengthening monitoring methods so that government can provide technical assistance when needed on topics such as maintenance.
8 PROMOTING PARTICIPATION IN IRRIGATION
Reflections on Experience in Southeast Asia
Comparative analysis of efforts to improve local participation in irrigation in Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines offers a basis for examining achievements, problems and opportunities for the future. While many alternatives seem to exist for who can carry out the role of organizer more attention should be directed to the problems of training and supervising organizers. Farmers demonstrably can improve the siting of structures but design innovation is still scarce. Requirements for local contributions are more feasible if built into projects from the beginning. Government assistance for maintenance and repair faces problems of moral hazard. Linking research and action is a fragile process. Further progress in participation requires going beyond reforming centralized agencies to create additional means for enabling greater democracy, diversity and self-reliance.
9 DISTRIBUTED INFORMATION SYSTEMS FOR FARMER MANAGED IRRIGATION
Management information systems should enable managers to make better decisions. If farmers operate and maintain irrigation systems, then inventories and other information systems should serve them, as well as irrigation agency staff and others who provide services for farmer managed irrigation. This paper explores some conceptual principles for developing efficient information systems to support farmer management of irrigation.Information system structures should recognize that knowledge and decisions are widely distributed. Design should work back from decisions to the minimum information and analysis needed to support decisions. A modular architecture coordinated by common standards can allow information systems to evolve efficiently. Walk-throughs, water user association self-assessment and techniques for participatory rapid appraisal can help support local collection and analysis of information as part of information systems designed to support distributed management of FMIS.
Next -> Chapter 1: Introduction
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