Impact Assessment: Action for Social Advancement (ASA)

Increasing agriculture productivity in irrigated command through restoration of canal system and establishment of farmers' led agriculture extension system in M.P

October - November 2011

Bhaswati Chakravorty Independent Researcher New Delhi

1 Table of Content

Sections Page Number

Acknowledgement 3

List of Acronyms 4

Executive Summary 5 - 11

Background and Methodology 12 – 13

Potential and processes

a) Canal restoration 13-16

b) Capacity building of WUA 16-17

c) Good Agricultural Practices 17 – 19

d) Farmers’ Producers Organization 19

e) Convergence with ASA’s other initiatives 20 – 21

Challenges

a) Capacity building of WUAs 21-22

b) Indebtedness 22

c) Gender perspective 22-23

Moving Forward 23 –25

Annex 1: Log frame Indicators 26

Annex 2: Checklist for FGD 27

Annex 3: Training and Exposure for WUAs 28

2 3 Acknowledgement

I am thankful to Action for Social Advancement (ASA) for supporting this study.

My gratitude to Ashis Mondal, Director ASA, for sharing his critical insights about the project. Special thanks to Mr HB Dwivedi, Theme Manager, Land & Water Resource Development for his invaluable facilitation during the study process. I am also thankful to Pankaj Sharma, Team Leader of Badwani for excellent logistics and field coordination support. My sincere appreciation to the field staff of Badwani team who were with me for the entire duration of the study and I have benefited greatly from their insights.

The community in five project villages, particularly the WUA/TC members, farmers, and women’s groups were extremely generous with their time and kind enough to patiently explain the project components including site visits and participate in group discussions. I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude to them.

The study has been a learning experience for me and I hope that it offers lessons in collective efforts towards participatory irrigation management and enhancement of livelihood opportunities for small and marginal farmers in Badwani district.

4 List of Acronyms

ASA Action for Social Advancement

BCI Better Cotton Initiative

CCT Conditional Cash Transfer

CBO Community Based Organization

FPC Farmers’ Producers’ Company

ICEF Indo Canadian Environment Facility

JLG Joint Liability Group

MDM Mid Day Meal

MIS Micro Irrigation System

NREGS National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme

PDS Public Distribution System

PIM Participatory Irrigation Management

PVSP Participatory Varietal Selection and Promotion

PWT Participatory Walk Through

RSBY Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana

SHG Self Help Group

SRTT Sir Ratan Tata Trust

WUA Water Users’ Association

WRD Water Resources Department

ZP Zilla Panchayat

5 Executive Summary

Introduction

The present study aims to assess the effectiveness of canal restoration of 5 tanks initiated by ASA in Badwani district, MP in 2008. The key objective of the project was to increase the agricultural productivity through restoration of canal systems and establishing effective irrigation management system within the PIM framework. Following a survey of ten MIS, five were identified as critical sites for urgent attention. With the funding support of SRTT and Zilla Panchayat (using NREGS funds) a three year project was developed by ASA (March 2008 – December 2010), to focus on critical areas for restoration 1. Although started with a single objective of canal restoration, the project gradually moved into a multiple objective framework. The key interventions of ASA included:

 Restoration of canal networks in five MIS in Badwani district – Ranjeet, Narawla, Salkheda, Takli and Bhorwada schemes

 Establishing effective participatory irrigation management system through capacity building and community mobilization

 Establishment of higher order irrigation management system by two WUAs – Satak MIS (khargone district) and Segwal MIS (Badwani district).

 Promotion of good agricultural practices including improved variety of seeds, better cotton initiatives, introduction of water efficient crop and on-farm water management, develop farmers’ collectives, etc

Scope and Methodology

The broad objective of the study was to assess to what extent has the project been successful in meeting its objectives. The impact assessment has attempted to answer the crucial impact chain of irrigation and agriculture interventions contributing towards a greater livelihood security. Thus the impact assessment has looked at the community mobilization for canal restoration, capacity building of farmers/WUAs in water management, adoption of good agricultural practices, and integration of farmers with the agri-business markets leading to productivity enhancement. The impact assessment was also designed to look at the sustainability of changes achieved as best intentions may not result in envisaged impact if institutions, systems and processes are not effective.

