Improvements in agricultural water management, such as modernization and conservation farming, can only succeed if strong commitment is given to the engagement and participation of users in planning and investment decisions and the flow of information Participation is done for a purpose, to raise productivity and incomes and share benefits and while it is true that sharing the benefits of a common resource base may prove hard to negotiate at the outset, the economic outcomes of successful negotiation can be significant.
Access to natural resources is fundamental and here rights in use of land and water need to be stable, but they also need to be transferable if economic gains are to be made. Therefore clear legal and regulatory frameworks for water use rights and land tenure are essential. Sustainable management of water for agriculture also requires formulating effective systems of cost recovery that are socially acceptable and better reflect the value of water in food production. The shift from sector based planning to natural resource based planning is already taking place as economic sectors and their regulators realize that their performance can be improved by sharing a common approach to resource development and environmental protection.
Given the trends outlined in AT2030, positive policy and institutional shifts that have direct impact on the governance of agricultural water management are imperative. It is clear is that irrigation agencies will have to get into the habit of adapting within a natural resource planning framework. Within such a framework, adaptive management approaches may appear a little “clumsy” in relation to “comprehensive” or “integrated” approach, but they are systemic and responsive to both the scale of the investment and the institutional arrangements that determine the actual governance of irrigation schemes.
