SOCIAL ORGANIZATION

FOR
IRRIGATED AGRICULTURE

PILOT PROJECT FOR FARMER-MANAGED IRRIGATED AGRICULTURE

UNDER THE LEFT BANK OUTFALL DRAIN STAGE I PROJECT, PAKISTAN

Supported
by
World Bank (IDA)
Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC)
and
Government of Sindh (GoS)

INCEPTION REPORT
AND
IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

Presented to
Government of the Sindh
Department of Agriculture and Wildlife
Directorate of Agriculture Engineering and Water Management

October 1995

INTERNATIONAL IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE,

LAHORE, PAKISTAN
 Table of Contents

Tables ii

Figures and Annexes iii

Acknowledgements iv

INTRODUCTION 1

PART ONE: INCEPTION REPORT 2

BACKGROUND 2
PROJECT CONCEPTS 3
PROJECT OBJECTIVES a
PROJECT METHODOLOGY 9
PROJECT SITES 19
LINKAGE WITH OTHER IlMl PROJECTS 19
PROJECT ORGANIZATION 24
INCEPTION ACTIVITIES 29

PART TWO: IMPLEMENTATION PLAN 30

INTRODUCTION 30
SUPPORT MOBILIZATION PHASE 32
INITIAL ORGANIZATION PHASE 40
ORGANIZATION CONSOLIDATION PHASE 44
ORGANIZATIONAL ACTION PHASE 46
INFORMATION DISSEMINATION 47
MONITORING AND EVALUATION 48
IMPLEMENTATION ENVIRONMENT 49

REFERENCES 51

ANNEXES 52
 Tables

Table 1: Progressive Transfer of Functions to WUOs 17

Table 2: Details of Key Project Personnel 25

Table 3: Details of Locally Recruited Project Staff 27

Table 4: Work Program for Key Personnel 28

Table 5: List of Project Reports 29

Table 6 : Activity Schedule 31

Table 7: Orientation Program for New Staff 34

Table 8: Training Program by AKRSP, Gilgit 36

Table 9: Training Program by WRRI, Islamabad 37

ii
 Figures

Figure 1: Proposed Process for Organizing Water Users 14

Figure 2: Potential for Improved Joint-Management 20

Figure 3: Current llMl Project Sites in Pakistan 22

Figure 4: Pilot Project Sites in LBOD Area 23

Figure 5: Activity Chart 50

Annexes

Annex-I : Research Inputs for an Action Program on Participatory

Irrigation Management in Pakistan 52

Annex-2: Summary of a Consultancy Report on Social Organization

in Irrigation Management 79

Annex-3: Extract of a Seminar Paper, "Government's Participation

in People's Programs" 81

Annex-4: Abstract of a Seminar Paper, "Institutional Conditions

for Effective Water Delivery and Irrigation Scheduling
in Large Gravity Systems" 83

Annex-5: Seminar Paper, "IIMl's Initiatives on Participatory

Irrigation Management in Pakistan" 84

iii
 Acknowledgements

This report includes ideas, statements, quotes, concepts and facts extracted from a
number of sources. In most instances, the sources have been specifically mentioned,
but where direct references could not be made, the material was taken from information
on concepts and methodologies generated by IIMl’s preliminary social organization
activities in the Punjab and the Sindh. In this regard, the support received from the
Social Organization Field Team in Haroonabad, Punjab, and all the project staff located
in the Sindh, is gratefully appreciated. Special thanks are due to the staff of the
Agricultural Engineering and Water Management Directorate of the Government of Sindh,
the client department for this consultancy assignment.

The report benefited considerably from the valuable suggestions from Professor Gaylord
Skogerboe, Director of IIMl’s Pakistan National Program. His guidance was very useful
in developing the process for organizing water users, that is intended to be adopted in
the pilot projects.

The secretarial assistance received from Mr. Muhammad Akram Khan and Mr. Kenneth
R. Shams for preparing the graphics and formatting this report is specially appreciated.

D. J. Bandaragoda
Project Leader

iv
 PILOT PROJECT FOR FARMER-MANAGED IRRIGATED AGRICULTURE
UNDER THE LEFT BANK OUTFALL DRAIN STAGE I PROJECT, PAKISTAN

INCEPTION REPORT AhD IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

INTRODUCTION

The Terms of Reference of the project specifies that there should be an Inception
Report, and an Implementation Plan at the end of the Project’s Phase I. This document
serves both these purposes. The document is based on a literature review, the
experience of past and on-going social organization attempts in Pakistan, and the
inception activities already completed by the project since July 1995.

Part One of the document presents the Inception Report giving some details of
background, concepts, objectives and methodologies underlying the planned pilot
projects. Part One also refers to the project’s locations and its linkages with other IIMI
activities in Pakistan. These details are followed by an outline of overall project
organization, including the arrangements made for project implementation.

In Part Two, the document gives the scope of activities for achieving the intended
objectives, and an outline of the Implementation Plan as can be developed at this stage
of the action research program.

The project documents refer to four phases of activities to be completed during a period
of thirty months, Phase 1 from July to September 1995, Phase 2 from October 1995 to
September 1996, Phase 3 from October 1996 to December 1997, with the twelve-month
Phase 4 overlapping with Phase 3. The Phase 4 activities are basically for synthesizing
the findings of activities of earlier phases and documenting the lessons of field
experiences from the pilot projects that can be extended to other distributaries or minors
within the LBOD area.

An attempt was made in the Implementation Plan to include the main requirements of
all these four phases mentioned in the original project documents into a step-wise
process, which was developed for the organization of water users in Pakistan. This step-
wise process also proceeds through four phases progressively, from Phase I to Phase
IV, as has been described in Part Two of this document. The project content included
in the step-wise process is finally shown in the form of an Activity Chart at the end of
Part Two.

The two-part document is supplemented by five Annexes. These Annexes serve to

provide a summary of the literature review undertaken and the conceptual background
to the pilot projects.

1
 PART ONE: INCEPTION REPORT

BACKGROUND

Pakistan has a long history of irrigation. Thd country also has considerable experience
in planning and implementing large irrigation development projects. The successful
completion of these projects has made irrigated agriculture the country’s engine of
economic growth. However, both donor agencies, as well as government policy
authorities in Pakistan, have recently started to feel some concern on the inadequate
return on these investments. Both of these groups are actively considering some major
institutional changes in the irrigated agriculture sector as an initial step towards achieving
improvements in the sector’s performance. Serious attention is being given to improving
the productivity of irrigated agriculture by encouraging water users’ involvement in jointly
managing the irrigation systems.

These policy initiatives are also related to the country’s two decades of experience in
establishing water users associations (WUAs) at the watercourse level. However, in
Pakistan, as elsewhere among developing countries, not much research has been done
on the actual impact of these WUAs on the efficiency, as well as on the equity, in water
resources management. More importantly, research on the processes that were used
in watercourse level social organization attempts has also been minimal. Thus, very little
organized information exists, which could be used for planning future interventions for
a larger scope in participatory management.

With this policy and research background, the Sindh government authorities decided to
try some interventions in social organization at the distributary/minor level in a pilot
project mode. For this purpose, the Left Bank Outfall Drain (LBOD) Project Management
in consultation with the World Bank and the Swiss Development Cooperation entered
into a consultancy agreement with the International Irrigation Management Institute (IIMI)
to implement three pilot projects in which Water Users Organizations (WUOs) would be
established to operate and maintain irrigation and drainage facilities in distributary/minor
canal command areas.

This initiative is also motivated by the fact that completion of the LBOD Project facilities
would drastically increase the budget requirements for proper maintenance of the canal
systems in Sindh, and that it is likely that the involvement of farmers in a participatory
management approach could reduce the burden of these budgetary constraints. The
Department of Agriculture and Wildlife, therefore, prepared a Supplementary PC-I which
was approved by the GoS in September 1994, which includes the implementation
strategy for the pilot projects. Based on this PC-I document, IlMl prepared a project
proposal, giving the technical details and the methodology for project activities, and a
financial proposal for a consultancy arrangement (IIMI, 1995). IIMl’s consultancy
agreement with the Agricultural Engineering and Water Management Directorate of the
Government of Sindh was signed on 26 July 1995, and became retroactive to 1 July
1995.

2
 PROJECT CONCEPTS

As with any other action research effort, these social organization pilot projects are
based on a number of theoretical assumptions and principles, some of which are
mentioned below’:

Benefits of Organized Behavior: The assumption is that collective action

is more effective than individual action in sorting out social issues related
to equitable resource allocation and sustainable resource management.
This is particularly true for water distribution in irrigated agriculture, as
irrigation systems are inherently socio-technical systems. Conceptually,
the underlying principle is that collective action is not only able to liberate
individuals’ actions, but also to restrain them. These twin actions are
necessary to improve equitable water distribution. For instance, the
strength of a Farmer Organization would depend on its ability to effect
sanctions on members who commit irrigation offences, and prevent
widespread anti-social conduct in water distribution.

Benefits of Water Users Organizations: In many instances in the past,

WUOs have been promoted to take over part of the responsibility for
managing irrigation and drainage systems with a view to reducing the
government’s share of O&M costs, improving equity in water distribution,
managing groundwater levels, and improving system performance. For the
present pilot projects, all these objectives remain, but in addition, they are
taken as tentative propositions which will further be tested through the
results of pilot efforts.

(3) Joint Responsibility: Organizing farmers, who are part of the local
community, is essentially a local responsibility, which should not be
attempted alone by an international institute like IIMI. Organizing people
for popular participation has a political implication, which can best be
handled by a local group of people who have access to appropriate
authority to engage in such work. IlMl should play a catalyst’s role, and
mobilize the interests and support of the operating agencies for this work.
Suitable community-based opinion leaders can play a significant role in
sharing responsibility for organizing farmers.

’ Further details and references related to some of these assumptions and principles can be seen
in Annex-1.

3
(4) Motivation for Sustainable Effort: Improving existing physical conditions
or providing new infrastructure cannot be considered a sufficient condition
for effective social organization; nor is the device of cost-sharing for
rehabilitation or capital works. Similarly, the delivery of an extension
package is insufficient and also tends to make the farmers dependent on
those who "deliver". All these interventions have a temporary influence on
social organization. A continuous engagement in some productive activity
by the water users as a group is more likely to provide a greater incentive
to keep the organizations alive. Therefore, the work by the field teams is
based on strategies for promoting collective action on effectively managing
maintenance and operation of the irrigation distributary sub-system. An
awareness on water-related technical and socio-economic issues in terms
of quantity, quality, as well as economic and environmental impact of water
used for irrigation, along with an opportunity to have some control over
these issues would motivate the farmers on a long-term basis.

(5) Socio-Technical Linkage: The social sub-system in an irrigation system,

does not operate in isolation. It always works in association with the
physical or technical sub-system (obviously, the converse is true, too). For
this reason, social organization cannot be effectively accomplished
independently, or without reference to the technical aspects of irrigation
management. The water users in an irrigation system pay considerable
attention to a discussion on problems and solutions related to their
technical sub-system. Normally, rural people are not very much impressed
by the outsiders who hasten to discuss their social issues. Therefore, as
a strategy, the field teams should be well equipped with information on the
technical sub-system, which the water users will be willing to discuss
initially. This will also enable an initial rapport to be established between
the field teams and the farmers.

(6) Mutual Trust: Literature on irrigation management is rampant with

references to lack of mutual trust between farmers and irrigation officials
(Wade, 1987; Hart, 1978). The mistrust on the part of farmers extends to
any group that tries to interact with them in the field. To clear this initial
cultural barrier, the field teams would benefit by proceeding slowly, but
steadily, in the process of trust-building, allowing sufficient time for farmers
to air their views, understand the need for change, and identify the
genuineness of outsiders interacting with them.

(7) Sense of Involvement: The decisions related to social organization,

including those regarding the form and structure of distributary or minor
level organizations and their legitimate functions, should eventually be
taken by the water users themselves. All other partners in this effort,
including IIMI, should' act as facilitators in the water users' decision-making
process to assist them in taking progressive and implementable decisions.

4
 (8) Upstream Abundance and Downstream Shortage: Like in
the case of famines which are not necessarily caused by a shortage of
food alone, but also by m'al-distribution2,the problems of the end-users of
any service or commodity, such as water, are attributable to defects in the
distribution system. Acquisition of a large quantity of water by building
dams does not necessarily mean that the user will have access to his
water requirement (or his entitlement), so easily, or equitably as expected.
Therefore, the equitable distribution of water is as important as the
acquisition of water in overall irrigation performance. In an attitudinal re-
orientation among the persons involved in managing water delivery
services, the human interactions will be tested for their real value in
bringing about increased productivity through more equitable water
distribution.

(9) Improved Irrigation Practices: Even if the equitable water distribution is

effected, it does not ensure that the users will consume the water properly.
Collective action by an organized group of farmers is expected to facilitate
the needed transfer of technology for improved irrigated agriculture by
improved management of the combined irrigation and drainage facilities.
The field teams in the case of these pilot projects (and a similar
institutional arrangement on a more permanent basis for subsequent
replication of pilot project results, if they happen to be significantly
positive), would serve as a group providing irrigation and agriculture
advisory services to the WUOs. The sustainability of WUOs during the
initial period would depend on the facilitating and motivating functions of
this irrigated agriculture advisory services group. Conceptually, this
advisory role of the government agencies is seen as a continuing need
even after the establishment of WUOs.

The above items of assumptions and principles do not form an exhaustive list, but are
mentioned as guidelines for a conceptual foundation for our work and the methodologies
to be followed. However, all the partners in this effort will benefit by having a common
understanding on the conceptual basis for pilot project activities.

2
Work done by the renowned economist, Dr. A. K. Sen, on famines in Ethiopia and Bengal,
explains that famines are not necessarily caused by a shortage of food alone. Problems of access
to the available food resources through a lack purchasing power and uneven distribution make
many poor people vulnerable. Sen's "entitlement" theory (Sen, 1981) could easily find relevance
in the field of irrigation water management.

5
Some of the above mentioned project concepts were derived from a review of literature
on Pakistan and international experience in water users organizations. The preliminary
review work accomplished to date by the project's staff has generated the following
review papers:

"IIMl's Proposed Research Activities on Water Users Associations in Pakistan",

Concept Notes Prepared by D. J. Bandaragoda (3 April 1994);

"Research Inputs for an Action Program on Participatory Irrigation Management

in Pakistan, Paper prepared by D. J. Bandaragoda and Gaylord V. Skogerboe for
presentation at the EDVMinistry of Water and Power Seminar on Participatory
Irrigation Management held in Islamabad during 2-6 October 1994, [this paper is
reproduced in Annex-I];

"Consultancy Inputs for the Preparation of Project Inception Report on Social

Organization in Irrigation Management" by Piyasena Ganewatte and Prachanda
Pradhan (January 1995), [summary of this report is given in Annex-21;

"Government's Participation in People's Programs: an Intermediary Role for NGOs

in Developing Viable Institutions for Participatory Irrigation Management", Paper
prepared by D. J. Bandaragoda, which was presented at the Third Annual South
Asian NGO Summit 21-23 February 1995, Kathmandu, Nepal, [extract of this
paper is in Annex-31;

"Institutional Conditions for Effective Water Delivery and Irrigation Scheduling in

Large Gravity Systems: Evidence from Pakistan", Paper prepared by D. J.
Bandaragoda for presentation at the FAO/ICID Workhop on Irrigation Scheduling:
Theory and Practice, held in Rome, Italy, during 12-13 September 1995. (Abstract
of the Paper is given in Annex-4); and

"IIMl's Initiatives on Participatory Irrigation Management in Pakistan", A Briefing

Note prepared by D. J. Bandaragoda and Gaylord V. Skogerboe for the EDVMWP
Workshop at Burban, Pakistan, during 1-4 October 1995 [extract is in Annex-51.

Concept Notes of 3 April 1994 [Item (1) above) traced the main features of
Pakistan's irrigation and the rationale for establishing strong water users organizations
to share its management responsibility. The present research efforts were seen as an
essential pre-requisite for developing a general awareness regarding the needed policy
initiatives. They were also seen as part of a strategy to create an interest among policy
and implementation groups for undertaking more meaningful measures towards lasting
institutional development among water users. Contextually appropriate action research
efforts would be included in the initial "learning" phase, on the basis that external
assistance can be effective only in playing a facilitating or a catalytic role.

6
The Conceptual Notes surfaced the following main research issues:

1. Inequity: It is conventional wisdom that rural people genuinely believe in

cooperation. For failing to transform this belief into action, one of the possible
reasons can be the inequity that exists among the rural people, be it an inequity
in terms of their literacy, income and wealth, social status or political power. This
reason seems to suggest why a greater degree of cooperation can be seen in
more egalitarian societies. It can be hypothesized, therefore, that the skewed
nature of the socio-economic structure of Pakistan's irrigated agriculture sector
is a major impediment to the growth of cooperative behavior among the water
users and the emergence of effective water users associations. This is an issue
that needs to be explored more thoroughly with in-depth studies including both
quantitative and qualitative assessments of the existing inequity, relating them
with both the past experiences of social organization, as well as the potential for
future interventions.