Participatory methodology was followed to ensure the perspective and insights of all stakeholders particularly the target groups (WUAs and farmers) as well as project implementation team.In consultation with the team, it was decided to visit all 5 tanks and hold meetings with 4 WUAs (since Salkheda and Narawala tanks had one WUA). Focus group discussions were held at all sites with the WUAs, women’s groups, dug well beneficiaries and 5%-10% of irrigators representing head, mid and tail end villages. In keeping with the Project log frame indicators (see Annex 1) a check list (see Annex 2)

1 Project period was later reduced by 2 months by SRTT

6 was prepared to collect information during focus group discussions with WUAs and irrigators. Qualitative and quantitative data were both required for understanding the impacts. Factors responsible for impacts including processes were qualitatively understood, whereas analyzing quantum of impact done through quantitative analysis. The study has also reviewed all project documents including proposal, baseline, progress report and impact related analysis.

Main findings: Processes and Potential

a) Canal restoration:

Why only 5...why not 48…the comment made by the district collector of Badwani demonstrates the efficacy of project. Not only was it not a small task to complete the target of canal restoration with over 10000 meter of base and concrete lining work, equally challenging was the task of getting all the stakeholders (ZP, WRD, WUA, ASA) on a common platform. In addition, the viability of using NREGS funds for canal restoration was demonstrated by ASA in showcasing its work on 200 meters as a pilot. Infact the entire work was done by using NREGS fund. INR 10 lakhs given by SRTT for canal restoration was used as trigger money to demonstrate the working modalities.

Subsequently, scheduled restoration work was carried out jointly by WRD, WUA and ASA. The construction work in the beginning was besieged by several hold ups but diligence on the ground by WUA turned the course of events positively from late 2009 onwards. The achievements are listed below.

Increase in Irrigation

Post restoration the irrigation area increased from 44% (2006) to 74% (2011). Infact in Narawala, it has gone up to 86%. In Anjad village (Ranjeet MIS), farmers are growing summer cotton this year for the first time. Similarly, in Narawala, cropping pattern has changed cotton and chilly could be seen in the fields. Likewise, in Takli village, cash crops like cotton and chilly find a prominent place in farm production.

Increase in Income

During the pre restoration phase, financial returns under the rainfed conditions were predictably marginal. For instance before canal irrigation, farmers in Anjad village on an average incurred a loss of about INR 2000 and in case of low rainfall the loss escalated to INR 7000 for the kharif crop. Clearly the situation has changed dramatically after restoration specially the terrific jump in income even in the times of low rainfall. For instance in Narawala the increase in net income is more than 300% and in takli it is 252% (details are given in the main report).

Increase in wage Employment:

Irrigation investment has also increased scope of income generation as farming is more labour intensive providing more employment opportunities. During the field visit, it was observed that employment benefits had reached some of the landless; they no longer had to migrate for long stretch of time as work was available in the village.

7 Capacity building

ASA’s prior experience in ICEF-WRD project in setting up institutional mechanism for irrigation governance gave them a head start to set the process of capacity building in motion which included leadership development, definition of their roles, responsibilities and entitlements, exposure visits, etc. Although these processes generally are known to be slow and time consuming yet the participatory walk throughs (PWTs), field inspections by ASA, joint problem identification with the community and selection of critical restoration options helped build confidence amongst the stakeholders.

The engagement and interest level of WUAs were put to test right at the beginning especially in the context of fractious interface with the department. The WUAs’ resilience was visible during repeated meetings and negotiations with the government; their transformation from inaction to a vibrant body has been a real milestone of the project. Acting as pressure group, they used social control to monitor the civil works and at times stopped work if badly done.

