The Case of Orissa, India

In the state of Orissa in eastern India, participatory irrigation management (PIM) was adopted as state policy in 1995. Under the Farmers Organization and Turnover program of the World Bank financed Orissa Water Resources Consolidation Project (OWRCP), legally recognized Water User Associations are being organized at the level of minor canals (about 500 ha command area). The organization of the WUA's is based on democratic principles to ensure protection of interests of the various categories of farmers. However, there cannot be true democracy if women are excluded frompositions of power and decision making. PIM can not be truly participatory if women are left out, since they represent 50% of the agricultural labor force. And in Orissa, as in some other states of India, women have been granted legal joint ownership of any lands in their husband's name. There is thus a legal basis, as well as an economic and social basis, for women's participation.

Women's Roles in Agriculture 

The principle objective of improved irrigation services achieved through PIM is increased agricultural productivity. Today Orissa's yield of clean rice, the state's predominant crop, stands at a relatively low 1.6 metric tons per ha. Adoption of irrigation based agriculture technology comprising high yielding varieties, and associated inputs, has been slow. Large tracts in coastal belt have become swampy due to over-use of irrigation water. In order to address these issues relating to technology transfer and adoption, the farming community as a whole, including the women farmers, needs to be involved.

Women are active participants in various agriculture operations beginning from seed selection and storage and sowing/transplanting to harvesting. Studies by agricultural scientists reveal that women's contribution varies from crop to crop and ranges from 30 to 70 percent. Their contribution is particularly significant in pulse crops like green gram and black gram and are in fact ``women-dominant crops"

According to astudy conducted by J.B. Patel & B.N. Sadangi of Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT), in Bhubaneswar, 23 % of farm women (includes self-cultivating women and women as agricultural laborers) participate in irrigation management in Orissa. Women's contribution is not only through physical labor but also through active participation in decision making. Planning and execution of agriculture operations are a joint responsibility of both the spouses. Crop planning is critical in improving water use efficiency. A crop production system in which women are visible partners can not yield desired results without providing an opportunity to them in irrigation management.

Status of Womens Participation in Orissa's FOT

The Farmer Organization and Turnover program (FOT) in Orissa is still in its early stage, work having begun only in early 1995. As a part of the targeted turn-over of 150,000 ha to Water User Associations by 2002, efforts are currently underway in four irrigation commands covering 21,000 ha. Within this area, a total of 50 Associations have been organized. Although there has been no special effort made to enroll women members, 6% of the total enrolled members are women. Women have also become members of the executive committees of some WUA's. The fact that this has happened without any deliberate effort indicates the scope for greater participation by women-farmers if certain affirmative actions are taken.

The potential for women's participation is clearly evident in the case of one WUA in Aunli command, in Angul district, where women constitute 67% of the membership, and the Executive Committee is entirely female. This did not happen through any special organizing effort; rather it can be attributed to the lack of response by the men to organizers' suggestions for forming a WUA. Women then came forward and helped establish an association. The women were able to see advantages in PIM which their husbands did not see, at least not immediately. This case highlights the potential, and perhaps the necessity, for going beyond the symbolic and including women as equal partners in the organization and management of WUA's. Water being a critical input in agriculture production, who decides its use is of significance from the view point of equitability.

Affirmative Action

Once women are recognized as stakeholders in agriculture and their role in PIM is agreed with, appropriate support is essential to provide them scope for participation. But in a male-dominated society, some interventions will be needed if women are to find a place in WUA's and their decision making committees. Some possible interventions could be: 

At the state level, women should be accorded legal rights to joint tenancy on land originating with their husbands.

By-laws can enable the spouse to become a member even when the land is recorded in his/her partner's name. 

Make at least 33% of the required number of membership to be women as a condition for WUA registration.

Likewise ensure their role as office bearers through a mechanism of reservation. 

Sensitize the organizers - both government and non-government agencies handling PIM.

Emphasize women's role during the initial organizing of the association.

A few final words

Though this paper discusses the role of women in PIM in the Indian context and Orissa in particular, the issues are relevant to situations outside India too. The kind of interventions needed may vary depending upon the general status of women in a particular society. The emphatic need, however, is to provide scope for women as equal partners in PIM. Both men and women are stakeholders in using water, and both need to be involved in its management. 

-Ashok Dalwai, India

Ashok Dalwai
Additional Secretary
Department of Water Resources
Government of Orissa Secretariat
Bhubaneswar 751001, India
Fax: (91-674) 404-048.