2. Incentives for Collective Action: Very much related to the inequity issue is the
assumption that it is not logical to expect any individual to join collective action
unless the individual sees a net personal benefit arising from it. Often, little value
is attached to this seemingly simple, but practically important, theoretical concept.
What is the potential, in this particular context, of generating a long term net
benefit to the whole group, as well as to each individual who joins the group for
collective action ?

3. Lessons from the Past: Pakistan has more than two decades of experience in
establishing water users associations. Several evaluations on this effort have not
been positive. What are the real reasons for these rather disappointing results
of past interventions ? What are the water users' perceptions on this ? Among
these reasons, or further to them, could there be any cultural, socio-economic or
environmental factors that tend to foster or inhibit the development of
organizations and institutions among water users ?

4. Farmer-Bureaucrac~Interactions: The actual relationship between the official and

the water user under the present conditions in Pakistan's canal systems has not
been clearly explored. The obvious reason has been the difficulty of extracting
accurate information on some of the sensitive aspects of this issue. Yet, it is
worth trying, in any given opportunity, to find out more about this relationship.
How do the "free riders" interact with the irrigation official relating to whatever they
do against the law ? What is the nature and scope of these formal and informal
interactions ?

7
5. Governance: Of the possible reasons for the success or failure of interventions
promoting WUAs, governance is an important factor that deserves special
attention. Governance refers to the allocation of power and authority in the
society. The system in Pakistan can be described as a centralized form of
governance for irrigation management, and therefore, can have a great influence
on the establishment of WUAs as sustainable organizations. This proposition
needs to be tested to consider possible policy changes in the present system.

PROJECT OBJECTIVES

The major objectives of the pilot projects are:

(1) to test the viability of farmers’ managing parts of the irrigation systems,
more specifically, at the level of distributary/minor canals, so that more
efficient and equitable allocation of water can be achieved; and

(2) to make recommendations related to future extensions on the basis of

results of the pilot projects.

In order to link these pilot projects with the overall LBOD Project objectives, the three
pilot distributary/minor canals were to be selected from the LBOD Project area, one in
each of the three districts: Nawabshah, Sanghar and Mirpurkhas. The cost recovery for
drainage and irrigation improvements in the Left Bank Outfall Drain (LBOD) area has
been a matter of great concern for donors as well as the government. One of the major
reasons affecting cost recovery is an absence of mechanisms through which the farmers
could be directly involved in the improvements offered under the project. This requires
a re-orientation of Water Users Associations (WUAs) at the watercourse level and the
further establishment of federated WUOs so that farmers get involved in better
appraising their requirements and to decide how they could economically and effectively
use the improvements offered under the project.

The specific objectives of these pilot projects would be to help organize farmers into
Water Users Organizations (WUOs) in the three selected distributarylminor canal
command areas, and ensure operation and maintenance of the distributary/minor canals
by the WUOs without much intervention from the governmental agencies, but with their
institutional support particularly in the early development stages of the pilot projects.

a
WUOs would eventually be accountable for water received at the head of
distributary/minor canals, responsible for distribution of water among member
watercourses under their own rules, and management of groundwater levels. Farmers
would pay for the water and for operation and maintenance (O&M) of the irrigation and
drainage facilities in their distributary/minor canal command areas. They will undertake
the collection of wateddrainage charges, improve water management practices, and
other activities related to water. Also, an effort would be made to improve the
maintenance practices for irrigation and drainage facilities.

This method of active involvement would help farmers in achieving benefits and project
sustainability. Ultimately, the legislative requirements for effectively organizing and
strengthening Water Users Organizations and Federations would be identified.

PROJECT METHODOLOGY

The Focus of Interventions3

As methodological issues, both the project's interpretation of the target group for
interventions, as well as the main geographical location at which organizational efforts
are focused, deserve some clarification. The project interventions are targeted at "water
users" rather than "farmers", and the organizational unit is a "Water Users Organization"
rather than a "Farmer Organization". As the project objectives are mainly based on
operation and maintenance management associated with irrigation distributary systems,
the focus of social organization activities is on the majority of persons (male and female)
who are engaged in allocation, distribution and use of irrigation water in the secondary
and tertiary levels of the canal irrigation system. An advantage of this methodology is
that the organization is less likely to be dominated by the absentee landlords.

Initially, the main focus of attention will be at the secondary (distributary or minor), and
the need to consider the watercourse level will be mainly for the purpose of ensuring a
fair representation of all water users in the distributary or minor level WUO. Once the
WUO becomes a stable entity and is capable of managing O&M of the distributary
system, the WUO itself will be encouraged to strengthen the WUAs at the watercourse
level so that they become strong links of the WUO for resource mobilization, water
allocation and conflict resolution at the watercourse level. The nomenclature of WUO
and WUA is only to be able to distinguish between the two levels of organizations.

3
The term "intervention" is given a very broad definition to mean mediation, negotiation, or
intercession, rather than an aggressive or assertive action.

9
Field Approach

Basically, the project's intended approach involves the placing of field teams in selected
communities to interact and slowly catalyze the farmers to identify their own problems,
solutions, leaders, organization, financing, budgeting, and management. For each
distributary or minor command area, a field team will be deployed, consisting of one
Supervisory Social Organizer, two Social Organizers and two Field Research Assistants.
The Field Research Assistants (new Engineering graduates) will provide the necessary
technical support to the Social Organizers (MAS in Sociology).

Within this structure, however, the field teams' functions will have an emphasis on the
social organization aspects. The decision to have a senior social organizer as the team
leader reflects this designed project emphasis. Each of these field teams will recruit
from among the opinion leaders in the community, a number of "contact farmers" who
will assist the field teams with social organization activities.

Participatory Action Research4

A field approach as outlined above requires techniques of interactions, which will focus
on catalyzing the water users to effectively participate in all field activities of the project.
For all partners in the project, it is a participatow learning process. With a broad
conceptual framework and a methodology, as given in this document, the project staff
will have to interact with the water users and their groups, and meet the field situations
as they arise, and evolve a detailed work plan as the project matures. No fixed ideas,
nor blue prints for implementation, will be valid in such an approach. Instead of trying
to coerce or manipulate water users' involvement in management, there should be a way
of identifying, assessing and building on their intrinsic demand and their latent capacity.
Emerging social science knowledge indicates that the most effective tools for this type
of catalytic action are the Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) and Participatory Action
Research (PAR) techniques which are currently being sharpened in the field of irrigated
agriculture. A strategy that relies on self-reliance for sustainable management change
and accompanying performance improvement would find these tools tailor made for field
work in these pilot projects.

A strong theoretical framework for Participatory Action Research, which was given by Wignaraja
in his leading article in a recent publication on development issues (Wignaraja and Hussain, 1989),
provides a basis for this work. Also, suggestions made by some practitioners of these methods
(Maloney, 1994; Lauraya et al, 1991) can be used in fine-tuning the detailed monthly work plans
for the field teams.

10
Incentives

In previous donor-assisted projects in which social organization was a component, an

incentive for organization was provided in terms of improvements in the physical system.
However, their effect was generally found to be temporary, and the WUAs formed with
such incentives lasted only until the short-term objectives were achieved. Considering
this phenomenon, the pilot projects will adopt a different strategy. In place of monetary
or physical infrastructure incentives, an attempt will be made to convince the water users
of the need to have longer term objectives of achieving more equitable water distribution,
increased reliability and timeliness of water delivery, and improved irrigation practices,
all aimed at increased productivity of irrigation water.

The motivational effort will be to engage the water users in building awareness,
confidence and mutual trust, with an emphasis on training and information sharing.
There will be no monetary incentives and no promises of physical assets, except for
some limited cost-sharing for maintenance activities. As will be discussed later in this
document, the interventions will be in a slow process, monitoring the effect of each step
and building on it. The strategy is to have frequent visits and meetings with groups of
farmers in places which are considered as "neutral", such as schools, mosques,
playgrounds and other community meeting places, and exchange ideas and information
which will initially serve to build a rapport with the people. Another important motivating
strategy to be tested is the introduction of self-evaluation by the group (and individuals)
of the actions taken by them.

Contact Farmers

A major feature of the methodology adopted in this action research program is the
deployment of "contact farmers". In an attempt to reach the water users community
extensively, any member of the community, who is adequately informed and prepared
to assist the field teams, would be a suitable contact person. The contact farmers will
essentially serve as a link between field teams and the community, and will in effect form
part of the team.

Some of the main criteria for selecting a contact farmer would be that:

* The person is well informed about the area, its people, traditions,
geographical details, water and land resources and generally about its
irrigated agriculture;
* The person is non-controversial, is not known to be a trouble maker or an
exploiter, nor is an anti-social person in any way;

11
 * The person should be able and willing to communicate freely with all
sections of the local cQmmunity, and also with the outsiders who come to
collaborate with the local people in community development activities;
* The person should be motivated to help others and should see value in
collective behavior for the common good;
* The person should have the potential for acquiring some basic training to
become a community-based social organizer, and be part of our extended
field team; and
* The person having an ability for public speaking would be an added
advantage.

The contact farmer need not necessarily be a "farmer leader", a "big landowner", or even
a person to "represent" the water users, or a potential office bearer of the proposed
Water Users Organization.

The intention is not to have a set of passive "followers" of IlMl in these contact farmers.
As against the more popularly known method of having a set of "yes men", these contact
farmers should have their freedom to air their views as members of the larger
community.

There will be no effort to select a specific number of contact farmers for each
watercourse. What needs to be achieved is to find a sufficient number of friendly, helpful
people willing to assist the field teams in reaching the whole water users community in
the pilot area.

This methodology is derived from an IlMl field team's experience in some preliminary
social organization activities conducted in the Hakra 6-R Distributary in the Punjab. The
study in this distributary command area tested the use of key informants to obtain an
understanding of the present organizational status in the area, and to collect basic socio-
economic data from a sample of watercourses. The results, which are being analyzed
for a forthcoming publication, suggest that the method can be adopted to use contact
farmers for extension messages.

Step-wise Process

At the project planning stage, most of the WUAs formed during OFWM efforts in the
LBOD area were assumed to be able to form a federation at the distributary/minor level,
which will eventually be able to undertake the responsibility for operation and
maintenance of distributaries/minors, interceptor drains and tubewells, as well as for cost
recovery related to such functions. The current project was established to nurture this

12
concept by supporting the formation of Water Users Organizations (WUOs) at three pilot
distributary/minor command areas. Further, they were to undertake the collection of
wateddrainage charges, improve water management practices, and improve the
maintenance practices for irrigation and drainage facilities.

However, preliminary field investigations indicate that the approach to organize water
users at the distributary level will not be as easy as anticipated. Current expectations
and demands of the water users exceed the government sponsored plans to develop
institutional mechanisms such as WUOs. They appear to be overwhelmed by problems
and their definitions rather than being patient in listening to possible long-term solutions.
In this scenario, a prudent strategy would be to take certain preliminary steps to assess
the potential for changes, identify their feasible scope and content, and determine the
time frame for their successful introduction.

The project’s chosen approach includes a step-wise process to be adopted for the
activity of organizing water users. The process of organization of water users will be in
four phases, each of which will concentrate, respectively, on mobilizing institutional
support, initial activities aimed at social organization, consolidation of the organizational
process and initiating some collective action. Some of the major activities in each of
these phases are mentioned in Part Two of this document. A flow chart of this four-
phase process’ suggested for the pilot projects is given in Figure 1.

’ This four-phase process for water users organization activities in Pakistan was adapted from the
M & 0 guidelines given in Skogerboe et al (1993).

13
 PROPOSED PROCESS FOR CREATING SUSTAINABLE Figure 1
WATER USERS ORGANIZATIONS IN PAKISTAN Page 1 of 5

Agency-Managed
Irrigation System

.........................

T
coiiaborative
Arrangements
Negotiate
Institutional
(Arrangements!
Among Agencies

I
Assess
Community
Characteristics

Initial
organization Formulation of
Phase Water Users
Organizations

- - - _ - _ +_ _ _ - _ - _ - _ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

T
Management
Agreement
Phase

Phase

Evaluation and
Feedback Program
 Figure 1
Page 2 of 5

Phase I: COLLABORATIVE ARRANGEMENTS AMONG AGENCIES

PID IlMl PAD (OFWM)

Discuss Potential Prepare Proposed

Collaboration for 4 Pilot Program for Collaboration for
WUOs Program Water Users organizations

+-
IPrelimina ry FieId I nvestig a tion)
$.

i Begin Process Documentation

I I
Negotiate Institutional Arrangements
f o r a Pilot Program on Establishing
Water Users Organizations (WUOs)

~~

Establish
WUOs Field Implementation Review Committee
with Representatives from Participating Organizations I
1
Develop Criteria
for Selecting
1 Develop Training Program
for Field Teams II
P i l o t Sites 1 Including Social Organizers

4
Select Pilot Sites Training for Field Staf
L

I
1 L

1 Begin Program Implementation at Selected Pilot Sites

I
 Phase II: INITIAL ORGANIZATION Figure 1
Page 3 o f 5
C horonological
Role of Farmers 0 rgan izationa I Role of IlMl and
Activities Agencies

Identify Contact
Farmers
I Resource Persons

cAssistance t o Farmers
b y C o n t a c t Farmers b y Organizational Resource
Organizational Resource

IlMl Continues Process

M o b i l i z e SOs

llMl Conducts Baseline Survey

4

] D i s c u s s i o n A m o n o Farmorsb

I,- About Joint Management

0 r g a n iza t i o n a I S t r u c t u r e s I 4
a i d Operating Practices
V i s i t s t o farmer-Managed
. . . .
. --,.
PI4
- C
r o v id e T ra ns p o r t a ti o n
I

Discussion o f Potential
Organizational Boundaries
1
B e g i n F o r m a t i o n of Water
U s e r s Organizations

1. O r g a n i z a t i o n a l Levels
b Advise o n Organizational
2. Organizational Structure!
B y - L a w s a n d Rules
D i s c u s s i o n s of O r g a n i z a t i o n a l 3. B y - L a w s
Levels, Structures,
By-Laws and Rules '4. Rules
- -
I

[+I Decisions o n
Organizational Agreements Organizational Agreements
1 I
IProvide T r a i n i n a onb
organizational
Agreements
a n d C o n d u c t of II
1
I I Meetings

4-
Election o f Officers by Farmers

+
Send Officers for Training

(iii)
 Phase 111: JOINT MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT p~~~u;oo~

C hr o n olog ica I Role of IlMl and

Role of Farmers 0 r g an izat ion a I Agencies
Activities

Process
Develop A Plan of Actlon Documentation
Farmers Leaders 1. Essential Structural
P a r t i c i p a t e in M B O Malntenance (ESM)
a. Conduct Operations Control
" Walk-Thru" S u r v e y s a n d b Malntenance Survey IProvide Trainersb
Developing a Plan of b. Develop ESM Plan
Action 2. Operatlons
-

'
1
L a. Conduct Hydraullc Survey
b. Develop Discharge Ratlngs All Pilot Project Field
c. Measure Channel Losses
d. Develop Operatlons Plan S t a f f P a r t i c i p a t e in
3. Develop Monltorlng, Evaluation Training, I n c l u d i n g M & O
and Feedback (MELF) Program 4 'Walk-Thru" S u r v e y s a n d
D e v e l o p i n g a P l a n of
Action

M e e t i n g o f Farmers t o
D i s c u s s P r o p o s e d Plan of 4
Action

p o m m i t m e n t o f Resources1
Agreement o n J o i n t Managemen
Responsibilities
1. R e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s
a. Farmers
b. A g e n c i e s
Negotiations b y Leaders 2. I m p l e m e n t a t i o n Schedule
of Water U s e r s -4 a. ESM
Organizations b b. Operations
c. MEBF

T i
C o n c e n s u s b y Farmers
t o a P l a n of A c t i o n
d. PDMN
3. Resources
a. L a b o r
b. K i n d
c. C a s h l B u d g e t
d. E q u i p m e n t
e. M a t e r i a l s
-

___ .-___-

Provide Training
 Figure 1
Phase IV: JOINT MANAGEMENT IMPLEMENTATION Page 5 of 5

C hrono l o g ica I Role of IlMl a n d

Role of Farmers Organizational
Activities Agencies

!
a

1
I

Implement the M o n i t o r i n g 4
E v a l u a t i o n a n d Feedback
R e v i e w Dail- (MEBF) Program
Rates by Leaders of
Water U s e r s
Organizations 4
I m p l e m e n t Priority Deferred
o r as Needed f o r P r o c e s s

Maintenance Needs (PDMN)

-
) a s Resources P e r m i t

o f Water u s e r s P a r t i c i p a t i o n by F i e l d Staff

I
Prepare S e a s o n a l
Performance R e p o r t

Prepare R e v i s e d
O p e r a t i o n Plan
Plan a n d S u g g e s t i o n s for

Adoption of Lessons
Learned f r o m P r o c e s s

v 1
Revise M o n i t o r i n g , E v a l u a t i o n
a n d Feedback (MEBF) Program
e--. Prepare R e v i s e d
MEBF Program
7
i
rt
T

T u r n o v e r t o Farmer-Managed Synthesis from Process

Irrigation Subsvstem

(v)
A similar gradual approach is suggested for the organizational development among the
water users and the WUOs.