Overall increment in water cess collection is evident in all WUAs as shown in the table below. This again reflects the institutional strengthening of WUAs.

S.no Scheme Amount collected Amount collected before project after project 1 Ranjit 38450 97370 2 Narawala 45818 59166 3 Salkheda 151880 166892 4 Takli 29940 38386 5 Bhorwada 50012 59320

Yet another significant achievement was that the WUAs proved themselves capable of construction, especially during the base work which fostered a greater sense of ownership. Potential of WUA to play a responsible role in the irrigation management has been well established, therefore not surprising, three Presidents of WUAs with their teams have won the recent election. This is a great testimony of public appreciation of WUAs’ motivation and skills “to do the right things” and “to do things right”!

Good Agricultural Practices

Once the farmers are assured of water, increasing agricultural productivity is the next step. As a facilitator, ASA’s approach has been to enable different constituents in the economy – farmer’s collectives, agricultural extension services, markets, cooperatives, etc to operate in a smooth and efficient manner. Farmers were trained on improved techniques of vegetable cultivation, identification of quality agriculture inputs for rabi and kharif crops, pest management, post harvest measures etc.

Although assessment of agricultural productivity in real terms is difficult to assess at this point, yet the practices and processes initiated by the project demonstrate huge potential in changing the agricultural landscape. The situation post project looks optimistic and hopeful; farmers being better endowed with assured water supply are keen to adopt new technology, improved variety of seeds and effective pest

8 management. The farmers who made this transition seem satisfied with ASA’s PVSP methodology; they have used varieties of wheat, cotton and soyabean seeds resulting in 6-8 quintal yield increment. Mix and intercropping have also made deep inroads into the farming practice.

Support system to agriculture by the project is most visible in terms of adoption of integrated pest management especially wrt cotton crop. ASA’s Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) has made a big difference to the cotton farmers. In the past farmers were forced to sell at INR 3000/quintal in the absence of regulated markets. Linking the farmers to the better cotton value chain, the project has tried to free the cotton growers from the clutches of exploitative traders. They are presently getting about INR 4800/quintal.

The table below illustrates the changing scenario from the base line conditions in overall productivity:

Crop Name Average Average Production Average Production (in Kg/Ha) (in Kg/Ha) Production (in Project Areas Madhya Pradesh Kg/Ha) Project Areas after irrigation Cotton 2099 829 2000 Maize 1000 979 1400 Pigeon Pea 641 679 800 Wheat 1964 1915 2500 Gram 860 981 1050 Soyabean 1082 1007 1200 Groundnut 864 940 1200 .

b) Farmers’ Producers’ Organization

As a part of project initiative two Farmers’ Producers Company have been set up, one in Ojhar and another in Satak cluster. The researcher could meet the board members of Nimad Farmers Producer Company Pvt. Ltd. (NFPCL). New and at a nascent stage with over 500 members, the company was set up in 2009 with a vision to support farmers through backward and forward linkages. Though at the formative stage, the cooperative has been active in supporting cotton farmers with market linkages including meeting with ginners, selling quality seeds and pesticides. Having done some initial business transactions, the FCP has reached a turnover of 6.5 lakhs. In the coming years, the FPC has plans of getting into seed production to ensure quality seeds reaching to its members as well as play an active role in Better Cotton Initiative in terms of procuring and marketing. Similarly, the Khargone Farmers Producers Company Private Limited, set up in 2010 has started procurement of Better Cotton. They have already procured and sold over 30 MT of Better cotton with financial transaction of about INR.10 lakhs. ASA has provided professional management team to both these companies who work with the BoDs in day to day management of the company’s business. The FPC model is catching up in the area with more farmers showing interest to join. If the FPC can demonstrate its full potential, it will generate future cluster based partnership organically.

9 Convergence with ASA’s other Initiative

Convergence of other initiatives by ASA has added a great value to the project and has resulted in lateral and vertical movement of the project benefits across a larger number of beneficiaries as is evident in the following sections. Significantly, convergence is a core strategy for ASA to work towards inclusive development. Therefore, ASA’s ability to converge programmes of other donors in the same area is very much part of the design to make significant changes in the livelihood conditions of the small and marginal farmers.

