Update on Mexico

Edittors note: since Mexico was one of the premier country cases of adopting PIM as the focus of irrigation policy, It is useful to keep in touch with the progress of PIM in that country. Out INPIM Board Member, Dr. Jose Trava, sends this update.

The surface area transferred by July 1997 is 2.941 million hectares which represents 91.9% of Irrigation Districts area. There are 426,000 users organized in 389 WUAs which in turn have created nine Users' Federations.

Conveyance efficiencies have been improved from 61.6% during 1989-1990 season to 64.0% during the 1993-94 season. This represents a water saving of 744 million cubic meters in one year, which in turn would allow irrigation of an additional 74,400 hectares. The output value for such an area is worth US$ 152.4 million/year!

In spite of inflation problems( 35% during 1995) the transferred districts are meeting their own costs without government subsidy. The level of self sufficiency has remained close to 100%.

The Mexican Institute for water technology (IMTA) is introducing modern irrigation technology at the farm level (e.g., pipe for small irrigation canal networks) supported with surplus money from the WUAs. In the irrigation districts of Yaqui Valley, El carrizo, El Fuerte, Delicias and Lerma, during the 1995-1996 season alone, the WUAs have contributed roughly US $ 300,000 to help these programs get implemented.

The National Users Federations ( ANUR) represents the WUAs at the national level. ANUR has recently signed an agreement with the government under which the rehabilitation of the irrigation district's will be accelerated through mutual participation of both government and WUAs. The users will now pay 50% of the costs incurred whereas the government will pay for the rest without any reimbursement. US$110 million should be invested during 1997 from which the users will be repaying US$55 million.

Now the bad News: There is a lost of inconsistency in the formation provided by different sources, and quantitative data is very difficult to obtain. However, there are some concerns that I have heard which may have some validity.

Some people are saying that, since the creation of the Associations the reservoirs are now being depleted without taking into consideration the hydrology of the systems. In other words, the WUAs are being accused of using more water than whatever is advisable as a function of the physical characteristic of the system. ( I really don't know if this true; we have to take into consideration that Mexico has passed through an intensive drought during the last three years).

How about the use of the machinery? Well, some people say that the WUAs have been able to purchase a lot of new equipment and with this they are carrying on 100% efficient maintenance programs. Furthermore, it is also said that in many Associations the problem of " deferred" maintenance no longer exists. But, on the other hand, there are also reports that the WUAs are not paying amortization costs on their new machinery, and will also not be able to replace the machines that were given to them as part of the agreement when the transfer took place. Thus in a few more years a complete collapse of maintenance programs is to be expected. ( The estimated value of the new machinery purchased by WUAs is in the order of US$ 15 million).

And the measurement of water? Water is currently being measured only at the points of delivery from the government agency to the WUAs. But if we are to evaluate the overall use of agricultural water or its productivity, measurement of water at the farm level should be implemented . Without this information, efficiencies and / or productivity may only be roughly approximated.