A Comparison of Water Policies for Sustainable Irrigation Management: The Case of India and Australia

Efficient irrigation water management has become a common goal for continued growth and sustainable development in both India and Australia. The two countries have followed definite paths for achieving the best irrigation management policy. Australia has adopted irrigation management transfer (IMT) with emphasis on privatisation, while India has focused on participatory irrigation management (PIM). Australia and India have adopted these approaches in one of their main river basins, namely the Murray‐Darling Basin (MDB) and the Krishna Basin, respectively. Institutional reforms in irrigation management in the MDB developed independently of global progress in IMT as compared to the Krishna Basin where the reforms were imposed from the top. Further, irrigation management entities in the MDB, either under public or participatory domain, relied heavily on market‐based instruments to achieve efficiency in irrigation water management. In contrast, PIM in the Krishna Basin in India appears to be an experiment with command and control in diverse legal and organisational settings across time and space. In summary, in terms of the parameters chosen in their nearest proximity to measure performance, the Australian IMT programme seems to have performed better than the Indian PIM programme. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

This paper reviews institutional reforms in the irrigation sector for sustainable agricultural water management (AWM) undertaken in 14 countries and regions, including Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Nepal, South Korea, Sudan, Chinese Taipei, Turkey and Ukraine. These regions represent a vast diversity of geography, climate, governance, socio‐economic conditions and level of development. In those countries with smaller land areas and high‐technology manufacturing, such as Japan and Korea, agriculture is now being viewed as technology‐driven food factories of the future. Meanwhile, for countries with a significant base population and increasing growth rates, such as China, India and Indonesia, agriculture seems to dominate the development debate. The comparative evaluation analyses the issues regarding institutional and organizational reforms focusing on the legal and organizational framework structure including water users' associations (WUAs) for water supply services, participatory irrigation management (PIM) and management transfer, and public–private partnership (PPP) towards sustainable irrigation and drainage (I&D) and agricultural water management (AWM). Despite the diverse geography and institutional frameworks, food security remains a major concern in all the countries and regions reviewed in this paper. The formation and functioning of WUAs, ageing I&D infrastructure and its operation and management (O&M) appear to be the major institutional and PPP challenges for sustainable AWM in the immediate future. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The recent irrigation management transfer (IMT) from local government to the Korean Rural Community Corporation (KRC) run by the government for better service is an emerging social issue. In this study, we conducted an extensive survey to learn about IMT between the KRC and local government. Structured questionnaires were prepared and a survey conducted with farmers, KRC members and local government officials. Most agreed with the IMT from local government to the KRC. However, the transfer of assets revealed divided opinions. The survey results show that the farmers' contribution to the maintenance of canals, including clearing water weeds and dredging ditches, was required to maintain quality even after the transition to KRC management in accordance with political and social issues. The survey also confirmed that some actions have to be implemented to improve irrigation management by encouraging farmers' participation under the public irrigation management (PubIM) system. These actions include reorganization of the discarded water management committee to revive the concept of participatory irrigation management (PIM) and subsidies (direct payments) for loyal farmers as an incentive for their labour. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Participation of the communities at various tiers of irrigation management has gained popularity over the years. A parallel urge has been the promotion of sustainable practices that can provide high resource efficiency and greater returns with smaller resource outlay. Though studies have focused on both the issues, few have tried to link both. This study attempts to add to the existing knowledge by exploring whether sustainable management of irrigation can be achieved with the inclusion of farmers themselves in the operation and management of irrigation. For these 250 farmers who are members of Water Users Associations (WUAs) and 120 farmers who have never been a part of any WUA have been interviewed using Focus Group Discussion. Relative Irrigation Supply (RIS) and Irrigation Water Productivity (IWP) calculated using the CROPWAT 8.0 software of FAO, have been selected as the indicators of sustainability. Results show that the RIS among the participant farmers is lower than the non-participant farmers. The variability in RIS between the groups is statistically significant at p<0.05. The IWP is higher among the participant farmers and lower among the non-participants. The variance in IWP between the groups is not significant statistically. The strict adherence to water fees payment and training on rationed water use has imbibed water saving practices among the participant farmers. Thus, the study indicates that Participatory Irrigation Management can sustainability of irrigation practices among users and hence establishes a link between sustainable irrigation practice and community participation.