Dug well scheme

Conscious of the fact that irrigation needs of all farmers cannot be met by canal source, ASA through their other initiative has converged dug well scheme (well deepening and renovation) for very poor families. It could be seen during the visit, how these water sources had energized the farm economy by allowing the farmers to grow food and cash crops creating new income streams for these poor households. The dug well scheme has importantly addressed the issue of equity as there are many poor families who do not have land under the command. Additionally more than INR 40 lakhs have been spent in building water harvesting structures like check dams through NREGS watershed programme of ASA. On an average about 12-14 ha of land have been brought under cultivation through dug wells.

Micro finance and insurance:

As microfinance initiative, ASA had initiated JLG in project villages with 188 members in 19 project villages. More than 2500 families got connected with micro finance and micro insurance (LIC) initiative of ASA and the lending operation was estimated to be about INR 2 crores. However, given the recent climate of micro finance in the country, ASA decided to phase out of JLG. The researcher met a few JLG members and it was evident that unmet credit needs were forcing families to go to money lenders. ASA may think of reviving the microfinance programme using SHG model to support the farmers’ credit needs as well as access government poverty alleviation schemes which in most instances are routed through the SHG.

Challenges

Capacity building of WUA and subcommittees

WUAs though highly active during the three years of project phase, yet their capacity to manage and implement PIM has a long way to go. The good news is that they have demonstrated their ability to work diligently and responsibly on the ground guided by ASA. However, governance of water resources is a tricky area and it gets further complicated within the PIM framework. WRD continues to control all major aspects of irrigation management. Therefore, WUAs continue to be dependent on ASA for operational and strategic guidance. The sub committees were observed to be non functional with the exception of Nirman committee. Key decisions during the project phase were being made by the top leaders of WUAs along with TC members, in organizing restoration work, chasing the department,

10 holding meetings and doing myriad of operational tasks. However, in a long run, it will be difficult to sustain the momentum by just a handful of members.

Mounting indebtedness

Despite the demonstrated benefits of the project, the financial leakages within the households pose serious challenges. For average farmer, annual loan ranges from INR 30,000 – 50,000. So the gain from the project interventions post irrigation facilities actually run in deficit to service the money lenders whose interest rates are anywhere from 6-10% per month. The situation looks grimmer for those who farm on rainfed conditions – with poor purchasing power causing indebtedness, seasonal migration with family, withdrawing children from school and so on, certainly do not present a hopeful picture.

Interestingly, the loan trap is more for the landholders than the landless. This is related to the aspect of rising aspirations amongst the marginal farming class. Roughly about 40% of the farmers send their children use private facilities (schools and hospitals) which are far more expensive. Besides, community’s social expenditure on marriage, birth, festivals, etc is legendary. Therefore there is an urgent need to address these deeply entrenched behavioral and social factors through financial counseling and promoting SHG. The project has invested a lot in terms of money, time and human resources; it will be unfortunate if this does not lead to an improved quality of lives for the farmers.

Gender perspective

Presently the participation of women in irrigation management as well as in other activities seems to be extremely low. At present within PIM gender is addressed through giving women the voting right without any clarity on the long term objective. Likewise in the agriculture interventions, the women though visible as workers in the farm, yet remain at the margin. The women have accepted the situation as fait accompli; also the social transaction costs are much higher for women than men. Women’s request during the meeting was to have access to safe drinking water, as they had to walk over a km to fetch water. The project has to address the women’s needs for domestic use of water and their other priorities. ASA should strive for creating enough space and scope for women to articulate their needs and within PIM, WUAs should also elect such women who can actively participate in meetings and decision making fora.

