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

PRDA Manual 17supply and marketing is a form of cooperation on a voluntary basis enablingfarmers to organize themselves in view of their common interests.The structure relates to sub-division of units for specific functions and to thevertical or horizontal relations between these units. An organizational chart isthe usual way to represent the structure.Objectives and structure set the operational framework of an organization(Box 2). However to achieve its objectives effectively, organization membersmust have the capacity and must adopt rules relating to:• water distribution;• mobilization of farmers for such labour-demanding tasks asmaintenance;• financial management: collection of water fees, bookkeeping, paymentto external service providers and employees;• relations with administrative authorities: adoption of a legal status,information on legal regulations for farmers organizations;• internal communication: mode of decision making, conflict resolution,organization of meetings;• establishment and development of relations with external organizations:service providers, traders, extension services, credit institutionsprojects, downstream and upstream water users, etc.Box 2. Irrigation organization and the local communityIn rural African communities, irrigation organizations are not isolated entities. Inthe eyes of farmers they are merely one of the several organizational bodies theybelong to. Therefore to understand the actual operation of an irrigation organization,other important points have to be considered in addition to those described above.Existing relationships within the local community may play a significant role inO&M of irrigated agricultural systems and influence their performance.Any local community may be seen as an organization that can also be analysedin terms of objectives, structure, capacity and rules. Naturally, an anthropologicalstudy is beyond the scope of this manual. However, the following points must beborne in mind while doing a PRDA in order to enhance its quality since usefulinformation on the local community can be gathered through direct contacts withthe farming community or a secondary data analysis.