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Is There an Alternative for Irrigation Reform?

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  • Suhardiman, Diana
  • Giordano, Mark

Abstract

Poor performance of government-managed irrigation systems persists in developing countries despite numerous policy interventions over the last four decades. We argue that many of these interventions have failed, because they did not recognize irrigation bureaucracies as prime actors in policy change. This paper examines the varied actors and agendas within irrigation bureaucracies, highlighting the dichotomy between “hydraulic missions” on the one hand and direct service provision to farmers on the other. To increase the significance of future reform, bureaucracies must be considered as explicit actors, and reform efforts should derive from better understanding of the farmer–agency interface.

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  • Suhardiman, Diana & Giordano, Mark, 2014. "Is There an Alternative for Irrigation Reform?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 91-100.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:57:y:2014:i:c:p:91-100
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2013.11.016
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    6. Danqiu Cao & Yahua Wang & Liangzhen Zang, 2023. "The Effects of Land Reallocation on Irrigation Collective Action: Moderating Effects of Informal Organizations and Leadership," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-15, July.
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    8. Shin, Hoon C. & Vallury, Sechindra & Abbott, Joshua K. & Anderies, John M. & Yu, David J., 2022. "Understanding the effects of institutional diversity on irrigation systems dynamics," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    9. Ricks, Jacob I., 2016. "Building Participatory Organizations for Common Pool Resource Management: Water User Group Promotion in Indonesia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 34-47.
    10. Alaerts, G.J., 2020. "Adaptive policy implementation: Process and impact of Indonesia’s national irrigation reform 1999–2018," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    11. Balasubramanya, Soumya, 2019. "Effects of training duration and the role of gender on farm participation in water user associations in Southern Tajikistan: Implications for irrigation management," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 216(C), pages 1-11.
    12. Leroy, David, 2023. "An empirical assessment of the institutional performance of community-based water management in a large-scale irrigation system in southern Mexico," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 276(C).
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    15. Wang, Yahua & Chen, Chunliang & Araral, Eduardo, 2016. "The Effects of Migration on Collective Action in the Commons: Evidence from Rural China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 79-93.
    16. Lan T. Pham & Ilona M. Otto & Dimitrios Zikos, 2019. "Self-Governance and the Effects of Rules in Irrigation Systems: Evidence from Laboratory and Framed Field Experiments in China, India and Vietnam," Water Economics and Policy (WEP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 5(01), pages 1-28, January.
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    18. Harrison, Elizabeth, 2018. "Engineering change? The idea of ‘the scheme’ in African irrigation," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 246-255.

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