This paper presents the results of a study on the effects of participatory irrigation management in Sri Lanka. The study is based on the application of a methodology developed by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) to assess the impact of irrigation management transfer on the performance of irrigated agriculture. Performance is measured from several perspectives: ® nancial, irrigation management, and agricultural productivity levels. Piecewise linear regression models are ® tted to compare trends in performance during the ® ve-year period before transfer and ® ve years after. The results show that there has been a signi® cant drop in government's recurrent expenditure for irrigation over time. The decline is not con® ned to schemes where participatory management had been introduced but to other schemes as well. The cost of irrigation to farmers has remained the same before and after transfer. The analysis reveals that irrigation management transfer alone did not bring about signi® cant improvements in the quality of irrigation or agricultural productivity levels. However, in schemes where both management transfer and physical rehabilitation had occurred, signi® cant improvements in agricultural productivity were noted.
Only about 3% of the world's total water supply is fresh, and most of this (87%) is locked up in ice caps or glaciers, in the atmosphere or soil, or deep underground. Mankind's primary supply of freshwater is the renewable component (precipitation minus evapotranspiration) which flows through aquifers, streams and lakes. An estimated 3,240 cubic kilometers of fresh water are withdrawn annually. About 70% is for agriculture, mainly for irrigation. Although agriculture accounts for a large share of world water use, providing adequate water in a timely and reliable manner to irrigate crops is a formidable challenge in most parts of the developing world. It will be even more challenging over the next few decades. This paper examines some significant issues that the world must address in the remaining years of this century to ensure that irrigated agriculture achieves its potential.
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