This chapter examines how Data Science (DS) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) may advance sustainable irrigation and water management. It draws attention to the problems that exist today, such as data gaps, ineffective irrigation, water scarcity, and financial limitations. Predictive analytics, real-time monitoring, decision support systems, and optimization algorithms are used to analyze AI's function, while data collection, integration, analysis, and visualization are used to assist DS. Case studies from Europe, the US, India, and Australia show the advantages and practical uses. The chapter addresses technological obstacles, data privacy issues, economic limitations, and talent shortages while highlighting the potential of AI and DS to improve resource efficiency, lower prices, raise agricultural yields, and assist environmental conservation. In order to accomplish sustainable water management, future directions include integrating developing technology, supporting policies, and cooperative efforts.

ABSTRACTENORASIS has been developed as a real‐time smart irrigation decision support and management system consisting of weather forecasting systems based on satellite observations, irrigation optimization techniques and wireless sensor networks. This study revealed that irrigation could be managed with ENORASIS without a significant decrease in efficiency when less water is used (14%–71%) than with the conventional irrigation management approach. Thus, fewer agricultural chemicals are washed away from the soil, but water efficiency increases, leading to the use of less water and groundwater pollution. According to these results, although ENORASIS usually stands out as a recommended irrigation management system in terms of water usage parameters and performance indicators for both cotton and maize, either of the two irrigation management systems could be preferred considering yield, technological and agronomic characteristics. Among these, the choice should be made according to the results of an economic analysis on factors such as time, labour and energy needs for water supply, as well as metered irrigation and pricing in water and irrigation costs. This study revealed that ENORASIS can be used for sustainable irrigation and water resource management.

Introduced over a decade ago and considered largely successful by irrigation professionals, Irrigation Management Transfer and Participatory Irrigation Management (IMT/PIM) policies were recently reviewed and seen to have resulted in more cases of “failure” than “success”. Primary research on two IMT/PIM projects in Nepal, which were among the few “successes” in the assessment supporting a “failed” PIM, shows how such policy-driven evaluations, when defining success, overlook incongruities between policies, institutions, and the evolving dynamics around class, caste, ethnicity, and gender. Without exploring the dynamics of practice, the process of “cultivating” success and/or failure in evaluations provides little insight on how irrigation management works on the ground.

Purpose: Using Q-methodology approach, this study attempts to examine the attitudes of experts towards the barriers and challenges of irrigation management transfer. Methods: In terms of purpose and research methodology, this study is applied and mixed-method (quantitative-qualitative), respectively. To identify the challenges of irrigation management transfer, Q methodology was used. In the first phase, a questionnaire containing two questions about the barriers and challenges to irrigation management transfer were administered to experts and managers of two organizations involved in agricultural water management. After collecting their views and reviewing internal and external resources, 41 items were derived. In the second phase, 30 participants including 20 managers and experts from Guilan Jihad-Agriculture Organization and Guilan Regional Water Authority, as well as 10 faculty members from Departments of Water, Development and Rural Planning in universities of Guilan and Kharazmy were studied. The participants were selected using purposive sampling method. Findings: Based on the results, a group of experts with the majority of faculty members believed that organizational and cultural barriers were the most important obstacles to the realization of participatory irrigation management. The second group including executive experts with the majority of Guilan Jihad-Agriculture Organization members mentioned that technical and administrative obstacles had more prominent role than cultural and institutional barriers. Finally, from the perspective of the third group that was relatively smaller than the other two groups, the major challenge in non-realization of participatory irrigation management was rooted in cultural-educational issues. Limitations: Because this study was conducted in the first half of the year characterized with the peak agricultural activity, access to key managers and experts of Guilan Regional Water Authority was very difficult and time consuming. Practical implications: Codification of clear and practical guidelines enjoying impressive views of the three groups of stakeholders (Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Jihad-Agriculture and academia) in the field of enforcement mechanisms, consulting, regulatory, determination of duties according to the executive, advisory and monitoring position, and avoiding frequent changes in executive agencies responsible for participatory irrigation management can be helpful in this regard. Authenticity: To date, several important studies have been conducted in this area, each one being an appropriate guide by itself. Distinguished feature of this study is that it looked at this issue from another perspective and tried to study the problem in a distinct way (Q-methodology) from the point of view of different groups involved to compare the differences of views and to drive distinguished components of the three groups’ standpoints (based on the career status of the respondents).

