Agricultural Water Resource Governance for Sustainable Food Production: Lessons from Developing Economies

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AbstractAgricultural water governance systems are critical in shaping the long-term sustainability of the Food-Energy-Water (FEW) nexus. The agricultural sector in most developing countries is characterised by poor collective management of water resources, collapse of infrastructure and low returns. The Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework and Ostrom’s eight institutional design principles have been reviewed to establish their relevance in enhancing the performance and effectiveness of institutions governing agricultural water resources. The water and agricultural sectors in Africa are dominated by informal water governance systems. As such, user participation in collective management of water is mainly driven by informal arrangements ahead of formal policies. The involvement of water-user associations as formal water-governing institutions and their linkages to the local irrigation committees and agricultural production cooperatives is weak due to lack of clarity among farmers on how the water associations operate. Weak regulatory instruments, characterised by poor rule enforcement mechanisms, lack of property rights and lack of water security, negatively impact irrigation water management among smallholder farmers. Farmer training and capacity building processes are required to enhance coherent institutional linkages at the local level. While technical interventions like provision of lockable water supply infrastructure ensure easy control of unsanctioned withdrawal of water, upgrading of supply capacity and water measurement devices can be pursued at the scheme level. Furthermore, the focus on improving the institutional arrangements, management capacity and the governance systems can achieve better water allocation and enhance sustainable food production.KeywordsWater governanceInstitutional arrangementsWater managementSouth Africa