Farmers Organisations in Surface Irrigation Projects-Two Empirical Studies from Gujarat

Irrigation Projects Two Empirical Studies from Gujarat T K Jayaraman In any irrigation system, the institutional arrangements prevalent or projmed to be developed are a prime focus of attention. While the bureaucratic organisation assumes the responsibility of operation and maintenance of the system upto the government outlet, the command area under the latter along with its network of field channels and drams and control structures become the responsibility of the farmers for operation and maintenance. This is the most critical area since under or over- irrigation due to lack of maintenance of community-owned items will affect yields per hectare and generally the performance of the system.