Initially associated with hi-tech irrigated agriculture, drip irrigation is now being used by a much wider range of farmers in emerging and developing countries. This book documents the enthusiasm, spread and use of drip irrigation systems by smallholders but also some disappointments and disillusion faced in the global South. It explores and explains under which conditions it works, for whom and with what effects. The book deals with drip irrigation 'behind the scenes', showcasing what largely remain 'untold stories'. Most research on drip irrigation use plot-level studies to demonstrate the technology’s ability to save water or improve efficiencies and use a narrow and rather prescriptive engineering or economic language. They tend to be grounded in a firm belief in the technology and focus on the identification of ways to improve or better realize its potential. The technology also figures prominently in poverty alleviation or agricultural modernization narratives, figuring as a tool to help smallholders become more innovative, entrepreneurial and business minded. Instead of focusing on its potential, this book looks at drip irrigation-in-use, making sense of what it does from the perspectives of the farmers who use it, and of the development workers and agencies, policymakers, private companies, local craftsmen, engineers, extension agents or researchers who engage with it for a diversity of reasons and to realize a multiplicity of objectives. While anchored in a sound engineering understanding of the design and operating principles of the technology, the book extends the analysis beyond engineering and hydraulics to understand drip irrigation as a sociotechnical phenomenon that not only changes the way water is supplied to crops but also transforms agricultural farming systems and even how society is organized. The book provides field evidence from a diversity of interdisciplinary case studies in sub-Saharan Africa, the Mediterranean, Latin America, and South Asia, thus revealing some of the untold stories of drip irrigation.

This publication describes the MASSCOTE methodology, illustrated by several applications in Asia. MASSCOTE is a comprehensive methodology for analysing the modernization of canal operation. The aim is to enable experts to work together with users in determining improved processes for cost-effective service-oriented management. It is based on previous tools and approaches widely used in Asia by FAO in its modernization training programme (rapid appraisal procedures and benchmarking). From diagnosis through the formulation of operational units and the planning of a service (based on the vision agreed upon with the users), MASSCOTE entails a systematic, ten-step, mapping exercise. The accompanying CD-ROMs contain the full document in English, excerpts in French, a draft version in Arabic and Chinese, training presentations and material, and a number of documents and references on irrigation system operation and management [System requirements: PC with Intel Pentium(r) processor and Microsoft(r)Windows 95/98/200/Me/NT/XP; 256 MB of RAM; 50 MB of available hard-disk space; SuperVGA monitor; 256 colours at 1024x768; Adobe Acrobat(r) Reader (not included on CD-ROM)]

The book presents documentary evidence of the insufficiency of rehabilitation works to close the gap between the irrigation service and actual area irrigated of publicly funded national irrigation systems in the Philippines. It outlines a methodology for formulating a modernisation plan for national irrigation systems with focus on the mostly ungauged, medium to small canal irrigation systems. The proposed methodology adaptively modified some known modernisation concepts and techniques and integrated them in a more holistic framework in the context of changing weather patterns and river flow regimes. It includes in-depth review of rehabilitation works; system diagnosis; revalidation of design assumptions on percolation and water supply; characterisation of system management, irrigation service and demand; and drawing up of options and a vision for the modernised irrigation systems. Central to the proposed modernisation strategy is the logical coherence among the design of physical structures, system operation and water supply so that improvements of irrigation service are possible. The book discusses the development of the proposed methodology and demonstrates its utility in two case study irrigation systems.

Agricultural water management is a vital practice in ensuring reduction, and environmental protection. After decades of successfully expanding irrigation and improving productivity, farmers and managers face an emerging crisis in the form of poorly performing irrigation schemes, slow modernization, declining investment, constrained water availability, and environmental degradation. More and better investments in agricultural water are needed. In response, the World Bank, in conjunction with many partner agencies, has compiled a selection of good experiences that can guide practitioners in the design of quality investments in agricultural water. The messages of 'Shaping the Future of Water for Agriculture: A Sourcebook for Investment in Agricultural Water Management' center around the key challenges to agricultural water management, specifically: - Building policies and incentives - Designing institutional reforms - Investing in irrigation systems improvement and modernization - Investing in groundwater irrigation - Investing in drainage and water quality management - Investing in water management in rainfed agriculture - Investing in agricultural water management in multipurpose operations - Coping with extreme climatic conditions - Assessing the social, economic, and environmental impacts of agricultural water investments 'Shaping the Future of Water for Agriculture' is an important resource for those interested and engaged in development with a focus on agricultural water.

The book presents documentary evidence of the insufficiency of rehabilitation works to close the gap between the irrigation service and actual area irrigated of publicly funded national irrigation systems in the Philippines. It outlines a methodology for formulating a modernisation plan for national irrigation systems with focus on the mostly ungauged, medium to small canal irrigation systems. The proposed methodology adaptively modified some known modernisation concepts and techniques and integrated them in a more holistic framework in the context of changing weather patterns and river flow regimes. It includes in-depth review of rehabilitation works; system diagnosis; revalidation of design assumptions on percolation and water supply; characterisation of system management, irrigation service and demand; and drawing up of options and a vision for the modernised irrigation systems. Central to the proposed modernisation strategy is the logical coherence among the design of physical structures, system operation and water supply so that improvements of irrigation service are possible. The book discusses the development of the proposed methodology and demonstrates its utility in two case study irrigation systems.

This book is open access under a CC BY-NC-ND license. This book addresses the issue of how a country, which was incorporated into the world economy as a periphery, could make a transition to the emerging state, capable of undertaking the task of economic development and industrialization. It offers historical and contemporary case studies of transition, as well as the international background under which such a transition was successfully made (or delayed), by combining the approaches of economic history and development economics. Its aim is to identify relevant historical contexts, that is, the ‘initial conditions’ and internal and external forces which governed the transition. It also aims to understand what current low-income developing countries require for their transition. Three economic driving forces for the transition are identified. They are: (1) labor-intensive industrialization, which offers ample employment opportunities for labor force; (2) international trade, which facilitates efficient international division of labor; and (3) agricultural development, which improves food security by increasing supply of staple foods. The book presents a bold account of each driver for the transition.