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.

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.

Annotation World Bank Technical Paper No. 292.Describes Mexico's experience in decentralizing the operation, maintenance, and management functions in irrigation infrastructure from the central government to water user organizations in the private sector.

Evaluates data from 29 different studies on irrigation management transfer to assess the impacts of transfer on various aspects of irrigation system management. Twelve guiding principles to ensure a more systematic approach to research on the impacts of management transfer are proposed. Identifies key research propositions on the conditions necessary for transfer programs to succeed.

The present water report is the final product emanating from efforts by FAO, IWMI and others to document and understand the implications of the irrigation sector embarking on a wide reform process. It is intended to be a knowledge synthesis document that captures the global experiences emerging from a wide-reaching process targeting the reform of the irrigation sector. This study indicates that irrigation management transfer (IMT) is an approach for irrigation sector reform with the potential to improve the sustainability of irrigation systems. The process requires inter alia strong political commitment, negotiations among stakeholders, and long-term capacity development. Irrigation management transfer should not be seen as a process that has a clear "beginning" and "end". While the former can be more easily identified, the latter is much more difficult to determine. In fact, IMT can be the initial stage of an evolving long reform process. The accompanying CD-ROM contains IMT country profiles and case studies, an international IMT e-mail conference, a bibliography and links.--Publisher's description.

Introduction; Mexican agricultural policy; Irrigated agriculture; Results of the transfer program; Future transfer issues; Conclusions.