Effective Community Irrigation Associations – Participatory Approaches for Effective Engagement

Mohammed RA¹*, Swete Kelly D¹*

1. Hassall and Associates International, Southern Philippines Irrigation Sector Project, Philippines

For over three decades, the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) of the Philippines has been a leader among government agencies that have introduced participatory approaches to irrigation development and management. In the last five years under the Southern Philippines Irrigation Sector Project (SPISP), NIA is taking a new look at its experience and introducing several innovations in its participation programs. The SPISP approach encourages farmers to improve performance of NIA irrigation systems by transferring ownership of systems to them. SPISP prepares farmers’ organizations (Irrigators’ Associations, IAs) to manage their systems and, consequently, increase farm household income and reduce poverty rates in project areas. The program titled Participatory Irrigation Management and Transfer (PIMT) is now being implemented in thirteen areas of the Southern Philippines.

Innovations for PIMT are:

1. transfer of system assets and management to Irrigators’ Associations;
2. a cascading system of small group activities and information transfer to involve all participants/farmers at each step of PIMT and prepare participants for informed collective decision-making;
3. intensive and extensive beneficiary informed collective decision-making in the full project cycle (feasibility studies, detailed design, construction, and operation);
4. a farmer equity contribution to construction (cost sharing) for all irrigation development; and,
5. an extended technical assistance and management support until self-reliance and full development of system benefits is realized.

This paper presents the elements of the PIMT process and results currently derived. While it is understood that results will not be substantiated for another several years to determine sustainability of the effort – preliminary results indicate a favorable outcome to the process.

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