Moving Forward

As discussed earlier, ASA’s integrated approach towards land and water interventions has been an excellent beginning. In the three years’ time frame, the most significant achievements is the demonstration of the immense potential of the project. Going forward, attention needs to be paid to the unfinished repair works (prioritize the critical ones) as well as the field channels. As a next step, WUA leadership is planning to explore the possibility of using Swahasradhara scheme (a sub-scheme of NREGS initiated by GoMP for canal restoration) under NREGS to initiate work on field channels.

11 WUAs’ negotiation skills with the department in protecting the interests of farmers. At this juncture, they would need facilitation and support from ASA in terms of enhancing their institutional capabilities. As far as the project interventions are concerned, the vision of sustainability seems to be embedded. The two crucial elements support the sustainable aspect in the project. One is that the poor farmers’ capacities are built to adopt environmentally sustainable technologies, process and building linkages; and their other is that the project initiatives have contributed towards enhancing sustainability of local natural resources.

Evidently much has been accomplished but much remains to be done, many families still do not have access to irrigation. Although it is difficult to ensure irrigation for all, yet a significant number can be reached through exploiting rain water harvesting opportunities. Further, while ensuring access to irrigation and enhancing agricultural productivity are important interventions along with community’s entitlements to health, education, credit, social security and so on. Impacts of land and water could be more effective when these and complementary elements are in place.

As observed, despite the overall increase in productivity, the income poverty of the farmers persists. Thus their need for social security interventions seems fairly obvious along with holding the service providers accountable. The situation expectedly is far worse with non beneficiaries of the project. Robust safety net in this context has a potential to fill up the vulnerability gap as well as protect the people from risks and shocks (random/systemic). ASA could explore the possibility of linking with local civil society groups active in social issues.

In view of the issues discussed above, it will be pertinent for ASA to review the microfinance option in the project villages. (Re) introduction of micro finance will be a way forward not only for social mobilization but also a viable alternative to address unmet credit needs of community. This will also provide an excellent opportunity to mobilize women and redress the lack gender component in the project. Women headed households is yet another category that needs further attention. ASA’s micro insurance programme could be scaled up and integrated with financial services (savings, credit) and social protection (health care in particular) thus focusing on livelihoods with social security. .

Given the prior experience of working with Government, in the next phase, ASA should have dual strategic focus: to engage with the panchayat/block/district level officials on effective service delivery, governance issues and augment capacities of SHGs to work with other CBOs on convergence with government programmes and leverage resources.

Going forward, it will be imperative for ASA to work towards creating an enabling environment for people to access to social security entitlements – education and health facilities, widow and old age pension. Innovative approach that combines integrated livelihood approach, access to financial services and safety nets should be developed and piloted in these project villages. When a situation starts to improve as seen in case of irrigation management, the improvement itself affects beliefs and behavior, success often feeds on itself.

12 Main Report

Background

The present study aims to assess the effectiveness of canal restoration of 5 tanks initiated by ASA in Badwani district, MP in 2008. The key objective of the project led by ASA was to increase the agricultural productivity through restoration of canal systems and establishing effective irrigation management system within the PIM framework. While the MP PIM Act has been in existence since 1999, the overall performance has been rather dismal in the state - the core issues of poor irrigation management, low capacity utilization, dilapidated canal networks, power dynamics between WRD and WUA, and so on, posing implementation challenges on the ground. However, ASA’s prior experience of ICEF-WRD project on PIM in 2005-06 where it played a significant role in canal management of three tanks (Satak, Segwal and Samrat Ashok Sagar), encouraged them to demonstrate and scale up their learning and good practices towards creating an enabling environment of PIM on ground.