Once the water users are organized at the distributary/minor level, their organizational
action phase will be guided by the following, major needs:

1) identifying a set of continuing tasks for WUOs;

2) having a set of their own rules to guide collective action for task performance;

3) ensuring that the outputs of collective action are gainful;

4) ensuring that they are of common benefit to all the water users; and

5) developing a sense of, and mechanisms for, accountability.

These needs cannot be identified and fulfilled haphazardly, or in one attempt. Following
the step-wise process for organizing water users, the methodology for the pilot projects
includes an idea that the development of water users organizations should also be
gradual. The past experience in forming WUAs at the watercourse level, where the
process was relatively short in order to establish some quick responses from water users
regarding watercourse improvement, suggests that a hasty approach to organize farmers
would also quicken their deterioration. Learning a lesson from this experience, a prudent
approach would be to allow sufficient time for the individual water user to assess the
usefulness of collective behavior in managing irrigation water and the associated
physical systems.

Following a step-wise approach in this organizational development, a progressive change

is suggested in the existing institutional arrangements. Table 1 gives an illustrative
pattern for this progressive change6.

Legal Basis

WUOs would become sustainable institutions only when they are commonly accepted
as useful on a persistent basis. However, acceptability will be greatly helped initially by
the WUOs gaining some recognition as a formal group by other institutions in the country
on the basis of some form of legal framework including a mechanism for their
registration. During pilot project implementation, the major areas of modification needed
in the existing legal framework will be identified. A clear legal basis for the formation
and functioning of water users organizations, including their participation in the
management of irrigation and drainage systems, will be a pre-requisite for proceeding
beyond the pilot project level.

6
This Figure is an adaptation from the ideas developed at a series of group meetings held at the
initiative of NWFP's PATA Project staff to prepare a seminar paper on participatory irrigation
management.

16
 Table 1: PROGRESSIVE TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS TO WUOS

lrriaation
" DeDartment I OFWM Agriculture Extension I WUOs
EXISTING I 'RUCTURE ~~

Const~ctionremodelling. restoration and repairs

Formation of W A S at watercome level Advise farmers on improved agnwlture inputs Maintenance of watercourses
to imgation works
lmpmvement of watercourses on cost snanng Mutual interaction to resolve disputes of shanng
Regulation of canal supply Setup demons:ration farms for improved farming
oasis fdunrg construction p e r x i canal water
3emonstration of improved prac ces cf water Help OFWM to ffiilect share of cost of
Assessment of abiana charges Coilection of statistical data on agriculture
management including precision land levelling walercoufse improvement
Enforcement of Canal Act including Warabandi Help village Numbardar to collect abiana charges
Enforce equitable dismbotion of canal water and
check aoainst unaulhonzed
STAG ONE
Continue to oerform existing duties Continue to perform existing duties Continue to perform existing duties
In collaboration with O M formation of In collaboalion with OFWM. formation of Educate WUOs about Interact with ID, OFWM and Agnwlture Extensm
Dismburary WUOs Distnbutary WUOs a suitability of crops accwding to quality of soil for new knowledge
and climate
b s w i n g and mopping time of w p s
c evolving of improved cropping calendar
Educate WUOs a m existlng activities and Educate WUOs about existing acbvities and Initiate the pocess of gening organized
responsibilities of 10 staft r e r ~ s i b i l i l i e sof ID staff
Establishment of InsllMKMl development Unit (IOU) EstaMishmeflt of I m t I M m a l Oevelopnent Unit (IOU) Gain skills rn management of OBM
Exchange tdeas with fanners a m existlng Exdunge ideas with fanners aban exsting Exchange ideas with fanners abour exisllng imgatm
imgation practices and coomatwe behavion imgation W i c e s and coowraive b e h a v m W c e s and coooerative behavion
STAG TWO
~~ ~ ~

Share respmsibility lor OBM of pilot Share responsibility with W A S on planning and Continue 10 perform existing duties Scan monitoring regulation of m a t supply
dismbutanes with W U O S implemenung watamurse impmvement
Provde ciuIm+ mining to WUO members on Tranr W O s for making improvements to Train W O s to adopt improved agnarfhxal i n ~ ~ I s Assist 10 In
OLM management watarcowses and improved management of cropping panems and calendar a resolvmg water dismhtion disputes and
imgation water ptifarape of anal supplies
b assesmeml of abiana chanps and its recovery
Continue to perform remaining duties Get training by cam1 praaice d instructions
imparted by ID. OFWM and Agnwlture
Extension
STAGE rHREE
Transfer OBM reswnsibility for pilot Ovmee the performanat7unctionu-q ofWUOs P&M existing auiies and oversee Ihe Stan discharping the respoosibililies
distnbutanes lo WUOs after taking over watercourse improvement performance of WUOs M improved imgated independently mentioned under Stage Two and
activities agnculture practices seek advice of agency staff as and when
necessary
Oversee the perlormance/functioning of WUOs on
OBM management
Continue to oerform remainino duties

NOTE The role of WUOs in collecting OLM costs and abiana is not reflected in this chart
The issue of resource mobilization is to be resolved along with charges in the legal hamework

17
Criteria for Selection of Pilot Sites

The selection of appropriate pilot sites will largely determine the success of the pilot
projects. Essentially, this activity needs to be accomplished with the full involvement of
the collaborating agencies according to an agreed set of selection criteria. Based on the
preliminary information available at this stage, the following main criteria are suggested:
* A distributary or minor which is not too large or too small;
* Availability of water at an average level;
* Proximity to drainage infrastructure provided by the LBOD Project;
* A distributary or minor which is not dominated by a few big landowners; and
* A satisfactory level of identified initial interest and cooperation among the water
users.

Initially, each field team will collect basic field information, based on a checklist, for about
nine distributaries/minors within a reasonable distance from where the field station is
located. This reconnaissance survey will be used to select three distributaries/minors
for each district in consultation with relevant staff of the operating agencies. Further in-
depth data collected for the three short-listed secondary canals will lead to the selection
of the pilot distributary/minor for each of the three districts, based on an agreed set of
criteria. The final selection of pilot sites will be effected in close consultation with
operating agencies.

Scope of Pilot Projects

An important methodological imperative is the perceived role of pilot projects and the
reasons for their establishment at the distributary level. Evaluations of watercourse level
WUAs formed by the OFWM program have consistently pointed out their size and
objective limitations. The temporary nature of their assigned functions; namely, resource
mobilization and field implementation related to watercourse improvement work, was a
factor that invariably led to the collapse of WUAs. For meaningful participation in
operation of the physical system for water distribution, the organized behavior needs to
shift upstream beyond the watercourse outlet. At the same time, the large size and the
complexity of the integrated canal system in Pakistan tend to deter bold institutional
innovations where water users could play a significant .role in managing the main or
branch canals. As an intermediate effort, the pilot trials may be more feasible at the
distributary level, where most of these considerations are taken into account. In addition,

18
the day-to-day operation of the Irrigation Department extends to the distributary and
minor head regulators, so this becomes an important interface between the Irrigation
department and the water users. However, there is considerable flexibility built into the
present focus on pilot trials at the level of distributary WUOs. It is conceivable that the
distributary WUO becomes a step in a hierarchy of organizations, including WUAs at the
watercourse level, as well as Federations for joint-management with the Irrigation
Department at the main or branch canal level. This possibility is reflected in the
organizational system for improved joint-management for irrigated agriculture depicted
in Figure 2.

PROJECT SITES

At the planning stages of this project, the collaborating partners decided that the pilot
distributaries or minors should be located in the three LBOD districts of Nawabshah,
Sanghar and Mirpurkhas. During the Phase I inception stage of the project, IlMl in
consultation with the client department decided to establish the project office in
Hyderabad, and field stations in the cities of Nawabshah, Sanghar and Mirpurkhas. The
pilot distributaries or minors will be selected, on the basis of one for each district, after
a reconnaissance survey in each district, and after consultation with relevant staff of the
operating agencies.

The decision to rent a house in Hyderabad to serve as the Project Office was principally
based on the need to secure adequate space. As IlMl was planning to undertake a
program of improved irrigation operations upstream from the three pilot areas in
collaboration with the Sindh Department of Irrigation and Power, a suitable place in
Hyderabad was considered necessary to coordinate field activities.

LINKAGE WITH OTHER IlMl PROJECTS

There are three major llMl research activities underway in the Punjab province, that
would conceptually support these pilot projects in the Sindh province. Two of these
activities have a programmatic link with the pilot projects, through field research planned
to be undertaken in close proximity to pilot project sites. An outline of these linkages is
given below.

The Government of the Netherlands (GoN) is funding an IlMl project in the Punjab and
Sindh under the title "Managing Irrigation for Environmentally Sustainable Agriculture in
Pakistan". This work began in October 1994 and will terminate in December 1998. The
project has three major components: (1) Operational Management; (2) Institutional
Development; and (3) Salinity Management.

19
 Figure 2

POTENTIAL FOR IMPROVED JOINT-MANAGEMENT

GOVERNMENT WATER USERS

\
\
\ Distributary/M inor Leve I
\
Water Users Organization
LL
,, (WUO)

' I
mI Distri b utary/M inor S ub-Systern I
I
Informal I

I
Water Users Organization I
I

Watercourse 'Level
Water Users Assocationn
Agricultural 0
/

(WUA)
Extension \
Directorate

i
\
\

\ \

Farmer Groups
and Farmers

20
Component 1 involves research work on Decision Support Systems (DSS) for Main
System Management and on water allocation, conjunctive use, water trading, and
irrigation practices for Watercourse Management. The work on DSS is being undertaken
at the Fordwah Eastern Sadiqia (FES) Irrigation and Drainage Project in the Province of
Punjab, as well as the Left Bank Outfall Drain (LBOD) Stage I Project in the Province of
Sindh. The work plan for the Sindh subcomponent is awaiting selection of the three pilot
sites; this work plan will cover one or two canal command areas linked with the three
pilot distributary/minor sites.

Component 3 of the GoN supported project, which is directed towards developing an

understanding of the lndus Basin Irrigation System (14 million hectares) regarding
environmentally sustainable agriculture, will also extend to sites in the Sindh province.
For waterlogging and salinity management work in Sindh, a field station will be
established in Sukkur. To obtain a macro picture on the salinity problem, the Rechna
Doab in the Punjab province is presently being analyzed with the draft report planned
for March 1996 and the final report three months later. The next large study area
connected with this activity will be the Province of Sindh, with the work plan being
developed during January-March 1996, based on the work done for the LBOD area
during early 1994 using the GIS ILWlS (Dutch) software.

The research activities for Component 2 (Institutional Development) of the GoN

supported project in the Punjab are undertaken in FES, and involve pilot efforts in
organizing water users primarily in the south on distributaries receiving water from the
Hakra Branch Canal. This Component has ti0 direct involvement in the Sindh, but is
very similar to the pilot projects in LBOD funded by SDC-IDA, and the two projects will
largely have a common sub-set of activities on social organization. A report prepared
by two overseas consultants (see summary of this report in Annex-2) has been helpful
in formulating the conceptual framework for both these projects. At the ED1 seminar held
in Islamabad in October 1994, a briefing paper was presented to explain IIMl’s own
research experience in this area and to highlight the need to have research inputs into
the present pilot projects (see extract in Annex-I).

The field stations in FES in the Punjab are at Bahawalnagar (DSS - Main System
Management), Hasilpur (Watercourse Management) and Haroonabad (Water Users
Organizations). Taken with the three field stations in LBOD (Nawabshah, Sanghar and
Mirpurkhas) in the province of Sindh, the sites are at a fair distance from one another,
as can be seen in Figure 3. The pilot project sites in the LBOD area are shown in
Figure 4.

21
..
p?

22
Figure 4: Pilot Pi

23
 PROJECT ORGANIZATION

The organization is primarily dictated by the project design. The project has part time
services of three senior members of IIMl's international professional staff based in
Lahore, an Irrigation Institutional Specialist, a Water Management Specialist and a
Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist. The Irrigation Institutional Specialist will serve as
the Project Leader. These resources will be supplemented by short-term inputs from
four overseas consultants, a Financial Specialist, two Irrigation Institutional Experts, and
a Legal Specialist. The background details of the seven key personnel (international)
for the Project are listed in Table 2.

The full-time locally recruited project staff include the Sociologist who also serves as the
overall Team Leader, three Field Teams consisting of three Supervisory Social
Organizers, six Social Organizers and six Field Research Assistants. This permanent
cadre of professional staff will be supported by two more locally recruited professional
staff, the O&M Specialist and Financial Specialist, both of whom will provide their
services on a part time basis. As administrative support staff, the project office in
Hyderabad will have on a full-time basis, a Secretary cum Book Keeper, a Purchaser,
a Xeroxer, and two Drivers. Details of locally recruited project staff are listed in Table
3.

The composition of the field teams was discussed above in the section on Project
Methodology. While IIMl's fifteen full-time fieid staff form the core group for this project,
they are to be assisted by the staff of operating agencies deployed in the pilot project
areas. The strategy for reaching a large section of the water users community is to
establish a community based group of social organizers through a number of contact
farmers who are specially selected and trained for this purpose. The concept of "contact
farmer" was described in an earlier section of this document.

The project in its present design consists of four phases: Phase 1 of 3 months; Phase
2 of 12 months; Phase 3 of 15 months; and Phase 4 of 12 months. According to the
project document, all project activities have to be completed within a period of 30
months, starting 1 July 1995. With this limitation in view, the activities categorized into
four Phases of the project have been compressed with the 12-month Phase 4
overlapping with Phase 3, which is of a duration of 15 months. The deployment of
human resources within the various phases throughout the project duration is given in
Table 4.

24
 TABLE 2: DETAILS OF KEY PROJECT PERSONNEL

NAME/TITLE JOB DESCRIPTION QUALIFICATIONS

D.J. Bandaragoda Management of activities relating to the He has gained considerable experience in managing research
implementation of the Pilot Projects, preparation of activities and monitoring their progress during the past six years
Irrigation Institutional Specialist project reports and development of recommendations while he was associated with IlMl’s Pakistan program. His
for future extension of project activities and experience as an agency staff person with the Mahaweli
coordination with the relevant agencies in Development Authority for several years in Sri Lanka before joining
implementing the pilot projects. IlMl in 1989 has greatly helped him to handle collaborative work in
Pakistan. He is the Team Leader for the IlMl Research in Pakistan
on Farmer‘s Organizations.

Gaylord V. Skogerboe Carry out baseline surveys and assess allocation of His long experience both as a professional, as well as a trainer, in
water in the pilot project areas, propose measures to international irrigation, has been recognized with the Outstanding
Water Management Specialist alleviate inequity in water distribution, and assist in Educators of America Award in 1975, and the Colorado State
the preparation of O&M plans. University Environmental Interdisciplinary Research Award for On-;
farm Water Management Research in 1978. He has considerable
field experience in the Operation and Maintenance of the Irrigation
Systems, including the training of farmers for improved 08M.

Chris Perry Assist the project team to prepare O&M plans, As Senior Economist in the World Bank he brings with him his vast
specifically focusing on financial issues of farmer experience in appraisal and evaluation of agricultural projects in
Financial Specialist organizations, train FO staff regarding financial developing countries. His interests in financial and economic
matters, and coordinate agencies regarding collection aspects of irrigation sector management led him to join llMl on
of water charges. secondment from the World Bank.

Parchanda Pradhan Provide expert advice to project team and refine His strong background as an academic in public administration,
project implementation and social organization and his association with IlMl in conducting research on farmer-
Irrigation Institutional Expert processes. managed irrigation systems in Nepal and on irrigation organizations
and farmer participation in irrigation in Nigeria has drawn
Prachanda to undertaking several consultancy assignments for
IIMI.

25
 NAMUTITLE JOB DESCRIPTION QUALIFICATIONS

Piyasena Ganewatte Advise the project team on developing operational His extensive field experience in working on farmer organizations in
procedures and identifying maintenance deficiencies, Sri Lanka in association with the Cornell University team at the Gal
Irrigation Institutional Expert and refining social organization processes. Oya Irrigation Project, as well as working on farmer organizations
at four irrigation schemes in Polannarawa, and his own follow-up
work thereafter ideally fit into the proposed pilot project work
program.
~ ~ ~~~~

M. S. Shafique Assist Government of Sindh to plan and design the His specialization and research interests are in hydraulics of
proposed M&E, set out monitoring items and surface irrigation, groundwater hydrology, drainage, salinity and
M& E Specialist indicators, establish data collection and reporting water quality management and project planning. He also has work
systems. experience in irrigated agriculture in Pakistan, in the Mona
Reclamation Experimental Project and the Punjab Agriculture
Department. He has been the Head of IIMl’s program in Sudan for
the past six years, focusing on irrigation management turnover in
Sudan, and irrigation performance issues, including the application
of performance indicators in the Rahad Irrigation Scheme.

