India

Participatory Irrigation Management has been the official policy in India since the National Water Policy was enacted in 1987. At that time, the government endorsed the efforts already made by many NGOs and progressive elements within state-level irrigation departments to devolve management responsibility to farmer associations at the tertiary level of large-scale irrigation systems. The stated goal of the 1987 policy was to consolidate farmer management at the tertiary level and to encourage farmers to take over management at the next level of the physical system, i.e. the secondary level. But in practice, little was done to really promote what had the potential to be a radical shift in irrigation management. In a few regions, notably Maharashtra, the Irrigation Department encouraged farmers to form associations for management of small secondaries. But larger secondaries, above 300-500 hectares, were generally considered too complicated for farmers to manage. The result has been that, after more than 7 years of the new policy, there has been little real change in the management of irrigation. Now, both government and farmers appear to be ready for a new approach that will bring users and irrigation engineers into a direct partnership.

National Seminar

A national seminar held in New Delhi from June 20 to 24 1995 marked the beginning of a new phase of PIM activities in India. The seminar was sponsored by the Federal Ministry or Water Resources, in collaboration with the Economic Development Institute of the World Bank. It was held in the prestigious Vigay Bhawan conference facilities, and attracted participants from nearly every state of the nation. The seminar was a follow-up to the first national seminar on PIM held in June 1994 in Aurangabad ,Maharashtra. The seminar provided a forum for detailed discussions about how to implement PIM in the various states. Because of the large number of states, the seminar focused on the cases of only a few, which could serve as examples for the rest of the country. These states included Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Orissa. State-level action plans were drafted for each of these states, specifying the actions which would be taken for implementing PIM over the next five years. In addition, the seminar also focused on the role of the federal government, and drafted an action plan proposing the establishment of a PIM Cell within the Ministry of Water Resources.

The papers presented at the seminar comprise a valuable overview of PIM in India, and have been compiled as Seminar Proceedings which have been published by the Ministry of Water Resources. Copies of the Proceedings may be requested from: Mr. L.K. Joshi, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources, Shram Shakti Bhavan, Rafi Marg, New Delhi 110001, India; Fax: (91-11) 3710253.

State-level Seminars

As an outgrowth of the national PIM seminar, several states decided to hold their own PIM Seminars to address the details of implementing PIM policies in their local contexts. The first of these was held in Jaipur, Rajasthan October 5 and 6, 1995. This seminar was primarily for Rajasthan, but also included Haryana and Gujarat, whose irrigation sectors share many similarities. The 2-day seminar was co-sponsored by the Government of Rajasthan and the Ministry of Water Resources, through its newly formed PIM coordinating cell. A large delegation from the World Bank was also invited, as the topic directly relates to a new sector-wide loan currently under discussion (Rajasthan Water Resources Consolidation Project) which would include a shift towards more participatory irrigation management. The Rajasthan seminar brought together different government departments, NGOs, and farmer representatives to discuss the implications and mechanisms for adopting PIM. Several pilot activities for PIM have already been initiated, so the discussions had a practical basis from which to speculate about PIM in the future. And linking the seminar discussions to the planning process for the proposed World Bank sector loan provided a clear future for implementing the PIM policies under discussion. For further information about the Rajasthan seminar, and copies of the seminar papers, please contact Mr. Rakesh Hoojah, Secretary, Command Area Development, Government of Rajasthan, Jaipur 302005, India.

The Rajasthan seminar was the first of thirteen state and regional PIM seminars planned for the governments 1996 fiscal year, which began in July 1995. Five other seminars have already been held in Andra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Orissa, and Maharashtra. Other PIM activities include the following:

PIM Manuals: A draft manual on PIM for the state of Maharashtra (in English and Marathi languages) has been completed. Draft manuals in local languages are under preparation for the states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Karnataka.

Legal Reform: Proposals for changes in legislation governing irrigation have been received from consultants and will be incorporated into the preparation of a Model Bill.

Working Groups: High level working groups for facilitating implementation of PIM have been constituted by Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Karnataka.

National PIM Network: Action has been initiated for setting up an Indian Network on PIM. 

Training: Twenty-four training courses for farmers and field level officers in various issues related to PIM have been initiated

Pakistan - National Seminar

A national seminar on PIM held in Bhurban, near Islamabad, attracted more than 80 participants representing the key federal and provincial agencies involved with irrigation, as well as four farmer representatives and several research and consulting organizations. The 3 1/2 day seminar was co-sponsored by the Pakistan Ministry of Water and Power and the World Bank Economic Development Institute. It was opened by the Federal Minister of Agriculture, Mir Muhammad Yousaf Talpur, and the highest water executive of the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), Mr. Khalid Mohtadullah. The Bank was represented by Hatsuya Azumi, EDIEN Division Chief, who praised the government for embarking on a new path for the irrigation sector.

