Water Is One Of The Essential Resources In Ag¬Ricultural Production, Which Has Several Unique Characteristics. Individual Farmers, Acting Alone, Can Seldom Acquire Water For Irrigation. Con¬Struction And Maintenance Of The Physical Struc¬Tures To Divert, Convey, And Distribute Water Usually Require Huge Investments, Which Is Beyond The Capacity Of A Farmer Surface Wa¬Ter Cannot Be Easily Stored And Particularly By The Individual Farmer, As Fertilisers, Pesticides Etc. Can Be. Water Must Be Used Whenever It Is Available. However, Farmers Generally Can¬Not Transport Water Economically Over Great Distances And The Locations. All Irrigation Systems Require That Certain Es¬Sential Tasks Should Be Accomplished, If The System Is To Function Productively, For Which Three Sets Of Management Activities Become Essential.For An Efficient Management Of Irrigation Projects, The Role Of Organisation, Channels Of Communications, Patterns Of Influence, Lines Of Authority And Loyalty, Which Can Ensure Some Sort Of Efficiency, Equity And Social Jus¬Tice, Cannot Be Overemphasized. This Neces¬Sitates That Irrigation Management Must De¬Vote A Large Part Of Its Attention To Its Organi¬Sation.This Noble Objective Can Be Achieved Through An Interdisciplinary Approach To The Manage¬Ment And Organisation, Water Distribution, Crop¬Ping Pattern, Complementary Inputs, Land Re¬Forms, Fanners' Participation, Pricing Of Wa¬Ter And Energy, Economic And Financial Evalu¬Ation, Institutional Needs, Command Area De¬Velopment Etc. This Could Be Possible Through The Structuring Of Individuals And Functions Into Productive Relationships In An Organisation. This Book Addresses To This Crucial But Ne¬Glected Element In The Equation Of Efficient Irrigation Management. It Starts From The Premise That Irrigation Management Is Best Regarded As A Socio-Technical Enterprise, Where The Human Dimension Interacts With The Physical And Technical Ones. The Book Thus Covers A Series Of Organizational Variables And Human Behaviour Backed With Critical Inputs, Insti¬Tutional Needs And Services.

Irrigation management transfer (IMT) means the relocation of responsibility and authority for irrigation management from government agencies to non-governmental organizations, such as water user's associations. It is a widespread process that is taking place in more than 40 countries. These guidelines have been written to assist policy-makers, planners, technical experts, farmers' representatives and others involved in IMT programmes to design and implement an effective comprehensive and sustainable reform.

In many countries irrigated agriculture consumes a large proportion of the available water resources, often over 70% of the total. There is considerable pressure to release water for other uses and, as a sector, irrigated agriculture will have to increase the efficiency and productivity of its water use. This is particularly true for manually operated irrigation systems managed by government agencies, which provide water for a large number of users on small landholdings and represent 60% of the total irrigated area worldwide. Drawing on the author's 30 years of experience in some 28 countries, this book offers knowledge of the management of irrigation and drainage systems, including traditional technical areas of systems operation and maintenance, and expanding managerial, institutional and organizational aspects. Chapters provide guidelines to improve management, operation and maintenance processes, which move management thinking out of traditional public-sector mindsets to a more customer-focused, performance-oriented service delivery. As a practical guide to improve efficiency and productivity in irrigated agriculture, this book will be essential reading for irrigation managers and technicians as well as students and policy makers in water management, agriculture and sustainable development.

This monograph examines the construction, operation and maintenance tasks that shape the nature of locally managed irrigation systems. The objective of the book is to identify relevant experiences and lessons for staff who are responsible for working with locally managed systems in three types of programs: direct assistance to existing locally managed irrigation systems, turnover of public owned systems to local management, and transfer of partial management to farmer groups within larger systems that remain publicly controlled.

The seventh volume in the Gila River Indian Community Anthropological Research Papers series by M. Kyle Woodson examines the social organization of Hohokam canal irrigation management along the middle Gila River in south-central Arizona. Anthropologists have long recognized that the users of a canal irrigation system have to coordinate and cooperate with each other in the construction, maintenance, and operation of the canal system; the allocation of water; and the resolution of conflicts that arise. An irrigation organization is a social institution that manages and assigns the roles to accomplish these tasks. Yet the social organization of irrigation management cannot be fully understood without examining the link between irrigation organizations and political institutions. Woodson s study achieves this goal by analyzing canal systems and settlement patterns at the village of Snaketown, as well as the neighboring Granite Knob, Santan, and Gila Butte canal systems and settlements during the Pioneer to Classic periods (AD 450 to 1450). With this study, Woodson returns focus to Snaketown, where Emil Haury originally defined the Hohokam cultural tradition and which has revealed yet more insights into the prehispanic world of the ancient Southwest. "

This monograph provides an overview of the principles required for a service orientation in the management of irrigation and drainage systems. The material covered is designed to emphasize an area largely neglected in the irrigation and drainage management literature. The dominating philosophy underlying this book is that irrigation and drainage systems must be managed as a service business responsive to the needs and changing requirements of its customers. It is postulated that this service approach to the management of irrigation and drainage systems consitutes a key element of the startegy that is needed to improve the current level of performance of many irrigation and drainage systems worldwide. Enhanced performance of irrigation is a prerequisite if we are to face the enormous challenge of producing greater quantities of food to meet the demand of a growing population. This is particularly the case in an environment with increasing competition for water from industry and urban water users, set against mounting concerns about environmental sustainability.

This paper provides the basis for the preparation of manuals necessary for managers and staffs to perform needed activities at the proper time. The guide provides a comprehensive list of issues that should be addressed in operation and maintenance manuals for irrigation and drainage systems, and a listing of published materials and working papers which will assist in the formulation of plans for operation and maintenance. The paper serves as a valuable tool to help improve the performance of irrigation and drainage systems and to assist managers in developing and improving effective organizations to serve water consumers better.