Following a survey of ten MIS, five were identified as critical sites for urgent attention. As a complete overhaul of canal network was estimated to be around INR 4 crore, ASA decided to focus on the critical areas for restoration in each MIS. It received funding support of INR 1 crore from SRTT, of which 10 lakhs was used as a trigger fund for canal restoration and the rest was for agriculture development, capacity building and overhead and staff costs of ASA. Thus with support from SRTT and funds from Zilla Panchayat (NREGS funds of INR 162.09 lakhs), a three year project was developed by ASA (March 2008- February 2011). Due to late start of the project, the time lines had to be cut down by a quarter, so officially the project ended in December 2010. Although started with a single objective of canal restoration, the project gradually moved into a multiple objective framework. The key interventions of ASA included:

 Restoration of canal networks in five MIS in Badwani district – Ranjeet, Narawla, Salkheda, Takli and Bhorwada villages

 Establishing effective participatory irrigation management system through capacity building and community mobilization

 Establishment of higher order irrigation management system by two WUAs – Satak MIS (khargone district) and Segwal MIS (Badwani district).

 Promotion of good agricultural practices – promotion of improved variety of seeds, better cotton initiatives, introduction of water efficient crop and on farm water management, develop farmers’ collectives, etc

Scope and Methodology

The broad objective of the study was to assess to what extent the project has been successful in meeting its objectives. The impact assessment has attempted to answer the crucial impact chain of

13 irrigation and agriculture interventions contributing towards a greater livelihood security. Having ensured water availability for irrigation, it implies that farmers’ capacities have enhanced to adopt successfully new technology and package of good agricultural practices in favour of secured livelihood. Thus the impact assessment has looked at the community mobilization for canal restoration, capacity building of farmers/WUAs in water management, adoption of good agricultural practices, and integration of farmers with the agri-business markets leading to productivity enhancement. The impact assessment was also designed to look at the sustainability of changes achieved as best intentions may not result in envisaged impact if institutions, systems and processes are not effective. Thus, it was important to analyze the contextual and vulnerability factors that may promote or inhibit livelihood security.

Participatory methodology was followed to ensure the perspective and insights of all stakeholders particularly the target groups (WUAs and farmers) as well as project implementation team. To get an overall perspective, a briefing meeting was held in ASA office Bhopal before the field work commenced. The specific project components, potential and challenges were discussed with ASA’s team at Barwani. In consultation with the team, it was decided to visit all 5 tanks and hold meetings with 4 WUAs (since Salkheda and Narawala tanks had one WUA).

Focus group discussions were held at all sites with the WUAs, women’s groups, dug well beneficiaries and 5%-10% of irrigators representing head, mid and tail end villages. In keeping with the Project log frame indicators (see Annex 1) a check list (see Annex 2) was prepared to collect information during focus group discussions with WUAs and irrigators. Qualitative and quantitative data were both required for understanding the impacts. Factors responsible for impacts including processes were qualitatively understood, whereas analyzing quantum of impact done through quantitative analysis.

Additionally the researcher also met with the Sarpanch at Takli village and Nimad Farmers Producers Company in Ojhar. A wrap up meeting with key WUA members of each tank and ASA team was held towards the end of the field visit to chart out the future course of action based on the potential and challenges of the project. The discussions and meetings at community level were complemented by participatory walk through to assess the physical conditions of canal. The study has also reviewed all project documents including proposal, baseline, progress report and impact related analysis.

Main findings: Processes and Potential

a) Canal restoration:

Why only 5...why not 48…, the comment by the district collector of Badwani demonstrates the efficacy of project. Clearly it was not a small task to complete the target of canal restoration with over 10000 meter of base and concrete lining work. Equally challenging was the task of getting all the stakeholders (ZP, WRD, WUA, ASA) on a common platform which had implications in terms of enormous efforts made by ASA to have the people, processes and systems in place. Infact, various levels of approval and final agreement between WRD and ASA took almost a year since the project was sanctioned.

14 How is it possible to carry out restoration work through NREGS was a common refrain by the community in the beginning! To demonstrate the viability to its detractors, ASA decided to show case its work on 200 meters as a pilot. Infact there were several rounds of discussions at the planning stage (before proposal submission to SRTT) with WRD about this new form of arrangement. Use of NREGS fund as part of ZP contribution was already included in the project proposal, therefore it was very much part of the design. Subsequently, realizing the potential and feasibility, scheduled restoration work was carried out jointly by WRD, WUA and ASA.