George Radosevich Analyse existing water laws in Sindh and develop, in In association with Colorado State University, he has worked as
consultation with Sindh authorities, appiopriate water teacher, researcher and extension service advisor since 1969. His
Legal Specialist legislation for enabling effective users’ participation in experience goes beyond the University, and includes his service as
managing irrigation systems, and regulating and Water Law Specialist in the United Nations during 1973, as co-
facilitating their membership in Farmer Organizations; organizer of the 1975 International Conference on Global Water
Assist the Government of Sindh to plan and establish Law Systems in Spain, as organizer of the 1985 Regional
the developed legal system. Symposium on Water Resources Policy in Dhaka, as Legal Advisor
to the Interim Mekong Committee during 1987-1992. and as
participant in numerous other international conferences and
workshops on the subject. He was the primary resource person for
developing the legislation regarding the water users ordinance
passed by each of the Provincial Assemblies of Pakistan in the
early 1980’s.

26
 TABLE 3: DETAILS OF LOCALLY RECRUITED PROJECT STAFF

Name Designation Qualifications Location

1 M Naveed Khayal Supervisory Social Organizer MA Sociology Sanghar

2 Mohammad Ali Social Organizer ' MSc Rural Dev

3 Ali Akbar Mangi Social Organizer

4 Niaz Hussain Sial Field Research Assistant BE Agri Sanghar
5 Abdul Majeed Field Research Assistant BE Agri Sanghar
6 Chowkidar Sanghar
7 Muhammad Yousuf Memon Supervisory Social Organizer M Sc Rural Dev I Nawabshah
8 Abdul Ghafar Khoso Social Organizer MA Sociology Nawabshah
9 Nizamuddin Bharchoond Social Organizer MSc Anthro Nawabshah
10 Darshan La1 Oad Field Research Assistant BE Agri Nawabshah
11 Abdul Rahman Soomro Field Research Assistant BE Agri Nawabshah
12 Chowkidar Nawabshah
13 Waryam Baloch 1 Supervisory Social Organizer MSc Rural Dev [ Mirpur Khas
14 Muhammad Nadeem Social Organizer MSc Rural Dev Mirpur Khas
15 Ghulam Mustafa Taluur Social Organizer MA Jour & Eco Mirpur Khas
16 Wali Muhammad Daud Poto Field Research Assistant BE Agri Mirpur Khas
17 Munawar Hassan Mernon Field Research Assistant
18 Sardar Ali Junejo I Chowkidar I Mirpur Khas
19 Dr. Muhammad Yameen Memon Sociologist Ph D Ag Educ Hyderabad
20 Dr. Bakhshal Khan Lashari O&M Specialist
21 I Financial Analvst I Hvderabad
22 Rubina Siddiqui Agricultural Engineer Trainee BE Agri Hyderabad
23 Anbreen Naz Secretary cum Book-Keeper Hyderabad
24 Ayaz Anwer Solangi PurchaserlData Entry Spl Hyderabad
25 Muhammad lqbal Driver
26 Qurban Ali Driver Hyderabad
27 Muhammad Ashraf XeroxerlCleaner
28 Security Hyderabad

27
 TABLE 4: WORK PROGRAMME AND TIME SCHEDULE FOR KEY PERSONNEL

NAME POSITION I PHASE I MONTHS

1 2 3 4

Don Jayatissa Bandaragoda Irr. Inst. Specialist 1-% 3 4-% 1 10

Prachanda Pradhan Irr. Inst. Expert 0 % % 0 1
Piyasena Ganewatte Irr. Inst. Expert 0 % % 0 1
Gaylord V. Skogerboe Water Mgt. Specialist 1 2 2 1 6
M.S. Shafique M & E Specialist % 1 2 1 4-%
Chris Perry Financial Specialist % 1 1 0 2-%
George Radosevich Legal Specialist 0 1 1 0 2
Sub-Total 3-% 9 11-% 3 27

M. Yarneen Memon Sociologist 3 12 18 33

Bakhshal Khan Lashari 0 & M Specialist 0 4-% 7-% 12
Financial Analyst 0 6 6 12
(See Table 3) Supervisory SOs 3 36 54 93
(See Table 3) Social Organizers 6 72 108 186
(See Table 3) Field Assistants 6 72 108 186
Sub-Total 18 202-% 301 -% 522

28
 PROJECT'S INCEPTION ACTIVITIES

The Consultancy Agreement between IlMl and the Sindh Government was signed on 26
July 1995 and was made retroactive to 1 July 1995. IlMl officially established an office
in Hyderabad effective 16 August 1995 and staff were recruited in July and August to
assume their work on 1 September 1995. The activities accomplished in the months of
July, August and September 1995 were reported in Monthly Progress Reports sent to
the client department of Agricultural Engineering and Water Management, Government
of Sindh.' The major activities described in Part Two (Implementation Plan) of this
document includes other inception activities already completed. Table 5 gives the
information regarding the various project reports already prepared and distributed, and
the reports to be prepared in the future.

TABLE 5: LIST OF PROJECT REPORTS

S.No. Reports Date of Preparation

1. Monthly Progress Reports Within 30 days of following month
2. Phase Summary Within 30 days after end of each phase
3. Inception Report 31 October 1995 ~ ~~~

4. Interim Report 31 January 1996

5. Draft Final Report 15 November 1997
6. Final Report 30 December 1997

29
 PART TWO: IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

INTRODUCTION

As part of the Project's Methodology (see Part One), a step-wise process is adopted in
the work plan for social organization, and the process consists of four phases:

(I) Support Mobilization Phase;

(11) Initial Organization Phase;

(Ill) Organization Consolidation Phase; and

(IV) Organizational Action PhAse.

Each phase has a number of activities to be undertaken collaboratively by different

actors, some of which, depending on the situational factors, will spill over to other
phases. Figure 1 given in Part One of this document provides the flow chart of major
activities in these four phases. Also, as inherent in an action research program, some
of these activities and their sequence are likely to be changed, depending on the results
of the consultation process during the project.

The process has been developed on the basis that each of the four phases prepares the
participating water users in a progressive manner towards the goal of taking over
management responsibility for the distributary or the minor. The initial focus is on the
management of maintenance and operation so that other management functions are built
around this core responsibility (Skogerboe et al, 1993). Throughout this document, the
term "water users" is used in place of the traditional use of the term "farmers" in order
to highlight this initial focus on water related irrigation and drainage issues. Notably, this
main focus also reflects the project's emphasis associated with the LBOD project
objectives.

While Figure 1 given in Part One of this document represents primarily the linkages
among the various project activities of this four-phase process, as they are perceived at
this planning stage, Table 6 given below presents these major activities and their
distribution broadly within the project period, from July 1995 to December 1997.

Following Table 6, the major activities of the four-phase process will be further described
in some detail. At the end of this section, an Activity Chart will be given in Figure 5, to
indicate the proposed timing and the sequence of these activities.

30
 TABLE 6: ACTIVITY SCHEDULE

I ACTIVITIES

1995 1996 197

1. Select social organization 0. Identify contract farmers 14. Conduct initial organization 19. Conduct training on O&M 23. Implement plan of action
field team activities, identifying and irrigation practices for joint management of
organizational levels and and conduct "walk-thru" pilot distributarylminor
structures and potential surveys
leaders
II
2. Train field teams 9. Conduct preliminary 15. Initiate training on 20. Develop plan of action by 24. Evaluate short-term effects
analysis of baseline data watercourse improvement WUOs and agencies for of wuos
and agricultural practices O&M and monitoring of
pilot distributary/minor
I
lI
3. Conduct planning meetings 10. IdenMy subsystems in 16. Review warabandi 21. Arrange for Agreement 25. . Prepare final report on
and negotiate institutional the distributary schedules in pilot area between WUO and WUOs, and condud
arrangements for pilot agencies on O&M seminar for dissemination
program
~
I
/I
4. Identify persons for Field 11. Along with agency 17. Consult WUOs on changes 22. Train WUO office bearers
Implementation Committees resource persons and in the legal framework and selected farmers on
selected contad farmers, financial and system
conduct a series of initial
meetings to buiM up
rapport wlth water users
and identify their mitical
needs

5. Develop the process for 12 Conduct a sews of 18 lndiate action to establish

pilot program on water consultatton meetings formal WUOs at
users organization wfih water users to distributary/minor level
discuss feasibly options
for organnation

6. Select pilot project sites 13 Conduct final analysis of

baseline data

7. Conduct baseline survey in

selected pilot area

31
 I. SUPPORT MOBILIZATION PHASE

The main purpose of activities in this phase is to secure the institutional support
necessary to initiate actions for the pilot projects. Support needs to be solicited not only
from the concerned operating agencies, but also from some opinion leaders in the water
users community.

Some activities planned for this phase have been completed; a few items are underway.
However, it may be useful to reiterate these activities in order to provide a complete
picture on the work plan. The following items form Phase I of the Implementation Plan:

Establishing Field Teams

This activity has been accomplished and field staff requirements identified in the
project document have all been met. Through newspaper advertisements,
applications were called from interested individuals with appropriate qualifications,
and interviews held in Hyderabad by two panels, one for the technical field staff
(Field Research Assistants) and the other for Social Organizers and Supervisory
Social Organizers. The interview panels included a representative from the
OFWM Directorate. Selections were finalized in August 1995. The research and
support staff to be located in the Project Office in Hyderabad were selected during
August and September 1995.

Considering the short project period and the complexity of the task of social
organization, a considerable effort. was taken to find appropriately suitable
individuals for the three field teams. The recruitment interviews conducted by
IIMl’s senior staff members probed into the individual applicants’ background and
their demonstrated ability and aptitude to work in rural areas constantly interacting
with the farmers with a view to assisting them. The candidates’ potential for
developing themselves as effective social organizers was an important criterion
for selection. The selections were made solely on the basis of merit.

Training of Staff

As the field teams consisted of individuals of different background, a well planned

training program was considered necessary before the teams were deployed in
the field stations. Immediately on their induction into IIMl’s staff, the fifteen field
staff personnel were given a week’s orientation program, starting on 3 September
1995. The orientation program was held in the new IlMl office in Hyderabad, and
was conducted by senior IlMl staff from Lahore, with Mr. Azizullah Tunio, Director
General of Agricultural Engineering and Water Management, Department of
Agriculture and Wildlife, Government of Sindh, attending as the Chief Guest. Mr.
Khalid Soomro, Director (Coordination) of Agriculture Engineering and Water
Management Directorate participated as a resource person and provided an
overview of the On-Farm Water Management Program of Sindh.

32
The week's program of orientation sessions is presented in Table 7. As part of
the orientation program, the 15 members of the field staff and the Sociologist
were given an opportunity to gain an initial appreciation of the current field
situation. With assistance from the Deputy Director OFWM, Mirpurkhas, the
group was taken to visit the Daulatpur Minor in Mirpurkhas district. Professor
Gaylord Skogerboe led the group to a field discussion on "Maintenance and
Operation Walk-Thru Surveys", which will be undertaken soon by the field teams.

Following the first week of orientation, the fifteen new field staff personnel,
accompanied by the Sociologist, visited the Aga Khan Rural Support Program
(AKRSP) in Gilgit for a ten-day training program on social organization (a copy of
the program is given in Table 8 ) .

The program included both class-room discussions, as well as field tours.

Although the AKRSP model is not totally replicable in a canal irrigation context,
the experience gained by AKRSP for several decades in the Gilgit area in
establishing effective Village Organizations (VOs) as a vehicle for rural
development has some direct relevance, to development interventions in rural
Sindh. Particularly, the trainees were introduced to the process of forming VOs
and the fine art of interacting with farmers in their own habitats. In the field areas
where AKRSP has established Field Management Units (FMUs), the trainees
were exposed to the functioning of FMUs and their interactions with water users
in the mountainous irrigation systems.

This was followed by a two-day training program of the Water Resources

Research Institute (WRRI) of .the National Agriculture Research Centre in I

Islamabad (copy of the program is shown in Table 9). This program concentrated
on improved irrigated agriculture practices and the role of organized farmers in
popularizing these methods.

As part of this training, after their deployment in field stations, the field staff will
spend the first week of October 1995, to write individual and group reports giving
their perceptions on the training program. These reports reflect a high degree of
enthusiasm with which the new staff has responded to the training program, and
also a very satisfactory absorptive capacity of the individual staff members.

This initial training effort will have to be supplemented by regular training inputs
to staff development as the task of social organization requires special skills and
attitudes. Interacting with the water users for a specific objective of assisting
them to be organized for economic activities is a professional skill that has to be
developed and acquired with some effort. This requirement was reflected in the
exposure the new staff had in studying the AKRSP experience. The field teams
encountered many staff members of AKRSP who had spent considerable time in
specializing in these social skills.

33
Table 7: ORIENTATION PROGRAM FOR NEWLY APPOINTED IiMl STAFF
i i PILOT PROJECT FOR FARMER-MANAGED IRRIGATED
~ ~ ~ ~ i i

AGRICULTURE

DatelTime Topic Session Leaders

Sept 03, 1995 INTRODUCTION

08100 - 08130 Registration Mr. Kenneth R. Shams

08:30 - 09:OO Inauguration Mr. Aziz ullah Tunio and

Prof. Gaylord V. Skogerboe

09:30 - 1O:OO Objectives of the Project and llMl Mr. Aziz ullah Tunio and
activities Prof. Gaylord V. Skogerboe

1O:OO - 10:30 Tea

10130 - 11130 Sindh OWFM Program Mr. Khalid Soomro

11130 - 13:OO Why On-Farm Water Management ? Dr. Mohammad Siddique Shafique

Lunch
13100 - 14:OO
Project Briefing and General Mr. Tissa Bandaragoda,
14100- 17100 Discussion to decide on staff Dr. Mohammad Siddique Shafique,
deployment Dr. Yamin Memon and Mr. Daniyal
Haider

Sept 04, 1995 BRIEFING ON IlMl PROCEDURES

08100 - 1O:OO Vehicle and other equipment Mr. Mohsin Hameed Dar and
maintenance Mr. Zaheer Anwar

1o:oo - 12:oo Leave procedures, Medical Expenses Mr. Kenneth R. Shams

and Performance evaluation

12100- 13:OO General discussion

13:OO - 14:OO Lunch

14:OO - 16100 Accounting training Workshop Mr. Daniyal.Haider

16100 - 17:OO ' General discussion

34
 Date/'Time Topic Session Leaders
~

Sept 05, 1995 FIELD DAY

07130 - 09:OO Travel to Field location

09:OO - 11130 Introduction to M&O 'Walk Thru' Prof. Gaylord V. Skogerboe

Surveys

11130 - 12100 Travel to lunch location

12:OO - 13100 Lunch

13130- 15:OO Return to Hyderabad

15:OO - 17:OO ParticiDants write their field reDorts

SeDt 06. 1995 Public Holiday

Sept 07, 1995 WRAP-UP

08100 - 1O:OO Panel discussion WHY FARMERS Dr. Yamin Mernon and
NEED TO BE ORGANIZED 'f' 3 Supervisiory Social Organizers

Tea
1O:OO - 10:30
Conclusion Prof. Gaylord V. Skogerboe, Mr.
, 10130 - 12:30 Tissa Bandaragoda and Dr. Yamin
Memon

35
TABLE 8: TRAINING PROGRAMME FOR IIMI-PAKISTAN FIELD STAFF
BY AGA KHAN RURAL S,UPPORT PROGRAMME (AKRSP), GlLGlT

Duration: 10 days

Two days in classroom lecturing:

Day I Registration of the trainees

Mutual introduction
AKRSP working model of rural development, concept and practice/
organizational structures
Video : First Harvest
Questions and answers

Day 2 Village Organization (VO) - a vehicle of rural development

Process of VO formation (household coverage)
Organizational structure of VOs and its administration:

- VO President or Manager
- Selection criteria, rights and duties
- Membership criteria
- VO meetings: frequency of regular and calendar meetings
- VO decision making process

Eight days in the field:

Day 3 to Day 10 AKRSP has got field based staff units based on the
geographical distribution of the programme area. Each unit
is called Field Management Unit (FMU). We are planning to
take the group to 5 FMUs i.e.

Astore 2 days
Hunza and Nagar 3 days
Punyal and Gupis 3 days

36
TABLE 9: SCHEDULE OF THE PARTICIPATORY IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT
TRAINING AT WRRI, NARC, ISLAMABAD

(24-26 September, 1995)

24-9-95 0830-1030 Participatory Irrigation Management:

Participation
- Dr. Shahid Ahmad
1030-1100 Tea

I 100-1300 Participatory Irrigation Management:

Development Process
- Mr. M. Yasin
1300-1400 Lunch & Prayers

1400-1600 Participatory Irrigation Management:

Institut ionaI Constraints
- Dr. Rakhshan Roohi
1600-1630 Tea

25-9-95 0830-1030 Participatory Rural Appraisal and Planning

- Dr. Shahid Ahmad
1030-1100 Tea

1100-1300 Participatory Irrigation Management:

Monitoring and Evaluation
- Mr. P.M. Moshabbir
1300-1400 Lunch & Prayers

1400-1600 Participatory Irrigation Management:

Role of Audio-video
- Mr. Anwar-ul-Hassan
1600-1630 Tea & Video

26- 9- 95 0700-1900 Field visits and site seeing

37
Collaborative Relationships

The cooperation and involvement of operating agencies are critical elements in

the project’s implementation strategy. Some useful preliminary steps have been
taken in securing the necessary institutional support for this purpose. Several
joint visits to the project area by IlMl staff and OFWM personnel have achieved
this task partly, but a major requirement is to obtain active participation by the
Provincial Irrigation Department (PID) of Sindh. This need is being actively
pursued by IIMI. The following items are included in this activity:

i. Arrange for OFWM to deploy’, relevant field staff and other appropriately
motivated persons from among their staff to be associated with the pilot
projects. This deployment should be carefully planned so that the agency
staff will form part of the field teams.

ii. Obtain a serious involvement of the Provincial Irrigation Department (PID)

and secure its formal official recognition of the arrangements for pilot
projects at the distributary/minor level. Already, a formal request for
cooperation has been made through the Director General, Agricultural
Engineering and Water Management. The opportunity was also used at
the EDVMWP workshop held in Burban, Islamabad, to have preliminary
discussions with the Secretary of Irrigation and the senior officials of the
Planning and Development Department of Sindh regarding the project
proposals. These efforts will be pursued at further discussions in Karachi
during November 1995. Meanwhile, the field teams will expand their efforts
to develop field level collaborative relationships.

