Organization and Management for Efficient Irrigation Water-Use

Organization and Management for Efficient Irrigation Water-Use – An Empirical Study in the Sudan Sudan, the largest country in Africa, symbolizes the problems challenging the continent. The most threatening one is food security for an increasing population. Considering the drought conditions that built up in the area – culminating in the mid 1980s – irrigation became a cornerstone to boost food supplies. This sub-sector has historically played a substantial role in the production of food and cash crops in Sudan. However, there is now growing evidence that the opportunities for the further lateral expansion of irrigation schemes will be faced by the limitations of the availability of foreign currency and the availability of water resources. The former is dependent on the performance of the Sudanese economy and the later is, in addition, interdependent with the plans of other countries. Though the first limitation has reached a critical level, it is recognized that water rather than other resources will be the main determinant of irrigation development. Thereby, if Sudanese agriculture is to develop, there is a need to improve the utilization of available water through improving its management and the organizational contexts in which this is practiced. Within this area of interest, the major task of the study has been to map the factors that hinder this goal. The study is divided into two parts. The first deals with the theoretical framework of key concepts and relevant issues. It discusses, however, the different aspects that have an influence on the performance of irrigation systems and emphasizes, in particular, those of technology and the environment. In addition, the meaning and conditions of institutional change are also discussed in detail. The second part of the study, the analytical section, comprises the methodology and the results of field work which has been conducted under two irrigation bureaucracies – the New Halfa Scheme in the eastern part of Sudan, and the Gendettu Scheme in the north. The results of the study stressed the need for a comprehensive development approach which considers all natural resources. Furthermore, within the special reference to the environment of the schemes, it has been found that the political conditions are of particular importance. This result highlights the question as to what extent participation is applicable in bureaucratic irrigation schemes in countries that have similar conditions. The study also comes to the conclusion that irrigation water efficiency has a socio-economic dimension and therefore has to be linked with productivity and profitability. In this connection, modernizing the relevant technologies and sustaining the integration with support institutions are of relevant importance. Consequently, a central conclusion of this study is that the efficiency of water utilization also requires, at the same time, the efficient utilization of other resources and inputs supplied by support institutions. In addition, the absence of tenants’ participation and the dominance of the schemes administrations goals, as representatives of the state, have resulted in a contradictory efficiency; the efficiency of water users vis-a-vis the efficiency of the state. Concerning communication, a yawning gap has been registered between the different actors of the schemes. This focus has tended to direct attention to the role of farmers’ organizations in the articulation between water users and scheme management. The conclusion that could be drawn from this analysis is that farmers’ organizations need to play this role independently. Finally the study stresses that, to achieve the goals for charging for irrigation water, these need to be accompanied by institutional changes.