This study aims to provide an opinion on the state-of-the-art of changes and reforms of water policies in South Korea, as well as the challenges along with their implications for sustainable water governance and management. In parallel with change in water resource characteristics generated by physical, environmental and socio-economic challenges such as: (1) uncertainties about climate change (flooding and drought) including seasonal and regional variation in precipitation; (2) significant increase in water use caused by rapid urbanization and population growth in industrialized urban areas; (3) inadequate water pricing mechanism which covers only around 80% of the production cost and makes it harder to maintain water systems; and (4) recursive water quality degradation and conflicts over water rights between regions resulting from non-point source pollution in highland versus lowland areas, Korean water policies have been developed through diverse reforms over 100 years. Nevertheless, new challenges for sustainable water management are continuously emerging. To meet those challenges we provide two ideas: (i) provider-gets-principle (payment for ecosystem services) of cost-benefit sharing among stakeholders who benefit from water use; and (ii) water pricing applying full-cost pricing-principle internalizing environmental externalities caused by the intensive water use. Funds secured from the application of those methods would facilitate: (1) support for upstream (rural) low income householders suffering from economic restrictions; (2) improvement in water facilities; and (3) efficient water use and demand management in South Korea’s water sectors. We expect that this paper can examine the lessons relevant to challenges that South Korea faces and offer some implications on the formulation of new integration and further reforms of the institutions, laws and organizations responsible for managing water resources in South Korea.

Among the different forms of agricultural damage in Hungary, drought poses a remarkably high risk according to the reported drought events, the area affected, and the level of mitigation payments. This study explores drought damage based on the 2018–2020 data of the Hungarian Agricultural Risk Management System. Owing to eligibility criteria, slightly more than half of the members of the scheme who reported drought damage received mitigation payments, but for them, the value of compensation significantly exceeded the mitigation contribution. According to our results, most of the damaged areas were outside the impact areas of water supply systems or were within the impact area but on non-irrigated fields, which proved that irrigation could be an effective drought mitigation tool. To avoid drought damage, irrigation development is essential, and special attention should be paid to the territory of Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county. This area suffered significant drought damage in the years examined, and currently the impact area of the surface water-based water supply systems is small, while the groundwater resources are already overexploited. At the same time, the risk management system should be modified to transform it into a preventive system which encourages farmers to use water retentive soil cultivation methods, appropriate cropping systems, sustainable water management, and efficient and reasonable levels of irrigation. Accordingly, fewer mitigation benefits would be paid through less drought damage. Based on questionnaire surveys, farmers are open to using water retention practices and sustainable irrigation management.

Participatory irrigation management (PIM) with micro irrigation improving water and fertilizer use through appropriate technological and policy interventions with an objective to relieve pressure on fragile groundwater appears to be the prime challenge in the Gujarat state. Ground water is the key factor defining agricultural land use in Gujarat state. Government of Gujarat has aggressively promoted micro irrigation technologies in Gujarat by providing 100 per cent subsidy through Gujarat Water Resource Development Corporation Ltd. operated tube wells by implementation of PINS (Pressurized Irrigation Network System) along with MIS. These tube wells had been in operation by farmer co-operative societies in Gujarat by participatory irrigation management since long and used to deliver the water with flow irrigation. Now introduction of micro irrigation aims to provide timely and adequate supply of water to crops for improving the agricultural production. Each tube well envisages covering a demarcated area and growing specified crops which requires specific water requirement in specific time period of growth. Earlier without micro irrigation implementation in many tube wells water levels used to go down and due to this, actual coverage under irrigation was much below the targeted coverage. Tail end reaches of command of the tube well used to suffer from inadequate and unreliable supplies. Most of the area was deprived of irrigation facilities. This gap is now filled up by implementing pressurized irrigation networking along with micro irrigation systems. It is found that there is a substantial improvement the operation, maintenance and management of the system by involving both the water users groups (farmers) and Gujarat Water Resource Development Corporation Ltd. (GWRDC) (the owner of the Tube wells). The life of tube well has increased and electricity consumption as well as maintenance is reduced to a great extent. These are the results of participatory irrigation management. Obviously farmers in a command area of community tube well will be in a large number, with different concepts, priorities, requirements etc. To bring these varied interests together and enable them to be effective partners in management of irrigation system is both challenging and time consuming. It is necessary that the behaviour and attitude of the Government officers need to be changed and make conducive to work with farmers and users in order to develop a collective and self-regulative work culture. This should ultimately result in to improvement of On- farm water use efficiency and the affordability for the farmers to adopt the systems and doing irrigation through micro irrigation only. The multifold advantages of drip and sprinkler irrigation systems over conventional flow irrigation would bring large sale adoption of these technologies.

