Agriculture and Agribusiness

Irrigation Scheme Operation and Water User Associations

Smallholder irrigation schemes are built with capital and then operated with none, so the canal that was constructed to a design silts up, the tail end farmers stop receiving water and the scheme is judged a failure by people who only funded the construction. This course addresses the operating years. Delegates work through scheme layout and the conveyance losses that determine how much water reaches the field. Water allocation follows, including rotational delivery, warabandi style scheduling and the tail end problem that decides whether a scheme is trusted. Structures are covered: offtakes, division boxes, measuring flumes and the calibration that makes an allocation enforceable. Canal maintenance, desilting and weed control are addressed with the labour and cost each requires. Water user associations are covered as the institution that must collect fees, resolve disputes and organise maintenance, along with the reasons they commonly collapse. Fee setting and financial management follow. Conflict resolution is addressed directly. The course closes on rehabilitation, on monitoring performance and on scheme sustainability.