Field Implementation Coordination Committee

While IlMl field teams play a catalyst’s role, the responsibility for organizing water
users lies with the operating agencies and the water users themselves. To give
effect to this concept, the suggested mechanism is to have a number of field level
agency staff to form a Field Implementation Coordination Committee (FICC). This
will help both IIMl’s staff, as well as field staff of operating agencies, to
collaborate closely, and on a regular basis. Details of deployment of staff,
scheduling of work, constraints encountered in the field such as objections from
some water users, and possible solutions, assistance needed from elsewhere, are
some of the issues that can be discussed by the FICC. Some individuals have
already been identified, and action needs to be pursued to form this committee.

38
Selection of Pilot Sites

This is one of the most critical steps in the whole process. The client department
has also advised IlMl to take cautious approach in selecting the appropriate pilot
sites in the selected three districts. Considering the special contextual factors,
such as the significant influence of the big landowners, and the criticisms already
emerging in the field against government proposals for institutional reforms, IlMl
decided to spend the period first two months in collecting field information on a
number of possible secondary canals in each district before finalizing the
selection. The field teams are now collecting data on a Checklist and will be
short-listing three probable sites for each district in consultation with agency staff.
Further in-depth data will be collected during the first two weeks of November
1995, and a final decision will be taken collectively by IIMI, OFWM and PID staff
during the third week of November 1995.

Baseline Survey

The baseline survey serves two broad purposes. The survey can provide some
general field information on physical, social and institutional conditions in the pilot
area, which can be used in designing the action research program. The survey
can also provide some bench mark information for developing indicators, which
can be tested later during and after the interventions.

The baseline survey will be conducted using Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA)
methods in each of the three selected pilot areas. The survey will consist of two
parts:

(1) A short socio-economic questionnaire, will be administered in January

1996. The questionnaire will be developed during 7-15 November 1995,
when the Sociologist will be in Lahore interacting with other IlMl staff who
have conducted a survey in the pilot project area of the Punjab Province.
As part of the work plan, this questionnaire and the PRA strategy will be
discussed among all the relevant staff involved in the pilot projects in the
Sindh.

(2) Based on preparatory work already completed by the field team, the
second part of the baseline survey will be started in December 1995, when
Professor Skogerboe (Director IlMl Pakistan, and the Project’s Water
Management Specialist) will be initiating a field training program to
calibrate the hydraulic structures in the selected pilot distributaries/minors.
With the structures being calibrated, the initial set of flow measurements
will be taken.

39
 11. INITIAL ORGANIZATION PHASE

With the support forthcoming from both policy, as well as operating agencies, the field
teams can start the process of trust-building, objective clarification, and interest creation
in the community regarding the proposed social organization activities. Increased
awareness on critical water related issues (irrigation and drainage) and their impact on
agriculture production is an essential ingredient in organization initiatives. IIMl's
research findings in Pakistan indicate that the water users are generally unclear about
some important field issues such as, the degree of water supply variability in the whole
canal system, and its impact on water allocation practices. Sharing of such useful
information is considered to be of strategic importance to interventions on social
organization among the water users. This initial organization phase is basically
dedicated to creating a mutual understanding between the field teams and the water
users. Outlined below are some of the major activities planned to be implemented
during this Phase II of the process.

Identification of Contact Farmers

The social organization activities will start with the identification of contact farmers
who are essentially the community-based opinion leaders. They will be deployed
as social organizers in the field to transmit the field team's extension messages,
as well as reach all the water users. The term chosen here to refer to these
opinion leaders is "contact farmers", as the intention is to be able to select them
from among all suitable persons in the community, irrespective of whether the
person is a water user or not. As IIMl's field team members and agency field staff
conduct their initial "walk-throughs" along the watercourses, the distributary, the
hamlet roads, or whenever they meet the farmers or water users in the selected
pilot command area, they can use the opportunity to identify an adequate number
of contact farmers for each pilot area.

Initial Meetings for Awareness-Building

This is an important step in the process for organizing water users. The preferred
methodology is to launch a cautious, slow, but steady approach towards building
a rapport with the community, as many misconceptions can be caused by a rash
entry into the villages. For many, even in the cities of Pakistan, llMl is a new
entity; many people are unsure about its motives, its activities and its alliances.
With the pilot projects on social organization, IlMl is already entering into a
socially sensitive and vulnerable area. Therefore, a progressive approach to
meeting individuals and groups, with the effects of each step being carefully
evaluated, while gradually building on the confidence which each step can
generate, is more likely to be successful.

40
The purpose of the first series of these informal small group meetings is
essentially limited to create an awareness among the people about IlMl and its
international character, IIMl's field team, and the main objectives of the pilot
project. People will be curious to know about these things, and that curiosity has
to be met in the most positive manner possible. Extreme cordiality should be
extended to the groups, and attempts must be made to make everybody feel
comfortable. Room must be left for another series of meetings to discuss the
water users' water related problems and possible solutions (while the initial series
of meetings are ad-hoc, unstructured, and informal, the next series of meetings
would be more formal).

Semi-Formal Consultation Meetings

The idea is to arrange for larger groups (relating to a cluster of watercourses), to

assemble at pre-selected places appropriate for such gatherings. The purpose
will be to conduct a semi-structured discussion on water-related irrigation and
drainage issues of common interest to the group, possible solutions, the
advantages and disadvantages of collective action for such solutions, and the
potential for water users organizations. These meetings will be attended by
representatives of the operating agencies. Preferably, a fairly informed person
from among them will lead the discussions, but any one playing this role must
necessarily promote participation by water users in the discussion and sincerely
seek their views on the issues under consideration.

Instead of making water users passive listeners, the meetings will be used to
share ideas and generally develop a consensus about establishing water users
organizations. IlMl does not have any access to resources to be given to these
groups as funds for construction or rehabilitation work, or any form of physical
improvements, except for some limited cost-sharing maintenance funds. They are
only available through other projects. The project has to, essentially, rely on a
software approach. Some of the incentives we may try to use are:

I. Providing information on the existing situation of the distributary,

particularly water-related information (supplies, allocated and actual
quantities, groundwater levels, salinity management, etc.);

ii. Training on water measurement, water distribution, water application,

drainage and groundwater management, improved agricultural practices
including root zone salinity management, and organizational skills;
...
111. Encouraging water users to participate in planning and consultation
meetings to have their views incorporated in the program of action;

iv. Assisting them to conduct self-evaluations of their performance in water

distribution, drainage, and agricultural production; and

v. Arranging for close interaction between water users and agencies.

41
Process Documentation

This activity is of critical importance in terms of our research objectives. It

involves recording the way in which the interventions are carried out: planned,
coordinated and implemented, so that the research implications of this work can
be better understood and analyzed. Details of how this activity should be
implemented needs to be discussed further with the field staff and an accepted
procedure will be decided. In the preliminary study conducted on the Hakra 6-R
Distributary in the Punjab, each field team member generated written material
related to field interviews and observations, and finally compiled this information
into watercourse reports. In this instance, as an alternative way of documenting
the processes, daily events and observations can be recorded by field staff in
their field note books, and a monthly report can be compiled collectively by the
team. All important items of observations and the essence of all field interviews
are included in these monthly reports. Guidelines will be issued to field staff on
the methods to be used in this process documentation.

Analysis of Baseline Data

The socio-economic part of the baseline survey will be primarily based on a

structured questionnaire administered to water users in a random sample of
watercourses. While this survey will provide considerable field-based information,
additional information on the characteristics of the pilot area community is to be
collected through a less formal investigation using PRA methods. This is basically
to gain some insights into the main features of the community, which will relate
to our pilot project interventions on social organization. Similarly, the
maintenance and operation (M&O) walk-through surveys followed by an initial field
measurement training program will provide the necessary basic information on the
physical characteristics of the pilot distributary or minor. Soon after this activity,
preliminary analysis of both socio-economic and physical data will be conducted
by the field teams supervised by the Sociologist and the O&M Specialist. In order
to proceed with the organization phase, at least some preliminary results need to
be documented regarding the main features of the pilot area. The project staff
will continue to analyze the collected data to prepare a comprehensive baseline
report.

42
Identification of Sub-systems in the Pilot Distributary

If the selected pilot site is a large distributary canal system, consisting of a

number of minors, the size of the pilot distributary and its command area
becomes a major consideration in planning the action research program. For
example, the traditional way of organizing Water Users Associations (WUAs), one
for each watercourse, and then federating them to form a Water Users
Organization (WUO) at the distributary level is likely to delay the process of
accomplishing project objectives. The time set apart for organizational activities
is only a little over two years, and to optimally use this time, an alternative method
of reaching the distributary level fairly quickly will be useful. This alternative
would be to identify appropriate sub-systems in the distributary system and
consider them as an intermediate level for organization. Once the preliminary
field information is collected, it will be possible to define these sub-systems for
pilot distributary. If the selected pilot area consists of only a minor, the sub-
system organization may not become necessary, and such a minor command
area would be expected to have only two tiers of social organization.

Designing Organizational Structure

With the information of identifiable sub-systems, the field team and the Lahore-
based staff will consult the water user groups and the key agency staff to decide
on a suitable organizational design for each pilot area. The method of
representation, levels of organizational units, whether all such levels should have
formalized structures, identification of functions for various organizational units,
and the mechanisms for decision-making and implementing programs of action
are the issues that have to be clarified in this consultation process. This activity
requires close collaboration with operating agencies. The challenge for IIMl’s
team will be to assimilate the views from water users, agencies and IIMl’s own
methodological ideas.

43
 111. ORGANIZATION CONSOLIDATION PHASE

Most of the activities in Phase II (Initial Organization) are designed to generate some
interest among the water users for mutually beneficial collective action. Instead of the
traditional approach of trying to coerce or manipulate water users' involvement in
management, the initial attempts are to assist the water users to identify, assess and
build on their latent capacity. With a self-realization by the water users of the potential
and the value of organized action, they would start designing the organization they need.
Phase 111 consists of a series of activities aimed at consolidating this process by entering
into stronger collaborative relationships with the operating agencies and gaining some
recognition in the process. In this new phase, the water users will be encouraged to
realize that the water delivery is not a government responsibility or a service to be
provided free of charge, and that they are partners of this economic activity and are no
longer mere "beneficiaries", nor the government a mere "provider". Some of the major
activities in Phase 111 are mentioned below.

M & 0 "Walk-Thru" Surveys

The training of staff in structural calibration and flow measurement activities can be used
to train water user groups in assessing maintenance requirements. This is done
basically through a series of "walk-thru" exercises, with groups of water users and Field
Research Assistants mapping out the existing physical conditions of the pilot distributary
or minor. The FRAs will assist in the preparation of maintenance priorities and related
work estimates and include them in a plan of action for the season. A similar effort will
be made to identify operational requirements.

Developing a Plan of Action

The Plan of Action will consist of four components: (1) Essential Structural Maintenance
(ESM); (2) Deferred Maintenance; (3) Operations; and (4) Monitoring and Evaluation
Feedback. The major impact of WUO's functioning will depend on their ability to identify
and attend to the essential maintenance needs to operate the system according, or as
close as possible, to design parameters. If the existing water distribution pattern is
inequitable and unreliable, the reasons for this unsatisfactory canal performance are
partly due to the deterioration of physical conditions of the system. If the WUO
collectively can identify urgent maintenance needs and attend to them as quickly as
possible, the results are most likely to impact positively on performance. There will be
yet another set of maintenance requirements which have been accumulated due to long
neglect, but which can be attended to in a more systematic manner. These deferred
maintenance needs will also be included in the Plan. The most important component
in the Plan would be the regular canal system operations and the organizational
arrangements for implementing them. The Plan will not be complete without the
mechanisms for monitoring and evaluation.

44
The main purpose of the distributary/minor level WUO is to take over from the operating
agencies the management responsibility for operation and maintenance of the secondary
canal system. For this to be successful, there should be a well planned transfer
process. Initially, both parties will collaborate very closely to identify their changing roles
and map out a strategy to define the scope of their respective responsibilities for
operation and management of the distributary/minor canal system. At the outset, the two
parties will collaborate to develop a plan of joint action, specifying each other’s
component, the set of activities to be accomplished by each party, their priorities, and
the time frame for the various activities.

Implementation Meetings

In Phase It, two sets of meetings were mentioned. One was for the purpose of initial
rapport building, and the other for consultation on organizational design. In Phase 111,
a third set of meetings among the water users is suggested to collectively discuss the
implementation of the Plan of Action. The leaders of the WUO (eg. executive committee)
would use these meetings to obtain a consensus among the general membership
regarding the Plan of Action.

Joint Management Agreement

Reaching an agreement between the W O and the operating agency regarding the
implementation of the Plan of Action is the central activity in Phase 111. The agreement
will relate to the division of responsibilities between WUO and the agency, the
implementation schedule indicating the priorities for action, and mobilization of
resources.

Training for WUOs

Participation by the WUOs in joint-management activities at the distributary/minor level

would be substantially improved with some training inputs to selected water users.
Financial management of the Organization and the management of operation and
maintenance activities are two areas in which training will be most valuable. IlMl and
collaborating partners will collectively undertake the responsibility for this training.

45
 IV. ORGANIZATIONAL ACTION PHASE

Phase IV is dedicated to action. The WUO and the operating agency together
implement the first Plan of Action. While the Plan's ESM component will be implemented
as an initial priority in order to improve the physical conditions of the system, a reviewed
water distribution schedule will be field tested during the first season. Depending on the
results of the first trial, the operational plan will be revised. At the same time action will
be taken to start the priority deferred maintenance activities.

The monitoring and evaluation system will be tested and modified. A set of indicators
will be developed for evaluation purposes.

The WUOs and the Operating agency together will finally consider the possible future
action for an effective turn over of further management responsibilities to the WUOs.

PLANNED OUTPUT

The following items can be considered as the immediate project outputs to be generated
during the project period:

Briefing Paper for presentation at ED1 Seminar on Participatory Irrigation

Management in Burban, Islamabad-(October 1995). See extract of this paper in
Annex-4.

lnception Report and Implementation Plan (October 1995).

Report on Selection of Pilot Sites based on the November 1995 workshop to be

held in Hyderabad to consult key agency staff and invited professionals (January
1995).

Preliminary Report on Baseline Investigation on Pilot Distributaries/Minors

(February 1996).

Final Report on Baseline Investigation (April 1996).

Interim Report on the Project (July 1996).

Report for the National Conference on Sustainable Irrigated Agriculture regarding

initial project-related results and recommendations (November 1996).

46
(8) Proposal for legal framework for the functions of Water Users Organizations in
Pakistan (February 1997).

(9) An Action Plan for Joint Management in Pilqt Distributaries or Minors (July 1997).

(10) Final Report of the Project (December 1997).

The final output from this project, preferably after the extension requested for, is a set
of recommendations on the policy and implementation issues related to farmer-managed
irrigated agriculture in the Sindh Province as can be extracted from the three pilot
projects. The outcome of this report is expected to be reflected in future irrigation
management strategies in the province and in the country.

In addition to the reports mentioned above, there will be a series of reports, on a monthly
basis to report on the project’s progress, and on a Phase basis to give a summary of
findings at the end of each Phase. Particularly in view of Pakistan’s current policy
initiatives and proposals for institutional reforms in the irrigated agriculture sector, the
project will provide useful insights on the organizational arrangements for farmers to
interact with government agencies and effectively manage their resources.

INFORMATION DISSEMINATION

A number of workshops and seminars were planned for conceptualizing the project
activities, developing work plans and for information dissemination. Yet another set of
field seminars are planned to be held in the project area for interactions with the water
users. Some details of the workshops to be held are given below, but the dates
mentioned for these events have to be considered as tentative.

November Workshop on the Project Implementation Plan and Pilot Sites to be

held in Hyderabad to consult key agency staff and invited
professionals (November 1995).

1996

April Workshop on the Pilot Projects’ Objectives, Work Plans and

Progress, primarily to discuss the process of water users
organization with key government officials and academics
associated with irrigated agriculture in the Sindh Province.

47
November National Conference on Sustainable Irrigated Agriculture in Pakistan,
to present tentative.results of project activities and to discuss future
activities required to achieve sustainability (this is an activity in the
GoN supported project, but this project will also contribute to the
workshop content).

1997

October Workshop to be held in Karachi or Hyderabad to discuss Water

Management Alternatives for Environmentally Sustainable Irrigated
Agriculture in Sindh (linked with the GoN supported project).

