DRIVING AND RESTRAINING FORCES IN IMPLEMENTING PARTICIPATORY IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT IN THE LITERATE STATE OF INDIA

Kerala, elongated coastal state of India, lags behind many states in the country in participating farmers in the management of irrigation, and implementing PIM. It has no rich tradition in community management of irrigation, may be due to rich water resources it enjoyed (annual average rainfall 3000 mm). Government manages the irrigation projects and distribution of water to its 0.3 mha irrigated area, which includes wetland crops like rice, and garden land crops like coconut. Fragmentation and subdivision of land and resultant small size of holdings (average 0.3 ha); part-time cultivation of farmers who are literate (literacy rate 91%); lack of sufficient labour availability and high labour cost; and lack of coordination among various departments are the major threats to irrigated agriculture in Kerala. PIM pilot projects being implemented at Neyyar and Malampuzha Irrigation Projects of the State have shown that, in spite of all the above issues, farmers are highly motivated and are ready to share responsibilities of PIM. Since spouses of farmers are also inducted as members of WUAs, enthusiasm shown by women in managing irrigation is encouraging. Preference ranking of institutions to manage operation and maintenance (O&M) under different water availability conditions, carried out at the pilot project area through Trade-Off Method, shows that majority of the farmers have given preference to WUAs to manage O&M under both ways, as well as sometimes adequate, timely and equitable water availability conditions. The pilot project experiences are also encouraging. But the hesitation of officials to depart from the existing system, the reluctance of operational staff to involve users in management, and lack of legislative backing, are the main blocks noted.