Two Colombian projects show how local farmers can manage an irrigation system in a developing country if the management and personnel are well -trained and motivated and if the infrastructure is in good condition at the time management is turned over to the farmers.

Evaluates the turnover of two formerly government-managed irrigation districts in Colombia to the water users’ associations. Impacts are analyzed in terms of the cost of irrigation to farmers and the government, the quality of water distribution, the sustainability of irrigation, the productivity of agriculture, and farmer income.

There is a significant gap of knowledge about actual results of irrigation management transfer. This includes the questions: Which strategies work? Which don't? and What prerequisites are necesssary to support sustainable local management of irrigation? This report examines the context of transfer, the basic transfer strategy, powers and functions devolved, and the impacts of transfer on irrigation management and irrigated agriculture in three sample irrigation districts of Colombia-the RUT, Rio Recio, and Samaca. data on performance of these schemes were analyzed for 4 or 5 years before and after transfer. Two additional schemes, San Rafael and Maria La Baja, which were transferred just prior to this study, provided a comparison of performance between transferred and nontransferred schemes, form the period of analysis.

Argues that single irrigation systems managed by autonomous system-specific organizations accountable to their customers, perform better and are more sustainable than those managed by agencies dependent on the government, or by agencies responsible for multiple systems. Selected cases are reviewed and the plausibility of this hypothesis established. General recommendations are made for policy makers designing irrigation reform programs.

Globalization of irrigation management transfer: a summary of ideas and experiences fron the Whuhan conference; Irrigation management transfer: towards an integrated management revolution; Considerations in the transfer of responsibilities for services in the water resources sector; Lessons learned from irrigation management transfer programmes; Irrigation management transfer: problems in implementation; Institutuional context of irrigation management transfer; Gender aspects of irrigation management transfer: rethinking efficiency and equity: Overview of irrigation management transfer in China; Changes in irrigation as a result of policy reform in China leading to irrigation management transfer Chamgming Liu, Haisheng Mou, Quijun Ma, Jiang Kaipeng and Yang Guangxin; A better reform form of management system in irrigation districts: the system of contracted managerial responsibility; Institutionalmanagement and performance changes in two irrigation districts: case study from Hebei Province; Irrigagion management transfer: an Indian perspective; Transfer of management to water users in stages I and II of the Bhairawa-Lumbini Groundwater project; Developing share systems for sustainable water users associations; Financing participatory irrigation management in Sri Lanka; How to turn over irrigation systens to farmers? Questions and decisions in Indonesia; Irrigation service fee in Indonesia: towards irrigation comanagement with water users associations through contributions, voice, accountability, discipline and hard.