November Workshop on the Future Role of PlDs and PADS (linked with GoN
supported project).

In addition to the above, there will be a number of research reports based on the
findings of this project to cover the methodological issues and short-term effects of the
interventions.

MONITORING AND EVALUATION

The project activities will be monitored on a regular basis at two levels. At the project
level, there will be a Field implementation Coordination Committee (FtCC), which will
coordinate the activities by different actors in the field (PID, OFWM, IIMI, Water Users),
and also monitor the progress. The FICC is to finalized by 15 December (see Part Two:
Implementation Plan). They will make suggestions to another group, Project Advisory
Committee at Hyderabad, which will meet at least quarterly to discuss the progress of
work. In addition to the project outputs and outcomes referred to above, there are some
other indicators that would be useful to members for evaluation purposes:

0 The progress being made by the provincial agencies involved in irrigated

agriculture in the Sindh in achieving a coordinated approach to promote a farmer-
managed system at the distributary/minor level, that could later be incorporated
into government policy;

0 The level of interest demonstrated by farmers in being organized as a Water

Users Organization at the distributary level;

40
0 The improvement in equitable water distribution among outlets along a distributary
after becoming organized;

0 The ability to manage the combined irrigation and drainage facilities for mutual
benefit of all water users; and

0 The capability of the Water Users Organizations to settle water disputes.

IMPLEMENTATION ENVIRONMENT

So far, the project activities have proceeded smoothly. Except for the few problems of
mobility caused by intermittent strikes in the cities, which delayed the procurement of
motorcycles for the field teams, the work environment has been relatively calm. The
bulk of the more difficult field work is yet to be started. However, the composition of field
teams with mature individuals from the local area augurs well for future project work.
This implementation plan will not be realistic if it does not recognize the important
collaborative role that the operating agencies have to play in institutional development
activities. Institutional development is essentially a collaborative process. All of the
activities need the unstinted cooperation of respective collaborating partners in order to
be successful. A special effort is being made to develop these collaborative relationships,
both during the planning stage, as well as in the implementation process. Table 10
provides the composite schedule of all major activities to be implemented during the 30-
month period. This forms the basis for detailed monthly work plans developed for the
field teams. Flexibility is retained to adjust the activity items within the phases, and if
necessary to add or modify them, depending on the progressive development of the
collaborative action research program in the field.

49
Figure 5: Activity Chart

50
ANNEXES
 Annex-I

RESEARCH INPUTS FOR AN ACTION PROGRAM

ON PARTICIPATORY IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT IN PAKISTAN

D.J . Bandaragoda and Gaylord V. Skogerboe'

Paper prepared for the Seminar on "Participatory Irrigation Management", co-sponsored by the
Ministry of Water and Power of the Islamic Repitblic of Pakistan and the Economic Development
Institute of the World Bank.

October 2 - 6, 1994
Islamabad

This paper is meant to serve as background material for the discussion proposed by the Seminar
organizers, on "IIMl's past, present and future research activities relating to participatory irrigation
management". The paper is structured into three sections. First, it presents a brief review of
lessons learned that have been identified by IIMl's past and on-going research activities focusing
on social organization for irrigation and participatory irrigation management. This review relates
to experiences in a few selected countries, such as Philippines, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Nepal,
Indonesia, Columbia and India. Second, the paper outlines IIMl's general findings arising from
its work in Pakistan, and gives a brief commentary on the major research and policy issues
related to participatory irrigation management with special reference to possible action research
work in Pakistan. In the third section, the paper outlines IIMl's proposed program of activities
related to social organization aspects of irrigated agriculture in Pakistan.

1. EXPERIENCE IN OTHER COUNTRIES

1.1 Philippines

A widely documented social organization effort is the farmer organization program of the National
Irrigation Administration (NIA) in the Philippines. Beginning with small communal systems in the
early 197Os, and through a continuous learning process since then, the NIA has stepped up its
effort to achieve higher productivity and increased willingness of farmers to pay irrigation fees.
By 1995, the NIA will be having active irrigator associations to cover all of its 700,000 ha of
communal systems and part of its 600,000 ha of national systems.

1
Senior Management Specialist and Director respectively of IlMl Pakistan, Lahore.

52
Not unfamiliar in terms of experience elsewhere, the story is that this program began as a donor
requirement for project funding, prod,ucts of the first phase being just "paper associations". The
success in the Philippines case is that the program has been able to, though slowly, grow out
of this donor-driven mode. By the late 1970s, the two initial pilot sites had expanded to a
program to cover all 12 regions, and started to gain root with the introduction of young college
graduates from outside the project staff as "communal organizers". Later, NIA started its own
institutional development department and introduced "farmer irrigator organizers". IlMl entered
into a partnership with the NIA to identify research issues, monitor the program, and provide
feedback while managing the program's research component.

1.2 Nigeria

IIMl's field research work in Nigeria confirmed the commonly believed set of conditions for the
establishment of water users associations: a guarantee of water rights, legal status, secure land
tenure, and the use of tenure as the basis for membership in an association. At three pilot sites
in the Kano River Irrigation Project (KRIP), llMl and Project staff acted as facilitators, rather than
organizers, in a process of allowing the associations to evolve. Within a year, the associations
were mature enough to organize and carry out about 50% of the distributary canal cleaning work,
and about 75% of the work in the field channels. The project was notorious for weed growth in
the waterways, and as a result of the cleaning exercise, the flow increased by 12% in the middle
and tail portions of the canals. The associations took over the collection of water charges, and
one pilot site achieved a 90% recovery rate in the very first season of this change, which led to
a policy decision to permit the WUAs to retain 15oh of the collections if the rate were to exceed
90%. The Project has now assigned 12 staff members for WUA activities, and KRIP's parent
Hadejia Jama'ara River Basin Development Authority has established a separate WUA Wing in
its administration.

IIMl's study findings included the following three conditions for the establishment of water users
associations:

1) A well defined national policy must be established to guide the process of social
organization and to see that participatory management becomes institutionalized;

2) The agencies should have separate institutional arrangements specifically for the purpose
of promoting social organization; and

3) There should be a formalized legal basis for the organizations, since legal recognition is
necessary for them to gain credibility.

1.3 Sri Lanka

IIMl's experience in Sri Lanka on farmer organization is characterized by its early involvement
at the policy level. It started with an initial issues and needs assessment exercise, which
matured into a long collaborative policy development phase. With policy support, IlMl then
embarked upon a collaborative field-level action research program.

53
This was a case of IIMl's joining hands with a government program which had already begun on
policy reforms aimed at participatory irrigation management. The old Irrigation Department
established in 1900,based on mid-nineteenth century legislation (Ordinance No. 9 of 1856 and
amended by Ordinance No. 21 of 1867),was restructured in the 1980s to have a strong Irrigation
Management Division, with emphasis on water management and social organization. The
concept of integrated management of major schemes (INMAS) had been introduced along with
these reforms, adding an essential component of farmer participation.

The government's motivation was primarily based on resource mobilization to combat increasing
maintenance costs. The official presentation at a May 1986 Workshop organized by IlMl echoed,
"any government would be interested in participatory management if it could be demonstrated
that such measures would help reduce government commitments for maintenance and
rehabilitation, and more importantly, if it would reduce grievances within the farming community,
leave alone the government's desire to see a prosperous community". However, this initial
incentive on budgetary reasons, later developed into a firm commitment on sharing authority and
responsibility with the farmers.

IIMl's involvement in the Irrigation Management Policy Support Activity (IMPSA), guided by a
high level Irrigation Management Policy Advisory Committee (IMPAC), helped Sri Lankan
authorities to elaborate and refine the government's participatory management approach and to
develop a wide national consensus on a set of strategies for institutional reforms. Its Policy
Paper No. 2 was dedicated to an "institutional framework for management of irrigation systems
and building farmers' organizations". The main recommendations included strategies for turnover
of small systems, joint-management of the others, formation of institutional development units
within agencies, institutional adaptations for irrigation research, building farmer organizations,
and legal reforms. Some of these recommendations have been taken up for implementation.
The formation of distributary-level farmer organization is a major step.

IlMl carried out field research in the Kirindi Oya new settlement project to understand how
settlement activities could affect settlers' irrigation management behavior and their participation
in system management. There was unprecedented enthusiasm for the development of farmer
organizations. The findings in this instance included the following:

1) The existence of a well defined and commonly appreciated purpose, or a set of purposes
is a major determinant for achieving success in social organization. Early settler
organizations became inactive when the project made the transition to an operational
phase. The subsequent farmer organizations specifically set up for irrigation management
purposes began to take shape fairly quickly. As there was no village level mechanism
to attend to increasing community development issues in the settlements, the farmer
organizations gradually assumed additional responsibilities, and gained greater
accept ance and credibility.

2) The collective strength through the organization was more effective than individual action
to interact with agencies. The project had many construction-related problems hampering
the progress of project objectives. The farmer organizations were able to obtain regress
fairly quickly and on a more equitable basis.

54
3) "Institutional Organizers" played a vital role in assisting the new farmer community to
identify their leadership and get organized on their own initiative. They also played an
active role in facilitating the transactions with agencies.

4) With the agency staff interacting closely with the farmer groups in a less authoritative
way, despite the enormous irrigation problems in the project, there was unprecedented
cooperation between irrigators and operational staff.

5) There was a quick realization that the new enthusiastic organizations could be easily
overloaded with a variety of community development problems; thus, it was considered
better for the farmer organizations to concentrate on irrigation-related issues.

1.4 Nepal

The experience in Nepal is mostly on farmer-managed irrigation systems. An innovative idea

that has been tested and found very productive is "farmer-to-farmer training". The visits by
groups of farmers from a poorly managed system to a well managed system have been very
useful. These strategies have helped in the consolidation of farmer organizations in either
situation.

Two-thirds of all the irrigation systems in Nepal are farmer-managed. In these systems, farmers
perceive the water resources as community property, whereas, in agency-managed systems,
water is perceived as a government-owned resource, and its distribution, which is a government
responsibility, is not seen as a task serving the best interest of the community. IIMl's research
in Nepal has identified the following as the "organizing forces":

1) Perception of water as community property;

2) Protection of water rights;

3) Achieving water distribution in proportion to water share; and

4) Mobilization of manpower for common tasks.

1.5 Indonesia

In early 1987, a national level working group was formed in Indonesia, consisting of
representatives from the Directorate of Irrigation, Ford Foundation, a national NGO, and IIMI.
Within a year, the Working Group was to develop a viable process and a workplan for
implementing turnover of irrigation systems to farmers throughout the country. By early 1980,
the turnover program started in two provinces, and by 1990; it had expanded to seven provinces.
It has been estimated that, over 15 years of implementation, the turnover program could save
the government about Rp. 22.5 billion (US $13.5 million) in O&M costs for small scale irrigation.

55
Research during early stages of implementation showed no negative impact on system
performance arising from the turnover process, and that considerable local investments were
being stimulated. However, pressures for achieving ambitious targets appeared to have
hampered strategic principles in promoting participatory management.

1.6 Columbia

Columbia's experience in management turnover is more mature than that in any other developing
country. O&M responsibility in some districts were handed over to water users associations as
early as 1976. IlMl is assessing performance before and after turnover and reviewing the
transfer process. Initial results indicate the following:

1) After a temporary downturn immediately after the turnover in 1976, the area irrigated has
continued to expand, indicating that farmers have confidence in being able to obtain
water.

2) Both farmers and agency staff agree that paper work and delays have been reduced
considerably after the transfer.

3) Emphasis on cost cutting has led to a decline in real terms in the irrigation fees levied
by the WUAs.

1.7 India

Recognizing that there were already several irrigation-related social organization experiments
in India (e.g. the CASED work in the Mula System in Maharashtra), IlMl opted to avoid
competition or duplication, and to work in places where experiments did not exist, or to
strengthen existing experiments by lending its international experience. Given IIMl's limited
scope for large scale work, the decision was to work in one or two states where there was strong
government interest in pursuing farmer organization activities. The work was essentially to be
in collaboration with the local Water and Land Management Institutes (WALMls).

The case of the Paliganj Distributary (12,000 ha) in the Sone System in Bihar presents a success
story in farmer management attempts above the outlet. In a rather hostile environment due to
years of neglect by irrigation officers, the WALMI Action Research Program (ARP) study team
found many obstacles at the beginning. Social tensions related to caste and tenure were
pronounced in this "socially disturbed" area, and the upper-end farmers had the habit of
breaching the canal. The ARP team spent months in developing a rapport with the aggrieved
majority in the farming community, and finally the breakthrough came. This is an isolated case
of a local initiative, maintained by a dedicated group of local researchers, which has no larger
strategic framework. Being one of the poorest states in India, Bihar is chronically short of funds,
and has declared a policy of transferring management responsibilities to farmers. The
experience suggests that it is more valuable, if it can be achieved, to organize farmers to deal
with problems above the outlet rather than below the outlet.

56
1.8 Lessons Learned 2

The following can be mentioned as” the main lessons learned from research experience on
farmer organizations around the world, with particular reference to Asian countries:

1) Experience in many countries suggests that farmers are willing to become organized in
order to improve irrigation system management; it is commonly appreciated that
organizing farmers can lead not only to better production and more equitable water
distribution, but also to better relations between farmers and agency officials. Farmers’
participation in irrigation management through farmer organizations can contribute
positively to planning, design and construction, water management, resource mobilization
and conflict resolution.

2) Advisably, water users organizations should be built upon small hydrologically defined
groups as the primary organizational units, so that all farmers have a chance to
participate, without limiting it to subgroups such as landowners.

3) There is no maximum size limit for a farmers’ organization. There are effective farmer
organizations managing small command areas of 20-25 hectares and large command
areas ranging from 3000 ha to 15000 ha. In a large system, a farmer organization may
need several tiers, each with specific responsibilities, or smaller groups can form a
federation. The 15,000 hectare Karnali system in Nepal, the 458,000 hectare King’s
River Water Association in Fresno, California, and the 150,000 hectare Chia-nan
Irrigators’ Association in Taiwan are examples of federated farmer organizations.

4) Farmer organizations must have real power and control over resources. Sri Lanka, India,
Indonesia and Philippines all have many examples where farmer organizations have
failed because actual decision-making power was kept by government agencies; these
countries also have many examples where farmer organizations have functioned very well
when given real power and legal clarity about rights and responsibilities and the authority
to settle conflicts locally and apply sanctions.

5) A farmer organization whose primary felt need is water, should reach a level of
managerial sophistication that ensures a reliable water supply before it undertakes other
agriculture related activities which can augment the productivity of water. A tendency for
farmer organizations to undertake additional activities on their own, once they can
manage irrigation water, has been observed in the Philippines and Sri lanka.

6) In system rehabilitation or modernization, efforts to organize farmers or strengthen

existing farmer organizations should begin well before the physical works are initiated.
An event requiring group decision-making and local investment can be a good foundation
for an effective organization. The experience of an action research project in
Sindhupalchowk (Nepal) shows that once farmers are organized, physical construction

2
This section giving a synthesis of lessons learned from experiences around the world, has
benefited considerably from a note, “FARMER ORGANIZATION IN IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT
IN INDIA: HOW CAN llMl CONTRIBUTE?”. by R. Sakthivadivel, Jeff Brewer, Douglas Merrey and
Douglas Vermillion of IlMl (1992).

57
 does not take long. Many examples in Sri Lanka, India, and the Philippines show that
if organizational development does not precede or occur together with design and
construction, the work is slower, less effective, and often faces opposition, or even
sabotage, from the farmers.

7) Farmers’ willingness to contribute labor, cash and other resources to operations and
maintenance, and to collectively bargain with agencies, is directly related to their power
to make real decisions. This is a good index of the potential for organization.

8) Many national and state irrigation acts do not provide for farmers’ participation in
irrigation management. Even where legal provision exists, they generally need to be
strengthened and modified.

9) Experience in the Philippines, Indonesia and Sri Lanka shows that, as farmer
organizations become more effective, they are capable of taking increasing responsibility
for irrigation system operations and maintenance, thus relieving the government of these
burdens, both managerial and financial.

10) Because of the complexity of the process in shifting from reliance on government
agencies to reliance on farmer organizations, requiring changes in both parties, no
detailed blueprint for achieving this shift is possible. Instead, the process requires
experimentation, negotiation, adaptation to local circumstances, and time. It should be
emphasized that planners must be prepared to take a long time period to achieve
sustainable changes needed at all levels. Sri Lanka, for example, has made significant
progress during the last 14 years but will need several more years to consolidate the
required changes.

11) In some countries (Sri Lanka, Philippines) government units have proven effective in
assisting farmers to establish and strengthen their organizations. There are also a
number of important cases where non-government organizations (NGOs), working closely
with the government, have proven very effective (Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, India).

12) There is no single model for farmer organizations. Each farmer organization must
respond to its peculiar environmental and system requirements including agro-climatic
and crop requirements, the local cultural system, and the legal and organizational
environment.

