INTRODUCTION
Irrigated agriculture produces about one third of the world's food demand and in Asia it contributes to about 40% of the region's food production. Increasing competition with the urban and industrial and environmental sectors limits the quantities of water available for further irrigation expansion. Furthermore, the availability of land and water resources which could be developed economically is limited worldwide and even more in the Asian context. To meet the challenges of the future, the main option which remains is to increase the amount of food that can be produced per unit of land and water. This apparently simple statement implies many changes but just to mention some outstanding ones:
The above means the establishment of different objectives for the irrigation systems than in the past and this inevitably brings the need for changes in the physical system as well as in the management systems.
Modernization could provide a part of the solution. The fundamental question that must be considered is whether the traditional approaches to the modernization and improvement of irrigation systems are still satisfactory today in the light of the new challenges which the irrigation sector faces.
OBJECTIVES
To explore the need and opportunities for promoting modernization in a sustainable way in Asia's irrigated agriculture, FAO considered it, therefore, important to convene this regional expert consultation with the following objectives:
ARRANGEMENTS
The expert consultation took place from 26 to 29 November 1996 on the premises of FAO’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (RAP) in Bangkok, Thailand.
The meeting was opened with an address by the FAO Deputy Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific elaborating on the background and reasons for convening the consultation.
This was followed by a welcome statement by the Director General, Royal Irrigation Department of Thailand, who stressed the high interest his Department is attaching to the theme of the consultation as being a key solution for improved irrigation water management.
During the four days of the meeting, the following activities were undertaken:
- Country's perception of modernization
- Criteria for assessing the needs for modernization
- Required strategy to be used for modernization
- Criteria to establish priorities for modernization
- Required policy and institutional changes
- Constraints to modernization
- Sequence of modernization in irrigation schemes
- Mobilization of resources
- Selection of hardware
- Training and adaptive research requirements
- Future role of international agencies such as WB, IIMI and FAO in promoting modernization of irrigation schemes
The agenda is given in Annex 2.
ATTENDANCE
The expert consultation was attended by a total of 35 permanent participants, consisting of nine representatives from countries in the region: Bangladesh, China, India, Malaysia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Republic of Korea and Thailand, who presented country-specific papers describing the modernization efforts they had undertaken; invited keynote speakers from the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Euroconsult, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), International Irrigation Management Institute (IIMI), International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), and the Capifornia Polytechnic State University, together with observers from the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the Mekong River Commission (MRC) and the Royal Irrigation Department (RID) of Thailand.
The FAO secretariat comprised one staff member each from the Water Resources, Development and Management Service (FAO HQ) and RAP.
The list of participants is given in Annex 3.
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Definition of irrigation modernization
The presentations during the first day and the plenary discussion in the afternoon of the first day revealed that the participants had diverse perceptions of the definition of “Irrigation Modernization”. Some interpretations were as broad as to include any type of rehabilitation of existing projects, and others were as narrow as to limit the scope to implementation of sophisticated control software/hardware on canals.
The following definition was finally adopted:
Irrigation modernization is a process of technical and managerial upgrading (as opposed to mere rehabilitation) of irrigation schemes combined with institutional reforms,if required,with the objective to improve resource utilization (labour, water, economic, environmental) and water delivery service to farms.This definition emphasizes that modernization:
Conclusions
1. There exist significant justifications for irrigation modernization in each country, although the specific reasons will vary by country and project. For example, in Malaysia there is a clear policy to have 65% self-sufficiency in rice production in the year 2010, which will require modernization of numerous processes, one of which will be the irrigation service. In the Republic of Korea, a primary motivation for modernization is to reduce human resources utilization in agriculture.
Broader criteria which can be used to assess the needs for modernization include water conservation, improving the reliability of water distribution, reduction of environmental degradation, support of crop diversification, reduction of operation and maintenance costs, and increasing farmer income.
2. Because economic investment is required for modernization programmes, it is highly desirable to be able to predict and verify the benefits which will result from those actions.
