Institutional transformation in irrigation: Linking irrigation development with the wider agrarian context Diana Suhardiman Senior Researcher-Policy and Institutions International Water Management Institute Vientiane, Lao PDR

Structure of the presentation Centrality of poor system performance in irrigation development debates Policy interventions to address the problem Discussion of policy gaps Potential ways forward

Policy interventions to cope with poor system performance in the past 4 decades include: The shift from construction and rehabilitation to O&M Formation of WUAs Introduction of ISFs for system cost recovery Irrigation Management Transfer

Why past and current efforts to improve system performance have largely been unsuccessful? Policy interventions are often formulated in isolation from the existing agrarian reality Messy field realities are not the starting point of policy formulation Focus on development targets (e.g. food production, cost recovery)

Linking irrigation development with the wider agrarian context Irrigation Systems Technical Hierarchy Irrigation Agency & WUA Agriculture / Irrigation Policy Wider Agrarian Context Markets & Value Chains Village Hierarchy Agriculture Modes of Production Irrigation Systems

Broadening our understanding of institutions in irrigation development Understanding the role of local institutions (beyond WUAs) Focusing on how various actors make and remake ‘institutions’ on daily basis The heterogeneity of agents within a single institution

Building block 1: Bring back farmer-agency interface into the central stage of irrigation development Capturing the notion of institutional emergence Understanding of the ‘new’ agrarian terrain and processes of agrarian transformation Moving beyond dichotomy Messy field realities as starting point for policy reform formulation

Building block 2: Focus on farming system analysis

Building block 3: Farmers’ farming practices and adaptation strategies as starting point for policy reform formulation

Identifying potential ways forward for the required institutional transformation through central positioning of: Farmer-agency interface Farming system analysis Farmers’ farming practices

“A better understanding of the impact of development policies on the rural poor can be achieved largely by having a clearer perspective on the class structure of a particular society” (Bernstein, 2007)

Thank You for Your Attention Diana Suhardiman