It has been argued that policy reform to involve stakeholders in water management is a priority for Indonesia. Given the large allocation of water to the irrigation sector, the improved management of infrastructure and more productive use of irrigation water are important issues. If the enactments of Law No. 7/2004 on water resources and Government Regulation No. 20/2006 on irrigation have accommodated the role of farmers in water management, is there an effective policy for farmers as the main stakeholders in water management? What is the implication by the fact that Indonesian society where the policy reform compulsion has changed to a new paradigm? This paper attempts to provide answers to these questions and offers at least one way in which public policy could possibly be made at work compatibly in participation issues in water management in the country. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.