Beneficiary participation in irrigation management

Fernando, N. 1992. Beneficiary participation in irrigation management. In Feyen, J.; Mwendera, E.; Badji, M. (Eds.), Advances in planning, design and management of irrigation systems as related to sustainable land use: Proceedings of an International Conference organized by the Center for Irrigation Engineering of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in cooperation with the European Committee for Water Resources Management, Leuven, Belgium, 14-17 September 1992. Vol. 1. Leuven, Belgium: Center for Irrigation Engineering. pp.107-116.

The objective of this paper is to present the recent advances and trends in the management of irrigation systems in Sri Lanka. It elaborates the concept of participation of the beneficiaries in the management of irrigation systems in the local setting. The paper briefly presents the recent in- country experiences in this regard and describes the supporting policies and strategies which are now being formulated by the government to promote beneficiary participation in irrigation management. The policies and strategies so described include: the formation of farmers' organizations (FOs): the institutional strengthening of the FOs and irrigation agencies: the management turnover of irrigation systems to the FOs: the sharing of O&M and rehabilitation costs: the revision of legal framework etc. It concludes that beneficiary participation in irrigation management is an essential policy as well as a strategy to improve the efficiency, productivity, profitability and sustainability of irrigation systems in Sri Lanka.