The primary seminar objective was to formulate federal and provincial-level action plans for implementing PIM. One of the most significant presentations, in terms of serving as a model for a nation-wide PIM program, was the report by Mr. Muhammad Aslam Rasheed of NESPAK which summarized the results of the feasibility study recently carried out for the Lower Bari Doab Canal (LBDC) project. The institutional component of the feasiblity study presents a plan for creating a water utility company (analogous to an Area Water Board) for the 676,000 ha command area. Three levels of WUAs are envisaged under this plan: (1) chak-level, (2) minor/distributary level, and (3) large distributary/branch level. Subject to approvals from both the Punjab government and the World Bank, these plans could be implemented as part of the upcoming rehabilitation project for the LBDC.

Seminar Results

The seminar has helped pushed the PIM agenda in Pakistan to the brink of the implementation phase. Specific results include:

Federal action plan: Participants from the federal government proposed the establishment of a PIM coordination cell which would offer a range of services to support provincial PIM efforts.

Provincial action plans: All four provincial delegations formulated action plans that include one or more pilot locations where PIM will be implemented at the distributary or higher level. The provincial plans also indicate legal steps required, training issues, and the suggested links upward to the water boards and provincial authorities.

Pakistan Network on PIM (PakNPIM). A national chapter of INPIM was established having an initial board drawn from key agencies and organizations in all four provinces. The Secretariat for PakNPIM will be the International Irrigation Management Institute (IIMI).

Morocco

Although Morocco has a rich tradition of locally-managed irrigation systems, including some quite large ones commanding several thousand hectares, the concept of PIM as a policy for the publicly managed irrigation sector is still rather new. The country's large-scale irrigation systems are managed through regional agricultural development authorities. These nine authorities, called ORMVAs (Organisations Regional pour le Mise en Valeur Agricole) are administered through the Ministry of Agriculture. Some of the ORMVAs incorporate large traditional irrigation systems which have been physically upgraded and absorbed into a single management structure, side by side with newly constructed irrigated area. In other ORMVAs, the irrigated area is entirely new, and farmers have settled into the command area only after the irrigation infrastructure was constructed.

This mix of local farmers already practicing and managing their own irrigation systems, and new farmers without an irrigation tradition, poses particular challenges for introducing participatory irrigation management in Morocco. A 1990 law decreed that water user associations should be established throughout the ORMVAs and that operational control of the irrigation network would be devolved to these associations. The 1990 policy has seen little implementation, for a variety of reasons. Now, with the government feeling mounting financial pressure to cut back, there is a new interest, at least on the government side, to shift management to farmer associations. But what would the new management arrangements look like, and what would be the incentives to farmers to accept a greater management role? These were some of the questions that prompted the Moroccan government to sponsor a seminar on PIM, and to invite the World Bank Economic Development Institute to join in planning and conducting the seminar.

The seminar was held in Rabat and Marrakech from November 13-17, 1995, and sponsored by the Rural Development Department (AGR) of the Ministry of Agriculture in collaboration with the Economic Development Institute. Financial support was provided by the Government of Morocco, the World Bank, the United States Agency for International Development, and the French Caisse Centrale. The seminar objectives were to (1) develop a clear concept of PIM in Morocco and (2) formulate an indicative action plan particularly for the large-scale irrigation systems. More than 100 persons attended the opening session of the seminar held at the Institute Agronomique et Veterinaire (IAV) Hassan II in Rabat. In addition to the sponsoring agencies, participants included senior staff from other relevant ministries, key development agencies (e.g., FAO, USAID, KfW), and invited experts from Turkey, Mexico, France, Spain, and USA.

The seminar constituted an important first step towards defining a vision for PIM in Morocco. The major output of the seminar was a consensus among the participants -- representing all nine ORMVAs -- for the basic features of a new management arrangement that will involve farmer associations as management partners working with the ORMVAs. The seminar decisions were captured in an indicative action plan for implementing PIM which will serve as a basis for each of the nine ORMVAs to devise individual action plans appropriate for the local context. These ORMVA-specific plans will be put to immediate use as an input into the ongoing large-scale irrigation improvement project (PAGI-2) financed by the World Bank in cooperation with several bilateral donor agencies.

For further information about the Morocco seminar, and the PIM planning process, please contact Mr. Ali Moulid, Chef de la Division, DGRHA/AGR Ministere de l'Agriculture et Mise en Valeur Agricole, Route de Casablanca, Station D'Bagh, Avenue Hassan II, Rabat, Morocco; Fax: (212-7) 690015.

Indonesia

A seminar on PIM is being planned for 1996, date to be decided. The seminar, to be co-sponsored by the Indonesian Department of Public Works and the World Bank Economic Development Institute, would review the considerable progress Indonesia has already made in PIM, and lay a strategy for further action. The INPIM representative for Indonesia, Dr. Hafied Gany, reports a very lively interest among his colleagues and compatriots in establishing a PIM network for Indonesia.

For further information about PIM activities in Indonesia, please contact:

Dr. A. Hafied A. Ganny, Chief, Sub Directorate of Water Resources Management and Utilization, Dit. PPSDA, DGWRD, Jl, Pattimura 20, Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta 12110, Indonesia; Fax: (62-21) 725-1666.