Bonding and bridging social capital towards collective action in participatory irrigation management. Evidence in Chiang Rai Province, Northern Thailand

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of social capital with bonding and bridging distinction in promoting higher participation in collective action in participatory irrigation management.Design/methodology/approachA sample of 304 farmers was surveyed using a structured questionnaire. A focus group discussion was also carried out with randomly selected water users, leaders and irrigation officers. A confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling were used to test the hypothesised relationship of bonding and bridging social capital towards collective action.FindingsThe findings show that social capital has a significant direct effect on collective action and an indirect effect on joint irrigation management's perceived performance through collective action (mediator). It implies the need to complement the participatory irrigation management programme with an understanding of the social aspects for a higher farmer's participation over the shared resource.Originality/valueThe paper emphasises social capital's role in facilitating a real participatory engagement in shared resource management. Also, it is the first scholarly work linking social capital with bonding and bridging distinction towards collective action in a joint resource management context.

Exclusion of Women Beneath Patriarchal Enclaves in Participatory Irrigation Management in South India

This article examines the impact of the policy initiative for Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM) on women’s membership and leadership in Water User Associations of Sathanur, Tamil Nadu. Evidence from this major irrigation system reveals male dominance in irrigation management not only due to denial of opportunity and entitlement to women but also gender bigotry in agrarian relations and deprival of women’s access to land. Thus in practice the neoliberal paradigm of institutional reforms in irrigation despite its manifest agenda of gender mainstreaming latently fortifies patriarchal enclave forfeiting inclusion, participation and representation of women in PIM.

Editorial—Using Applied Economics to Study Participatory Irrigation Institutions and their Impact in South Asia

For many decades, participatory approaches, with their emphasis on farmer-centred management, have been presented as panaceas for overcoming weaknesses in irrigation systems. Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM) has assumed such a high status that it is regularly mandated by donors sponsoring irrigation upgrades in poor countries. However, the success of PIM is mixed, and economic analysis can help explain why PIM might work in some settings and not in others. This Special Issue focusses on PIM and aims to scrutinise its usefulness, particularly in South Asia. The focus on South Asian irrigation is driven by the reality that smallholder agriculture is destined to be the mainstay for this most populous region, at least in the medium term, and finding solutions to raise agricultural productivity is a high priority. The Special Issue comprises nine papers employing several strands of economics, including New Institutional Economics, Game Theory, and Behavioural Economics. A synopsis of each paper is provided in this editorial.

Participatory Exclusion in Water User Associations: A Subaltern Perspective

Although Participatory Irrigation Management envisions democratic participation and equity in water sharing among farmers , this article while investigating the challenges of Dalit farmers in Water User Associations and access to surface or ground water for irrigation, espouse the perpetuation of ‘Participatory Exclusion’ of Dalit farmers in canal water sharing and rights in water user associations . Since caste discrimination is embedded in modern user organizations, participatory exclusion of Dalit farmers operates at all levels of membership, participation and representation in PIMinrural Tamil Nadu.

Impact of Institutional Features on the Overall Performance Assessment of Participatory Irrigation Management: Farmers’ Response from Pakistan

The basic objective of the irrigation reforms, i.e., participatory irrigation management in Pakistan, was a better economic and financial management of irrigation service delivery, equity in water distribution, and better environmental outcome. The aim of this study was to assess the optimism with the reforms package that has actually delivered expected outcomes. For this purpose, this study used a cross-sectional dataset of 567 farmers in five selected Area Water Boards (AWBs) of Punjab and Sindh provinces of Pakistan. Important institutional features including compliance, adaptiveness, clarity of objectives, good interaction, and appropriate scale, were modeled through structural equation modeling on the overall performance assessment of water use associations from a farmer’s perspective. Results suggested that clear objectives, adaptiveness, scale, and compliance show a strong relationship with an overall assessment of performance. While good interaction has not impacted significantly with an overall performance assessment. The impact of institutional feature on the overall performance assessment depends on the nature of performance considered, e.g., drivers of the economic performance of a farmer organization may not be the same as the drivers of its environmental performance. Besides offering insights on specific drivers that matter for a particular dimension of the institutional performance of farmer organizations, the study suggests that participatory irrigation management institutions are still in infancy even after decades of their introduction, and just creating institutions is neither mandatory nor sufficient. Furthermore, the institutional designs are considered critical for the success of participatory institutions. Therefore, there is a need to consider the conformity of the strategies with the existing norms and compliance to the on-going procedures.