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economics of on-farm development - Institute for Social and ...

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agents as against 90 per cent or more in the case <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> big <strong>farm</strong>ers. The study<br />

highlights the un<strong>for</strong>tunate aspect <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> Indian irrigati<strong>on</strong> <strong>development</strong>, wherein, the<br />

crucial elements <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> irrigated <strong>farm</strong>ing, viz., l<strong>and</strong> levelling <strong>and</strong> <strong>development</strong>,<br />

drainage facilities <strong>and</strong> adverse effects <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> over irrigati<strong>on</strong> do not figure<br />

prominently in the extensi<strong>on</strong> counseling (Reddy, 1998: 20 I).<br />

Vaidyanathan (1999) c<strong>on</strong>tends that, in large reservoir based irrigati<strong>on</strong><br />

systems, the ability <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> the system managers to ensure efficient water distributi<strong>on</strong><br />

is c<strong>on</strong>strained by the rigidity <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> the distributi<strong>on</strong> networks, the extent <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />

sophisticati<strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> c<strong>on</strong>trol structures to regulate the volume <strong>and</strong> timing <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> flow to<br />

different parts <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> the comm<strong>and</strong> area, the capacity to collate <strong>and</strong> analyse the<br />

enormous amount <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> in<strong>for</strong>mati<strong>on</strong> available bearing <strong>on</strong> crop water needs at<br />

different times in different segments <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> the comm<strong>and</strong> area <strong>and</strong> the ability <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> the<br />

system managers to en<strong>for</strong>ce the allocati<strong>on</strong> <strong>on</strong> the ground (Vaidyanathan, 1999).<br />

Attempts to bring about improvements at the user level by c<strong>on</strong>structing field<br />

channels, c<strong>on</strong>solidati<strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> holdings <strong>and</strong> l<strong>and</strong> levelling have also not made much<br />

headway. The uncertainty <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> returns <strong>on</strong> investment as well as the bureaucratically<br />

c<strong>on</strong>ceived <strong>and</strong> implemented programmes with <strong>on</strong>ly marginal involvement <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> the<br />

users <strong>and</strong> the organisati<strong>on</strong>al weakness <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> the state apparatus are some <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> the<br />

important c<strong>on</strong>straints.<br />

2,3.3 Studies <strong>on</strong> user participati<strong>on</strong> <strong>and</strong> irrigati<strong>on</strong> management transfer<br />

O'Mara (1984) c<strong>on</strong>siders beneficiary participati<strong>on</strong> as an important measure to<br />

resolve much <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> the problems <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> water utilisati<strong>on</strong>. A system which is resp<strong>on</strong>sive<br />

to <strong>farm</strong>er's dem<strong>and</strong> is far more likely to achieve an efficient allocati<strong>on</strong> than any<br />

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