There was a general consensus that the irrigation community lacks an appropriate knowledge base to provide adequate predictions of impacts of specific modernization steps. More attention must be given to the development of evaluation procedures, monitoring of existing and new projects, and isolation of cause/effect relationships so that benefits can be more accurately estimated. It was widely accepted in the meeting that there is a strong need for more and better adaptive and diagnostic research, especially coupled with effective information dissemination programmes.
3. A modernization programme may be a comprehensive upgrading of a project, or a phased, selective implementation of a few technologies and/or software at a limited number of sites. In either case, it is predicted on the assumption that some measure of performance will be improved as a result. Therefore, an essential ingredient of any modernization programme is an initial status and needs survey to establish baseline conditions and to distinguish between symptoms and causes.
4. Appropriate selection or upgrading of equipment for improved water control is important for achieving a better water delivery service throughout an irrigation project. Technological improvements must always be accompanied by managerial and/or institutional changes. Such software may be as simple as training in the proper maintenance and operation of the new structures. However, successful implementation of the new service which improved or upgraded technology may make possible will usually require more significant institutional changes.
5. The importance of a sense of ownership by all participants and parties affected by any modernized irrigation scheme was repeatedly heard throughout the expert consultation. There was also consensus with the notion that although water user associations (WUAs) are indeed weak or non-existent in many projects at the moment, widespread success of many further modernization efforts will depend upon their existence and viability and vice versa.
6. Essential institutional and policy changes which were noted by the participants include:
7. There is no “cook book” available to simply pick up an “appropriate” technology. The appropriate technology will depend upon the country and project, and upon the objectives, causes of the problems, economics, etc.
8. The participants acknowledged the existence of a steep learning curve to date regarding irrigation modernization. To help reduce the learning curve for future modernization efforts, two specific actions were highlighted:
Training: Training should be greatly expanded, and should extend from policy-makers to farmers. The training should be well defined and targeted. Engineers at all levels require better knowledge of modern design principles and procedures, so that they can effectively implement modernization design goals. International donor agencies can play key roles in supporting and organizing training programmes and materials at all levels.9. Numerous constraints to rapid implementation of modernization programmes include the lack of sufficiently well trained local staff and various institutional factors (i.e. lack of water rights or viable WUAs). However, within the government agencies themselves there is often a tendency to remain with simple rehabilitation programmes rather than an energetic movement towards modernization. Therefore, to facilitate more rapid acceptance of modernization, better sales arguments regarding benefits must be developed.Development of upgraded design/procedure manuals: The best strategies and programmes for an improved water delivery service will be foiled if the people who actually do the construction drawings and plans are not up to date in terms of concepts and technical capabilities. Excellent manuals are required which provide the concepts behind modernization. It was pointed out that the World Bank publication “Modern Water Control in Irrigation: Concepts, Issues and Applications” by Plusquellec, Burt and Wolter (1995) is a good new resource which explains the concepts behind modernization.
Recommendations for Donor Agencies on Follow-up Activities
Some specific action items were recommended. These comprise:
1. expansion of the documentation procedures and case studies which will allow modernization to be promoted based upon known and established benefits;
2. incorporation of requirements for renovation into lending programmes;
3. development of an improved intellectual partnership with the irrigation professionals through the establishment of e-mail groups (list servers) and newsletters;
4. expansion of resources (funding, expertise, ideas) for training, exchanges, workshops and study tours;
5. provision of leadership in funding, action, and expertise in the development of improved design manuals;
6. encouragement of the adoption of the service concept in new and continuing irrigation loans/contracts;
7. development of evaluation procedures which will allow countries to better prioritize modernization action items;
8. continuation of funding of pilot projects to demonstrate, and to document the benefits of irrigation modernization;
9. assistance in identifying, creating, and support a nucleus of individuals at national level which can discuss, promote and improve modernization efforts. These intellectual cells in each country would be recognized by both the country and the international organizations to serve as an identified focal point through which information and training (in two directions) could be channelled;
10. convention of a follow-up seminar in 2-3 years to review progress made with national modernization programmes as well as to evaluate results from case studies and pilot projects to be initiated by member countries.