In the irrigation sector, water-related conflict has been compounded due to social issues such as climate change and urbanization-induced population dynamics. Although Irrigation Management Transfer (IMT) and Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM) were implemented for sustainable irrigation infrastructure management, results of PIM/IMT implementations exhibit conflicts between WUAs and the lack of water users’ associations’ (WUAs) participation in management. To unfold PIM/IMT issues, Agent-Based Model (ABM) helps analyze conflicts, and game theory helps analyze governing concepts underlying cooperative management such as rules. This study discusses the applicability of ABM and game theory to analyze conflicts over surface irrigation water and harvesting labor and also aims to present solutions to increasing conflicts due to labor resource depletion owning to urbanization. To investigate cooperative WUAs amid the pressure of social changes, we chose WUAs in Bali, Indonesia, known as “subaks”. Rice cultivation management practices of five subaks in the study area were identified by stakeholder analysis approach, and we developed an ABM to model water management of six agents representing subaks. To examine influence of harvesting labor supply on water management, noncooperative game theory was applied, and three harvesting labor scenarios and two strategies were generated. Scenario analysis indicates that with severe shortages in the harvesting labor supply, harvesting labor allocation orders could compound the decline in annual rice production. This study also establishes that although current management practices maintain cooperative relationships between subaks and flexible management practices likely strengthen cooperative relationships, social changes could accelerate farmers’ noncooperative behavior. To resolve conflicts, subaks need to develop cooperative relationships on a larger scale, but social issues go beyond the intra-community level and will require government intervention to efficiently use deceasing resource supply. This method using ABM and game theory will contribute to the development of socio-hydrological analysis approach to sustainable resource allocation in PIM/IMT study.

In recent years there is a growing interest in the impact and performance of irrigation management transfer (IMT) or participatory irrigation management (PIM) models. The Andhra Pradesh irrigation reform of 1996 (the ‘Andhra Model’) has also attracted much attention. Using a ‘politics of policy’ framework, this chapter critically examines the Andhra model and its proclaimed success. On the basis of field evidence, the chapter shows that the reform policy was captured by the irrigation bureaucracy, WUA representatives, and local political leaders. Thus, the chapter provides an alternative perspective on irrigation reforms. It further provides evidence that the reform policy did not result in a complete devolution of bureaucratic powers but rather served to recapture bureaucratic control over irrigation management. It concludes that the struggles between policy actors must be put in the broader framework of historical, political, and bureaucratic transformations.

The decline in farmer participation in irrigation management based on the Water User Farmers Association (P3A) is important to study because it impacts the performance of irrigation that serves rice fields, ultimately leading to land productivity to meet rice needs. This study aims to: (1) Study and describe the conditions for growing participation and farmer participation in P3A-based irrigation management, and (2) Analyze the influence between the conditions for growing participation on farmer participation in P3A-based irrigation management. The research method in this study uses a quantitative method. The sample consisted of 60 farmer respondents were selected using the proportionate stratified random sampling technique. The data were collected through survey techniques, interviews, and literature studies. Data analysis in this study used multiple linear regression tests using IBM SPSS Statistics 25 software. The results of the study showed that: (1) In general, the conditions for growing participation in the form of participation opportunities are relatively high, but still relatively low in the opportunity to be involved in meetings, operations, and irrigation maintenance; willingness to participate is relatively moderate; and the ability to participate is relatively high; while farmer participation in general is still relatively low; (2) These three conditions for growing simultaneously affect farmer participation in P3A-based irrigation management. Partially, opportunity and willingness have a significant influence on farmer participation, while ability does not have a significant influence on farmer participation.

Assessment of employees' perceptions of approaches to sustainable water management by coal and iron ore mining companies