13) Experience in several countries, including India, has shown that using catalyst agents or
institutional organizers (10s) can be an effective way to proceed. Catalysts provide the
initial energy needed to get the farmers to work together while at the same time providing
the initial contacts and communication between the incipient farmers organization and the
irrigation agency. These contacts must eventually lead to negotiation of rights and
responsibilities of the farmer organization. 10s can be recruited from NGOs, universities,
trained agency field operations staff (a low cost approach in Indonesia), from local
villages (Sri Lanka) or from among progressive farmers themselves (another low cost
approach in the Philippines).
14). In many countries, the concern on having to share management responsibility with water
users has been based on a common realization that the actual system performance is
deviating from design standards in terms of equity and variability. For instance
substantial inequity was observed in field studies in Philippines Table-1), Sri Lanka
(Table-2) and India (Figure-1), as reported by Wijayaratna (1991). Similar, or more grave
problems of inequity in water distribution have been identified in Pakistan. Some of them
will be discussed in the following section of the paper.

2. PARTICIPATORY IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT IN PAKISTAN:

The Context and Prospects for Action Research

2.1 The Context

The management of Pakistan's integrated canal irrigation network is a very complex task. Its vast
size, its dependence on run-of-the-river flows, fertile but environmentally fragile soils and their
location in different ecological zones, large numbers of water users and a huge bureaucracy to
administer, are just a few features of the world's largest contiguous irrigation system, which have
made its management indeed a highly complex responsibility. That it has been run for such a
long period, exceeding one hundred years, is in itself a commendable effort. But not many good
efforts, carried out in their original design and style, can last that long and still be very
productive.

A number of second generation problems started to surface, when the old systems were
rehabilitated, remodelled and modernized, yet over-used or misused, and improperly operated
under fast changing socio-economic conditions. These problems are too well known to need
elaboration here. The constraints encountered in the present operation of the system can be
summarized as:

(1) a general shortage of canal water, which becomes more pronounced during peak
periods of crop water requirement3;

(2) The implications of the new-found supply of groundwater4 in the continued

operation of traditional allocation methods based on equitable distribution;

(3) a deterioration in physical conditions of the canal system, which continues to

reduce the water delivery efficiency while aggravating the water shortage
situation; and

(4) the increasing difficulties of a centralized administrative system to fully cope with
the growing problems of both operation and maintenance of the physical system.

See Tables 1 and 2.

4
See Figure 1 for the growth of groundwater development.

59
These main constraints are further compounded by environmental problems associated with
waterlogging and soil salinity and sodicity.

The combined effect of these problems can be seen in an increasing inequity in the distribution
and use of canal water, a decreasing concern for rules and regulations of canal operations, and
consequently, a growing mistrust between water users and agency staff.

The present inequity can be seen as the cumulative effect of two interacting factors: 1) the
deficiencies in maintaining physical conditions of the canal system; and 2) persistent deviations
from the designed operational procedure. Maintenance is basically a support activity to facilitate
operating the irrigation system; the two activities need to go hand-in-hand for the system to
perform according to its design parameters.

To the theoretical understandings of irrigation management in Pakistan, as outlined above, IIMl's

past and on-going research activities have added some empirical results in an effort to isolate
a few important issues that relate to this situation. They are mainly in the following subject
areas:

1) Performance of canal systems and equity in water distribution;

2) Implications of groundwater development;

3) Institutional factors affecting irrigation performance;

4) Environmental implications of irrigation; and

5) Potential for crop-based irrigation operation.

The first three items are selected for further elaboration, as they directly related to the subject
under consideration.

2.1 .I Canal performance

With the gradual decline in the quality of physical and management conditions, the design
objective of equity steadily eroded. When design assumptions for distributary outlets, such as
continuous full supply water level in the canal and outlet modular conditions, were no longer
valid, the distribution of water among the outlets was found to be substantially inequitable (Bhutta
and Vander Velde, 1992).

The following comments relate to some of the main aspects of inequity as found in IIMi's field
research (Kijne and Vander Velde, 1991 and 1992; Vander Velde and Murray-Rust, 1992):

1) Monitoring activities in Farooqabad and Bhagat Sub-Divisions have shown that the long
standing system performance objective of equity in surface-water distribution is now
rarely achieved. On average, the farmers in tail-end watercourses have less than one-
fifth the access to surface water enjoyed by farmers in the head-end watercourses. The

60
 pattern observed for the Pir Mahal Distributary, having a design discharge of 4.67 cubic
meters/second for a CCA of 14,891 ha, can be seen in Figure 2 and Figure 3.

2) When the discharge at the distributary head falls below 70% of design, an occurrence
observed in some distributaries of the Lower Chenab Canal (LCC) for as much as one-
third of the annually available operational days, supplies to tail outlets simply collapse.

3) As the Lower Gugera Branch delivers insufficient surface water supplies to the tail of the
system, an inter-distributary rotation is operated for much of the year at Bhagat Head.
Yet, significant inconsistencies in the equitable implementation of scheduled rotational
operations were observed in the Pir Mahal Distributary. For several months in 1990, this
distributary operated about 40% of the time period below 70% of full supply level,
contrasting with nearby Khikhi and Dabanwala distributaries which operated nearly
continuously at 90% or more of full supply level (Figure 4). Heavy silt accumulation,
embankment erosion, unauthorized or informal withdrawals of canal water upstream, and
variability in distributary flows upstream were identified as causes of severe tail-end
deprivation.

4) Laxity in canal operations has promoted anarchy in the field. There are many instances
of breaching of canal bunds, installing of unauthorized outlets, pumping and siphoning
of canal water, and tampering with outlets and other canal structures. These acts in turn
exacerbate the maintenance problems. Both under normal supply and shortage
conditions, generally the upstream water users receive more water than their due share,
while those in the tail reaches of the canal command receive less5.

2.1.2 Groundwater

Public and private groundwater development added a new dimension to equitable use of water
resources. It tended to help the richer farmers and,also to adversely affect the tail-end farmers
as the groundwater quality decreased towards the tail areas of the distributary commands.

A substantial increase in water supplies at the watercourse level due to public tubewells in some
areas (eg. Rechna Doab) meant that the low design cropping intensities (50-75%) could now be
exceeded. Annual cropping intensities in many LCC distributary commands increased to well
over 100%. Simultaneously, some farmers started to grow higher priced, water-intensive crops

Surprisingly, there are also instances where the tail-end watercourses in some canals have been
reported as receiving more water than their due share. This unusual inequitable situation
observed in Puran and Nari distributaries in the Punjab is attributed to an overall over-supply of
water to the canals (Gleason et al, 1993). A similar anomaly was seen in an IlMl study in the
Lower Swat Canal in the North West Frontier Province, where its downstream Sheik Yousaf Minor
was drawing more excess water relative to the design discharge than its upstream Distributary No.
3, and downstream watercourses receiving a greater allowance than watercourses upstream in
the Minor, and the same reason was identified for explaining the unusual reversed inequity
(Bandaragoda et al, 1993).

61
like rice and sugarcane. This was accompanied by a rapid development of private tubewells in
the 1980s (Figure 8.13). A tubewell census of 35 watercourse commands of Mananwala, Karkan
(Minor) and Largar distributaries revealed that the average density of private tubewells in the
area was over 5 per 100 ha. IlMl studies showed that total groundwater supplies, on average,
contributed about 70% of water used in the Farooqabad Sub-Division. Therefore, to exclude this
high percentage of total water supply from the norm of equitable distribution is a major factor
relating to consideration of equity.

2.1.3 Institutional Factors

A study on the institutional framework for irrigation management in Pakistan concluded the
following (Bandaragoda and Firdousi, 1992):

A major institutional factor that affects Pakistan’s irrigation performance is the

continuation of complex and outdated formal rules and procedures while they are
consistently over-ridden by several socially evolved informal institutions. The original
intentions of ensuring strict discipline for codified behavior in water distribution, as well
as in water use, can no longer be achieved due to changed circumstances in the social
and physical environment. A review of formal irrigation rules, measures to arrest the
dysfunctional effect of some informal rules, and an overall assessment of the whole
structure of irrigation organization are the urgently needed research and policy initiatives.

With the changes in the socio-political systems after the demise of colonialism, the
modern democratic values and the old cultural values appear to be running parallel to
each other, often resulting in conflicting manifestations in the field. The challenge is to
find an appropriate congruence between these two streams and convert the present
institutional barriers to useful institutional support for irrigation management.

A centralized administration designed to control a large supply-oriented canal irrigation

system has lost its effectiveness, if not largely its relevance, in an emerging demand-
oriented system. The regional and location specific management requirements arise from
the presence of additional tubewell water on the one hand, and different cropping
patterns and intensities on the other. Centralization needs to be replaced by appropriate
decentralized mechanisms, remote control by more intimate performance monitoring, and
narrow departmentalism by greater coordination.

Any form of institutional change in any context requires positive support from policy. A
deep-rooted administrative culture in this region would necessarily require carefully
considered strategies and the support from the highest levels of policy to make any
change in the existing irrigation-related institutions. Attempts can be fruitful when they
are strongly based on local initiatives and a full understanding of the prevailing
constraints, and when they are correctly placed in the country’s socio-economic context.

62
Generally, a fairly common picture emerges in many canal systems. When the canal is silted,
its upstream outlets tend to draw more water than their design discharges. This is simply a
hydraulic phenomenon, which however has an impact on social behavior; it discourages
upstream farmers from promoting maintenance activities in the canalG, it encourages "free-rider"
behavior (in which some individuals try to get more than their due share at the expense of the
others), and increases social conflict.

Conditions of scarcity and poor reliability of supply normally encourage the individual water user
to engage in various malpractices for maximizing personal gain. A long period of this behavior
results in a "syndrome of anarchy", which is a product of mutual mistrust between the water
users and the operating staff. The users lack the confidence that if they refrain from stealing
water, or breaking the structures, they will get their entitled water on time, while the officials lack
the confidence that if they apply themselves properly to somehow get water on time, the users
will refrain from breaking the rules. The problem is, where and how to break this vicious circle.
As long as the offenders are the majority in either group, enforcement is not possible as any law
can be effective only when a small minority of the population tends to break it.

2.1.4 Rationale for Organization of Water Users in Pakistan

A strategy that seems most congruous with this situation is to approach the problem from the
demand side of the irrigation management equation. This strategy has not been fully explored
so far in Pakistan, where a supply-sided bureaucracy has consistently been playing a dominant
role.

The proposition is that growing inequity and declining productivity can be resolved by an
institutional change initiated at the level of water users, which would help to adjust their own
behavior, and would help to generate corresponding institutional (and behavioral) changes in the
delivery organizations as well. There is evidence to suggest that, given the opportunity,
Pakistan's water users are willing to take decisions on their own.

In the absence of pressure from rigid administrative behavior, Pakistan's farmers have
demonstrated their willingness and ability to manage their own irrigation affairs amicably and
productively. In the newly established Chashma Right Bank Canal Stage I system, any form of
warabandi or official water distribution methods have not been established yet. Taking this
opportunity, farmers resorted to close and open outlets according to their collective needs within
the watercourse commands. IIMl's research results show that the pattern of this outlet closure
almost coincide with the actual crop water requirements for the season (Figure . and Figure 7
and Figure 8). Field research in Fordwah Distributary has reported very prudent behavior by the
farmers in water trading and sharing (Strosser and Kuper, 1993), and in coping with salinity
(Kuper and van Waijjen, 1993).

In a seminar held in Karachi, mention was made that some influential farmers in such
advantageous locations in a canal command had brought tractor loads of removed silt back into
the canal, immediately after a major desilting effort by the government.

63
The current problems of irrigation management in Pakistan typically call for new thinking.
Hitherto, the country's irrigation development has been mainly technology-oriented, and pursued
with a pre-occupation in expanding the resource base. The commendable work done so far in
technology application and resource base expansion is now clearly facing a decline in its
productive value.

Yields of main crops under irrigated agriculture in Pakistan are either stagnant, or declining. The
Pakistan National Conservation Strategy, a recently published government document, points out
that Pakistan's average yields of all main crops are considerably less than the average yields
achieved by other countries; wheat yield is 44% of that in Mexico, rice yield is 43% of that in
Egypt, maize yield is 33% of that in Turkey, cotton yield is 75% of that in Mexico, and sugarcane
is 66% of that in India. The 1990 Water Sector lnvestment Plan of Pakistan predicts a food
shortfall of about 10% by the year 2000 and 25% by 2013, even if the Plan's proposed targets
of resource base and performance improvements are met. This represents an increase in the
food deficit from 24% to 36% during this period. Thus, the low productivity of irrigated agriculture
in Pakistan represents a major threat to the country's food security.

2.2 Prospects for Action Research on Social Organization

The rationale for social organization in irrigation management in Pakistan was seen to be based
on the country's context. However, generally for any country, the idea of organizing water users
should raise a number fundamental questions, answers to which are usually assumed to be
common sense. But these questions need to raised, and clear answers sought and clarified so
that there is a common platform of appreciation of the strategies to be undertaken.

For instance, who gains by farmer organization, and who loses? If it is for common benefit, how
can the benefit be clearly identified to make it easily convincing? Can this goal be achieved in
a skewed social system? What makes an organized users group function effectively under these
conditions? And so on and so forth.

A few issues that relate to these questions are mentioned below.

2.2.1 Empowering Water Users : A Basic Issue

The following excerpt from a recent article by John S. Ambler (1993) aptly raises the issue of
empowerment:

In practice, the implicit meaning of the phrase "farmer participation'' frequently means "we
need farmer participation in the government's program". With this unsaid attitude, the
government acts as the prime mover, making the key decisions about investment
priorities, the design of improvements, the system of management, and the rules of
operation. Water user's associations become an appendage of the state, rather than
autonomous bodies with real decision-making powers. The concept of farmer
management (or alternatively, "government participation in peoples' programs") requires
a reorientation of the irrigation bureaucracy from a position of implementing agency to
one of service agency. This would be one step towards conditioning ourselves to think
about placing meaningful authority in the farmers' hands.

64
The validity of this view rests on a number of observable facts and related interpretations. One
dominant feature of irrigation management in South Asian countries is the exercise of power and
authority in day-to-day management affairs. Therefore, a basic issue in social organization for
irrigation management is whether, and to what extent, the power and authority can be shared
among the relevant partners.

Ambler's views quoted above represent a common concern among many from outside the
irrigation bureaucracies, and the concern has been increasingly emphasized in recent times.
However, not much has been articulated on this issue by those within the bureaucracies who,
in fact, possess the power and authority, which they are being encouraged to share with their
"beneficiaries". A forum of this nature provides a good opportunity to clarify the insiders' view.

The downside of this issue is an apparent lack of both interest and its articulation at the grass
root level. Do water users really want to get organized, or be empowered?

This question has to be answered with empirically tested results. That the people in one place
have wanted users organization, or even benefited from it, is no reason for one to assume that
the people in another place would do the same. Even if the common realization among those
who are interested in their welfare is that any group of people would need it, there is a need to
engage in some social engineering field work to ensure that people in fact are convinced that
they want to be organized. Individuals will readily agree to join a group only when they see the
personal gain in doing so.

In summary, the sharing of power and authority is a basic requirement for shifting to participatory
management through the involvement of organized users. This presupposes the existence of
a commonly accepted set of useful functions to be performed by the organizations. Without
these, there will be only "paper organizations".

The desirability of power transfer may be widely accepted, but the issue needs to be further
analyzed in terms of mainly three aspects:
I ) Viability (is it really possible?);
2) Extent (how far is it possible?); and
3) Mechanisms (the strategies for transferring power).

2.2.2 What Can the Organized Water Users Do ?

Past experience in state-sponsored interventions in organizing water users shows that their
emphasis was for more tangible, target-oriented and engineering-related activities by the water
users. Once the limited involvement in lining and improving watercourses was accomplished,
the "WUA" that was formed for this purpose collapsed. In fact, the activity itself was a doubtful
incentive for the farmers to organize themselves for collective action, as the task could be
undertaken with minimum organized behavior by the individuals. Studies on Swabi Irrigated
Agriculture Project (SIAP) activities in the North West Frontier Province concluded that lining of
watercourses is hardly seen by the farmers as a strong incentive for collective action. However,
further research on this aspect is necessary to arrive at firm conclusions.

65
An organization of water users implies that the “water use” itself is an important task to be
gainfully accomplished through collective action by the organization. This assumption has not
been tested yet in Pakistan, but underlies the conceptual framework outlined in this paper. One
of the important objectives of any future interventions in organizing water users in Pakistan
should be to test the validity of this proposition. Can organized water users manage water more
productively and more equitably, if they were to be given the responsibility, not only at the
watercourse level, but also at the distributary canal level ?

2.2.3 Who Should Organize Water Users 7

The political nature of participation requires that the policy on social organization should
essentially be indigenous. It should finally be determined by the local people alone, and not by
any donor or foreign expert. However, external assistance can be a very useful catalyst in the
process of policy formulation, situation analysis and developing implementation strategies.

That the content of participation is usually determined by the political ideology of each country
is an added reason why there should be a fairly cautious approach to any type of intervention
relating to the organization of people. Particularly, the rural people are generally believed to be
the more vulnerable section of the society, and should be approached with greater care.
In Pakistan, this policy interest has already been expressed. Two extensive state sponsored
programs, On Farm Water Management and Command Water Management, represent a clear
expression of policy interest in social organization, which is further supported by the laws
established for water users associations and their federations. What is lacking however, is a firm
commitment on the part of both policy and management to pursue this effort beyond the
program-based obligations to the donors. Once a favorable policy environment has been firmly
established, ideally, the need for WUAs should be felt by the water users themselves, and the
organization and development of WUAs should be based on their own expressed interest. These
propositions can be tested in an action research program.

