Manual - Participatory rapid diagnosis and action ... - FAO.org

6 Chapter 2. Overview of ProcedureAn example of what to tell farmers about the PRDA is:• We are here to learn from you about your irrigation scheme, how wellit is performing and what are the main constraints.• We hope that you can teach us to do our job better and improve ourservice.• We want to share the information that you give us so that we candiscuss how to improve your own irrigation scheme through simplesolutions. However, we are not going to implement a project in yourirrigation scheme. In the case of constraints outside of our capacity ornot related to irrigation, we can only refer you to other organizations.Meetings with the Water Users Association (WUA) are a good opportunityto introduce Rapid Diagnosis and to seek their agreement. These meetingscan also be used later to discuss progress, results or to make workingarrangements (e.g. to make appointments with people who will participatein group discussions or interviews).The second important group of stakeholders for the PRDA is the potentialpartner organizations or people who could assist in a Rapid Diagnosis by, forexample, assisting in field work, helping with implementation of solutions,funding, etc. The “Stakeholder analysis” described in annex A is an easy wayto identify the most important partners.1B - Select method and planningOnce you have the PRDA team together, involve all team members inselecting appropriate PRDA tools. Plan your PRDA during a period whenfarmers are operating the irrigation scheme (during the irrigation season) butare not very busy (not during harvest). Make sure that all team members areavailable for the whole time (Box 1).Chapter 4 contains more detailed information on planning the PRDA and selectingtools. The recommended tools are explained in more detail in annex A.Box 1. Example in the Golgota Irrigation SchemeThe PRDA team in the Golgota Irrigation Scheme (Ethiopia) met with the headsof the WUA almost every day. By discussing their work-plan, farmers were keptinformed about progress. With the help of WUA, access to select other farmersfor interviews and discussions the following day was made easier and saved a lotof time.