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

18 Chapter 3. Constituents of irrigated agricultural systemObjectives• Land attributionAttribution of land rights is a major objective of the local community. Localland rights are often complex. For instance, land can be attributed to farmersat a certain time of the year and to cattle breeders at another. Particularethnic groups may not have the right to particular types of land. Communityleaders may grant or withdraw land rights according to long establishedlegislation. Technically or ideologically (i.e. to benefit the poorest) orientedirrigated land distribution by irrigation agencies may raise conflicts between“traditional” and “modern” land rights and lead to poor land utilizationor to the establishment of local mechanisms of exclusion and agriculturalproduction control.• Water distributionContrary to land distribution, in most African communities water distributionis not a historically established objective, except in “hydraulic societies” likethe North African oasis, Egypt, or in the few communities having a longhistory of irrigated agriculture. Water is frequently seen as a common good,a gift of nature or of God, linked to strong cultural values that forbid men toappropriate water. The absence of historically established water rights makeswater distribution a new and difficult objective for irrigation development.Since the turnover to newly constructed schemes or the management transferof older schemes, farming communities have been trying with more or lesssuccess to craft 2 socially acceptable and applicable water distribution rights.Instead of defining a standard water distribution that would apply in allcases, irrigation agencies should assist farmers to develop their own waterdistribution rights.StructureIn rural Africa, villages are the most important social units. Within villages,there are subdivisions into quarters, extended families 3 or clans. Thesesubdivisions may or may not correspond to scheme divisions in irrigationblocks and influence O&M. In general, there are few organizational bodiesacross village boundaries and existing ones do not deal with agriculturalproduction or land and water management. This may explain the difficulties2 For more information see Elinor Ostrom, 1992, “ Crafting institutions for self-governingirrigation systems ”, ICS Press, Institute for contemporary studies, San Francisco.3 Opposite to nuclear family in European culture.