How Design, Management and Policy Affect the Performance of Irrigation Projects - Emerging Modernization Procedures and Design Standards










Hervé Plusquellec


FAO 2002
Bangkok, Thailand

Table of Contents




Hervé Plusquellec

FAO 2002

Bangkok, Thailand


AN ADVOCACY DOCUMENT FOR ALL STAKEHOLDERS:
IRRIGATION AGENCIES, FINANCING INSTITUTIONS,
USER ASSOCIATIONS, PLANNERS, DESIGNERS
AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS


The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

ISBN 974-680-215-1

RAP 2002/20

All rights reserved, No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means - electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise - without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Applications for such permission with a statement of the purpose and extent of the reproduction, should be addressed to the Meetings and Publication Office, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Maliwan Mansion, 39 Phra Athit Road, Bangkok 10200, Thailand

© FAO, March 2002


Table of Contents


PREFACE

PART I: AN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

I. THE CAUSES OF THE POOR PERFORMANCE OF IRRIGATION PROJECTS: AN UNFINISHED DEBATE

Perceived deficiencies in technical design and management
Administrative and behavioural reasons

Criticism of engineers
Criticism of financial institutions

The slow recognition of design as a main reason of the poor performance of irrigation systems
The dawn of a new approach to irrigation design and management

II. PERFORMANCE OF IRRIGATION SYSTEMS
III. A REVIEW OF THE ROLE OF INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

1. The World Bank

The lack of an irrigation policy paper
Pressure to lend
Use of overoptimistic assumptions during design and appraisal

2. The Asian Development Bank
3. The FAO Cooperative Programme guidelines

Identification and preparation of irrigation projects (1984)
Updating of the 1984 FAO irrigation guidelines (1996)

IV. TECHNICAL VERSUS MANAGERIAL CHANGES
V. TECHNOLOGY VERSUS INSTITUTIONAL REFORMS: USER PARTICIPATION

From social to business associations
Impact of irrigation management transfer over performance of irrigation projects

VI. IMPROVED IRRIGATION IN THE CONTEXT OF WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

PART II: CHANGING APPROACHES TO THE DESIGN OF IRRIGATION PROJECTS

VII. IRRIGATION DESIGN CONCEPTS IN SELECTED COUNTRIES

A. Traditional irrigation systems
B. Country experience

1. India
2. Pakistan
3. Egypt: The Nile Valley system
4. Sudan: The Gezira project
5. China
6. North African countries
7. Iran
8. Malaysia
9. Indonesia
10. United States of America

C. Use of Old U.S. Bureau of reclamation standards in developing countries
D. Cross-country transfer of technology

1. India: Transfer of rotational distribution from northwest India to the southern states
2. Transfer of rotational irrigation from India to Thailand and Nepal
3. Transfer of technology to user-managed systems in Indonesia: A case of farmers' rejection of inappropriate technology

E. Conclusions

VIII. THE FORCES OF CHANGE

Response from farmers
Response from technology
Response from agricultural research
Response from the governments

IX. THE EXPLOSIVE EXPLOITATION OF GROUNDWATER RESOURCES
X. THE PLANNING PROCESS: A GLOBAL GAME PLAN

Definition of modern design
Principles of modern design

Project objective
Water delivery
Configuration
Water control strategy

Some guiding principles for selecting a control strategy and equipment
Modernization of existing schemes
Simulation of canal response for different scenarios
Centralized automatic control systems

XI. PARAMETERS INFLUENCING PLANNING AND DESIGN OF IRRIGATION PROJECTS

Water resources
Groundwater resources
Silt load
Rainfall
Soil conditions
Crop diversification
Existing infrastructure
Land tenure and consolidation
Management and technical capability: The field reality
Economics and maintenance costs
Institutional setup
Operational capability of irrigation agencies and user associations
Pricing and water allocation strategy
Capacity of the construction industry

XII. THE CHALLENGE OF MODERNIZATION: OPTIONS AND PROCEDURES

Infrastructure versus management inputs
Step-by-step versus full-fledged modernization
The role of water users' associations in the modernization process
Financing of rehabilitation programmes: A few examples
Specific design issues

Hierarchy of canals
Control of seepage losses

XIII. A PROCESS FOR REVISING DESIGN PROCEDURES AND STANDARDS

Assessing the need for changes: The use of internal indicators
Development of new design procedures

Revision of design standards
Strategies for dissemination

XIV. CONCLUSION: THE NEED FOR COUNTRY IRRIGATION POLICIES

REFERENCES

ANNEXES

Annex 1: Planning a large irrigation project in the period 1950-70
Annex 2: Abstracts from the FAO Guidelines for Planning Irrigation and Drainage Investment Projects
Annex 3: Conventional terms of reference for consulting services for an Irrigation Improvement Project
Annex 4: Irrigation policy: Modernization of water resources in Brazil