62) decentralised governance of irrigation water in cambodia - CDRI

paddies were reorganised into rectangular sections in order to accommodate the irrigation
canals; there are approximately 48 paddy blocks each covering approximately 50-100 ha 7 .
Figure 4: Map of Stung Chinit and In-depth Case Study Area
The irrigation system was built in 1978 during the Khmer Rouge period and was
rehabilitated in 1980-87, 1989, 1990 and again in 1993 by MAFF. In 2000 and from 2002 to
2008, it was studied and renovated as part of the Stung Chinit Irrigation and Rural Infrastructure
Project (SCIRIP), which was jointly funded by the ADB, Agence Française de Développement
(AFD), and the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC). SCIRIP focussed on: 1) the creation of
FWUCs; 2) improvements to the farming systems 8 ; 3) the restoration of irrigation infrastructure 9 ;
and 4) the development of access roads and rural markets 10 . The Stung Chinit scheme was
finally reconstructed and consists of a diversion weir and 700 m long spillway, a 16 km main
canal, five secondary canals, a few exemplary tertiary canals 11 and a main reservoir designed to
store 23 million cubic metres of water to irrigate the whole command area. Most of the canals
in the system are gravity-fed.
The farmers of Stung Chinit mainly cultivate traditional wet-season rice, and some dryseason
rice. They also do fishing and raise livestock. The Stung Chinit scheme was designed
to supply enough water for 1500 ha of wet-season rice paddies and 500 ha of dry-season rice
7 Data from interviews with FWUC committee member, Stung Chinit, 2010
8 Funded by AFD and implemented by MOWRAM
9 Ibid.
10 Funded by ADB and implemented by MRD
11 Designed to demonstrate how and where further tertiary canals may be built. However, since the completion
of the SCIRIP project, no further tertiary canals have been built by the farmers.
CDRI Working Paper Series No. 62
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