3. IIMI’S PROPOSED ACTIVITIES IN PAKISTAN

With the experience gained in different contexts, IlMl would like to collaborate with Pakistani
agencies and research groups to provide the necessary research inputs for developing and
implementing a strategy for participatory management. The above mentioned questions, and
several others, will form the basis for a collaborative research and development program.

IIMl’s proposed research effort aims to:

1) develop a general awareness regarding the field response to the past policy initiatives;

2) rekindle the interest among policy and implementation levels for undertaking more
meaningful measures towards lasting institutional development among water users; and
3) identify the conditions for effective social organization. .

66
Contextually appropriate action research efforts will follow the initial "learning" phase, on the
basis that any external assistance can be effective only in playing a facilitating or a catalytic role.
Methodologies used elsewhere with a fair degree of success (Skogerboe et al 1993) will be used
with appropriate amendments to suit the local conditions.

Action research on this theme has to be essentially collaborative. With this requirement in view,
the proposed research effort will also explore the development of appropriate extension
mechanisms and training strategies for collaboration. In the next phase of the Netherlands
funded project, "Managing Irrigation for Environmentally Sustainable Irrigated Agriculture in
Pakistan", IlMl is planning to emphasize on the social organization aspects. The project
document indicates this emphasis in the following preamble:

In line with present thinking within the Pakistan Government, and supported by similar
World Bank initiatives in the irrigation and drainage sector, the project will embark upon
a program of studies related to required institutional changes in irrigation delivery and
drainage. Water Users Associations (WUAs), that are still insufficiently developed after
many years of Government support, and institutional changes in provincial government
agencies, will form a new thrust of the project. IIMl's involvement in many disciplines and
sectors as Pakistan changes its approach and strategy, together with its experiences in
other countries, would enable possibilities for success in these activities.

The activities will be built around four main areas:

1) Establishing viable water users organizations;

2) Farmer-agency interactions;

3) Coordinated irrigation services; and

4) Role of provincial institutions.

3.1 In the Puniab Province

These activities will be carried out in the Fordwah Eastern Sadiquia (South) area, where a World
Bank funded irrigation and drainage project is being implemented at a total cost of about
Rs.2300 million over a period of six years from 1992-93 to 1998-99. The infrastructure
development and related research work is jointly executed by the Water and Power Development
Authority (WAPDA), Punjab Irrigation Department (PID) and Punjab Agriculture Department
(PAD). The proximity to this project work provides an opportunity for IlMl to closely collaborate
with these agencies. For IIMl's activities related to social organization, the PAD (particularly its
Water Management Directorate), will be the main partner. This partnership will be able to draw
on the long experience of the Command Water Management Project (CWMP) and the On-Farm
Water Management (OFWM) program, in which attempts had been made in the past to
strengthen the irrigated agriculture management through improved infrastructure, institutions,
agricultural inputs and services. The work will be carried out in the watercourse commands of
two distributaries, the Sirajwah Distributary and the Bhukan Distributary.

67
3.2 In the Sind Province

At the request of the Government of Sind, a s'imilar program is planned to be incorporated in the
World Bank and Swiss funded "Supplementary Project for Strengthening of LBOD Stage I, Water
Management Component". Pilot projects will be undertaken to induce genuine farmer
management of irrigation. One minor or distributary command area will be selected as a Pilot
Distributary Turnover Command area in each of the three LBOD districts (Nawabshah, Sanghar
and Mirpukhas). The Directorate of the LBOD Water Management Cell in particular, and the
Provincial Agriculture Department in general will be the collaborating partners of IlMl in this
activity.

Dutch funding for IIMl's work for water management interventions will reinforce this LBOD
activities to fine-tune the delicate balance between conjunctive irrigation and drainage practices
that are required for the waterlogged situation in the Sindh. This combined support will further
help IlMl to involve strong collaboration with existing research organizations and government
agencies in the Province of Sindh.

IlMl places a strong emphasis on the collaborative nature of these activities. IlMl would work
as a partner with the implementing agency and other collaborating institutes. In the long run,
a successful farmer organization effort aimed at participatory irrigation management approaches
will necessarily be accompanied by policy and organizational changes within irrigation agencies,
which they must be prepared to plan and implement. IlMl would like to participate in launching
this institutional development program, by providing it the relevant research inputs and
international experience.

References

Ambler, John S . 1993. Rethinking the language of farmer water users associations, in FMlS
News Letter No. 12, September 1993. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Irrigation Management
institute.

Bandaragoda, D. J.; and G. R. Firdousi. 1992. Institutional factors affecting irrigation

performance in Pakistan: research and policy priorities. IlMl Country Paper - Pakistan No.4.
Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Irrigation Management institute.

Bandaragoda, D. J.; M. Badruddin; Rana M. Afaq; and Saeed-ur-Rehman. 1993. Institutional

and management implications of system modernization: rehabilitation of the Lower Swat Canal
irrigation system. Paper presented at the Ninth Internal Program Review, Colombo, Sri Lanka:
International Irrigation Management institute.

Bhutta, M. N., and E. J. Vander Velde. 1992. Equity of water distribution along secondary
canals in Punjab, Pakistan. Irrigation and Drainage Systems, Vol 6: 161-177.

68
Gleason, Jane E.; and James M. Wolf. 1993. Evaluation of the impact of canal rehabilitation
on hydraulic and agricultural economics indicators. Irrigation Systems Management Project
Phase II. USAID, Islamabad.

International Irrigation Management Institute. 1989. IlMl Review, Vol 3, No. 1, Special Issue on
Farmer Participation in Management.

Kijne, Jacob W.; and Edward J. Vander Velde. 1991. Secondary Salinity in Pakistan - Harvest
of Neglect, in IlMl Review, Vol. 5, No. 1. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Irrigation
Management Institute.

Kijne, Jacob W.; and Edward J. Vander Velde. 1992. Salinity in Punjab Watercourse
Commands and Irrigation System Operations, in Advancements in IIMl's Research 1989-91.
Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Irrigation Management Institute.

Kuper, M.; and Erik van Wijjen. 1993. Farmers Irrigation Practices and Their Impact on Soil
Salinity in the Punjab, Pakistan. Ninth Internal Program Review, Colombo: IIMI.

Merrey, D. J. 1993. Institutional context for managing irrigated agriculture. Paper presented
at the DSEAIMI Strategy Workshop on Institutional Framework for Irrigation, 1-5 November 1993,
Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Pakistan National Conservation Strategy. 1992. The Pakistan national conservation strategy:
where we are, where we should be, and how to get there. Environment and Urban Affairs
division, Government of Pakistan.

Skogerboe, G. V.; L. P. Poudyal; and K. B. Shrestha. 1993. M&O guidelines for turnover of
irrigation systems to farmers. Water Resources Development, Vol. 9, No. 4.

Strosser, P.; and M. Kuper. 1993. Water Markets in the FordwahISadiqia Area: An Answer to
Perceived Deficiencies in Canal Water Supplies? Working Paper No. 30, Colombo, Sri Lanka:
IIMI.

Vander Velde, E. J.; and D.H. Murray-Rust. 1992. Impacts of physical managerial interventions
on canal performance in Pakistan: A review of five years of field research studies. Paper
presented at the Eighth Internal Program Review. IIMI. Colombo.

Vermillion, Douglas L. 1992. Irrigation Management Turnover: Structural Adjustment or

Strategic Evolution?, in IlMl Review, Vol. 6, No. 2. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Irrigation
Management Institute.

Wijayaratna, C. M. 1991. Irrigation Management in Asia: Experience and Prospects. paper

presented to the Study Mission on Management of Irrigation Facilities, 18-28 June 1991, APO,
Tokyo, Japan.

69
 Table-1

Water Availability - Ratio”between the highest and lowest:

1983-87, Upper Pampanga Project, Philippines

1993 Dry 2.03

Wet 3.23
1984 Dry 1.46
Wet 1.69
1985 Dry 1.52
Wet 2.05
1986 Dry 1.68
Wet 1.40
1987 Dry 1.61
Wet 1.23
Average Dry 1.50
Wet 1.58

Ta ble-2

Summay of the Analysis of Variance in the Distribution of

Water Availability - Gal Oya Project, Sri Lanka

’
1980181 (Wet) 1981 (Dry) I981182 (Wet) 1982 (Dry)
Main system
53 24 1
55 I
48
I I I I

Field channel I 9 I 14 I 18 I 22
Among farmers I 29 I 38 I 11 I 21
Within farm 9 24 16 9
Total 100 100 I00 100

70
 Figure-1

120 - ----___
_..-.. ....*. I
....- -. -..---... I

100 - '.
-..*
_.-. !
I
**... ....-.
.
.-a
- "*-- ... Head i!
80 - ..-.._
-..

71
 Table-3 Water Allowance in Major Perennial Canals in Pakistan.

Year Canal capadty 1 Water allowance

Canal system operations
started h?/sec (Cusecs per
1,000 acres)

1 Central Ban Doab 1859 73.58 0.23 ( 3.22)

2 Sidhnai 1887 127.35 0.2 1 t 3.00)
3 Lowerswat 1890 22.64 0.44 (6.15)
4 LowerChenab 1892 325.45 0.22 (3.17)
5 LowerJhelum 1901 150.00 0.20 (2.84)
6 UpperJhelum -- 1915 53.77 0.2 1 ( 3.03)
7 Panjnad 1929 254.7 0.30 (4.20)
8 Rohri 1932 3 16.96 0.20 (2.84)
9 Thal 1947 283.00 0.23 (3.18)
10 CRBC 1987 130.1 0.53 (7.53)
11 Lowerswat - 55.0 0.78 (1 1.00)
(Remodeled)

Sources: Revised Action Programme for Imgated Agriculture, Vol.1, WAPDA 1979. Item 10
from PC-I (Revised) for CRBC Project, WAPDA May 1981. Iten) 1 1 from Final
Project Plan, Mardan SCARP,June 1981 (Draft Report) HarzaNespnk Consultants.
 Table-4 The Ratio of Water Supply to Crop Consumptive Use for Typical Canal
Systems in Pakistan
-
Rabl Kharif
- - 7 4nn.
- Sea-
Oct Nov Jan Feb Mar Sea- Jun Jul Aug SeP ual
son son
-
-- -
1 LowerSwal
P, LG 0.42 0.76 2.54 1.10 0.86 1.29 0.80 0.93 0.39 0.24 0.37 0.47 0.23 0.36 c 47
2 UpperJhelum
PP.GW 1.63 1.25 1.21 2.07 0.93 0.56 1.13 1.29 1.75 0.86 1.82 2.52 1.14 1.40 1.28

3 Sidhnai
NP.LG 0.72 1.02 1.1 1 0.99 0.48 0.38 0.69 0.90 0.99 0.63 0.70 0.6 1 0.43 0.66 C 67;

4 Mudfargarh
NP,GW 1.81 0.8 1 1.51 1.63 0.7 8 0.49 0.98 1-09 1.24 1.17 1.62 1.38 1.04 1.27 1.I3

5 D.G.Khan
NP,LG 1.21 0.51 0.43 0.85 0.21 0.08 0.46 0.38 0.58 0.77 1.10 1.06 0.65 0.83 C.6S

6 Rohri
P. LG 0.82 0.8 1 1.56 0.35 0.47 0.49 0.67 0.82 0.7 I 0.59 0.3 8 0.50 0.69 0.57 0.6 I

7 Rice
NP.LG 1.02 0.01 0.02 0.00 0.00 0.02 0.18 0.50 1.36 0.8 1 1.04 0.85 0.77 0.89 0.70

8 Beghari 0.54 0.03 0.04 0.09 0.04 0.09 0.13 0.36 0.05 0.55 1.30 1.51 2.82 0.91 C 68
--
Source: Revised Action Programme for Imgated Agriculture, Vol.1, WAPDA. 1979.
"ores: P=Ptrcnnial, PP=Panly perennial, NP=Non-pertnnial.
LG=Limited groundwater, GW=Groundwater supplement available.
 Ln 0 Ln 0
cv N F F m
OO

3
a
Ip
3
I==

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ' -
m o L n o L n o v )
M r n N C V F F

74
 Figwe-3
Pir M a h a l Distributary
Water Distribution Equity

3
0
2.5 -
0 0

22
0

1.5 - 0
0
0 "
1 0

0.5 - 0 80
o m
L I I I t I I I 1 0 n
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
Kilometers

0 Sample Watercourses x Discharge at Head -Design

Btiagat Sub-Division

. Figiire-4
Pir Mahal Distributary
Water Distribution Equity

Ratio of M e a n DPR of Sample Oritlets

25

20 -

15 -

10 -

5-

0-
1 2 3 4 5 G 7 8 0 101112 1 2 3 4 5 G 7 8 9 101112
I 1988 I 1989 I
MonttilY ear

Head vs Tail Outlets

No Ratio Octolier-November. 1988

Flood Closed Tail Oiitlets
75
 Figure-5
Bhagat Head Rotational Operations
Distributary Head Discharge

Percentage of Days
100 (I

80

60

40
4
m 20

0
0 0 -= 50 50 < 70 70 < 100 > 100
Discharge a s % of Design

Canal Head

Pir Mahal Rajana Dabanwala

Khikhi a Bhagat Head

Feb. 14 Sept. 11, 1990 (n = 210 days)

 Figure-6
Densities of Private Tubewells
Punjab Agriculture Dept. vs lIMl Data

Nos. per 100 hectares

5

I I I
OL I I I
1980-81 198 1-82 1982-83 1983-84 1984-85 1985-86 1986-87 1987-88
Year

++- Punjab Agri. Dept. + IlMl Pakistan

IlMl = Farooqabad S D Canal Watercourses

P A D = Sheikhupura District
 Figure-7
WATERCOURSES CLOSURE RECORDS : DISTY # 3
DISTY AVERAGE (1/92 TO 6/93)
Yo OF TIME CLOSEDlPARTlAL CLOSED
80
80 I

60

40

20

. . 0
Jan Feb M a r Apr M a y Jun Jut Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb M a r Apr M a y Jun

MONTHS

Closed Partial Closed

Figure-8

WATERCOURSES OPEN"RECORDS : DISTY # 3

COMPARISON OF ETc WITH FARMERS BEHAVIOR
% OF TIME OPEN ETc (mmlperiod)
100 100

80 -

60 -

40 -

20 - - 20

0
01
I I I
' I
Jan Fcb M a r Apr M a y Jun
I I I ' - - I
Jut Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Fcb M a r Apr M a y Jun
MONTHS
-ETc - . % of time Open

Jan 1991 - Jtin 1993

78
 Annex-2

CONSULTANCY INPUTS FOR THE PREPARATION OF PROJECT INCEPTION REPORT

ON SOCIAL ORGANIZATION IN IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT

Piyasena Ganewatte and Prachanda Pradhan

JANUARY, 1995

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Punjab irrigation system is an intricate and enormous network of dams, barrages, link
canals, main canal systems, distributaries and minor canals stretching nearly 25,000 kilometers
in length. The responsibility for the management of the system, its operation and maintenance
devolves on the Provincial Irrigation Department (PID) while operation and maintenance of about
100,000 watercourses at the tertiary level is the responsibility of the farmers with assistance from
the On Farm Water Management (OFWM) program of the Provincial Agriculture Department
(PAD).

Research studies undertaken by Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) from
197311974 indicated that water course conveyance losses ranged between 31 % to 57 %. It was
also revealed that efficiencies could be attained through watercourse improvements. These, and
other findings led to the creation of the On Farm Water Management Pilot Project (1976-80).
An important strategy of the OFWM pilot project was to involve farmers in the improvement and
lining of the watercourses by providing labour. Although construction activities at the tertiary
level were considered a legitimate responsibility of the Provincial Irrigation Department (PID), yet
the authorities at the time were reluctant to assume responsibility for this task. Consequently,
the On Farm Water Management program became the responsibility of the PADs.

A turning point in the history of the farmer organization in Pakistan was the promulgation of the
Water Users Association Ordinance of 1981. Its aim was to clearly define the role, duties, rights
and responsibilities of the association. The authority to assist in the formation of Water Users
Associations (WUAs) legally rested with the OFWM Directorates of PADs. By the end of 1994,
there were 20,000 WUAs in the Punjab. Once the watercourse improvement was completed,
most WUAs disintegrated.

The proposed IlMl pilot project, as envisaged in its plan, should necessarily endeavor to develop
a new strategy for the promotion of WUAs to make them more viable and sustainable rural
organizations. The rationale suggested for the WUAs in this new strategy is strongly based on
their ability to undertake equitable distribution of water and proper maintenance of the
watercourses and the distributary canals; resolving of conflicts; promoting better support and
cooperation between farmers and officials, and among farmers; and bringing about greater
agricultural productivity.

In the review of concepts and strategy of the new WUAs, the consultants advocate the
development of a democratic, bottom-up, grass root organizations based on hydrological
boundaries with efficient water management initially as the major activity.

79