However in the beginning, the construction work was besieged by several hold ups and delays. Besides the continuing power tussle amongst the stakeholders, there were operational issues including delay in fund release by the Zilla Panchayat; adherence to NREGS rules and norms; sloppy civil works (if not monitored) by the department. It is to the credit of WUA and ASA that despite severe bottlenecks, their hard work and diligence on the ground paved the way for positive change especially from late 2009 onwards. The key achievements are discussed below:

Increase in Irrigation

It has been clearly established through an external review that post restoration the irrigation area has increased from 44% (2006) to 74% (2011). Infact in Narawala MIS, it has gone up to 80%. The increase in irrigation area was clearly visible during the field visit; the fields growing cotton and maize had a lush green look. Largely a rainfed area, the benefits reportedly started from the rabi season of last year when water was available for irrigation. In Anjad village (Ranjeet MIS), farmers are growing summer cotton this year for the first time. Similarly, cropping pattern has changed in Narawla village, cotton and chilly could be seen in the fields as against the maize and green grams traditionally grown during pre canal restoration. Likewise, in Takli village, cash crops like cotton and chilly find a prominent place in farm production. The detail of command area & present irrigated area of all five schemes are attached in annexure-4

The table below provides a snapshot of changes due to canal restoration work.

S.no Name of scheme Total Area(In hectare) No. of beneficiaries Increase in net Command income area In Hectare Before After Before After %

1. Narawala 365 160 352 120 163 342 2. Bhorewada 720 160 242 105 145 189 3. Takli 252 120 245 106 138 252 4. Ranjeet 505 289 485 200 350 221 5. Salkheda 750 422 577 234 283 177

Increase in Income

During the pre restoration phase, financial returns from agriculture especially under the rainfed conditions were predictably marginal. Given the erratic and low rainfall in most areas, farmers very

15 often were found to be running in deficit. Although the Nimar plains on an average get around 800 mm of rainfall, yet productivity had generally been low due to poor drainage, water-logging, surface runoff etc. For instance before canal irrigation, farmers in Anjad village (Ranjeet MIS) who were relatively more prosperous reportedly incurred on an average loss of about INR 2000 and in case of low rainfall the loss escalated to INR 7000 for the kharif crop. However with the canal restoration, the impact in terms of net income in the command area jumped to 259% during low rainfall.

As an example, the details of Ranjit scheme are provided in the table below to illustrate the impact.

Total Income in Command Area (INR)

Rainfall Good Moderate Low Net income before canal restoration 8356760 8356730 8356730

Net income after canal restoration 2915954.425 2602934.425 2329041.925

Difference in net income 5440775.575 5753795.575 6027688.075

Impact of canal restoration 187% 221% 259%

Clearly the situation changed dramatically after restoration specially the jump in income during the times of low rainfall. The table below depicts the consolidated picture of net gain in income of all schemes. Thus the potential of canal restoration has been amply demonstrated by ASA.

Total Income in command area (INR)2

Rainfall

MIS Good Moderate Low

Ranjit Difference in Net Income 5440776 5753796 6027689 Impact of command restoration 187% 225% 259% Salkheda Difference in Net Income 6579070 62832870 7054945 Impact of command restoration 160% 177% 194% Takli Difference in Net Income 252667 2691867 2839917 Impact of command restoration 204% 252% 308% Bhorewada Difference in Net Income 2643675 2762097 2865732 Impact of command restoration 168% 189% 212% Narawla Difference in Net Income 4348680 4720920 5046630 Impact of command restoration 248% 342% 479%

Increase in wage Employment:

2 Source: ASA

16 Another significant observation is that irrigation investment has also increased scope of income generation as farming is more labour intensive providing more employment opportunities. During the visit, it was observed that employment benefits had reached the landless; they no longer had to migrate for long stretch of time as work was available in the village especially during the reconstruction phase. The researcher met an old landless worker who used to migrate to Raipur earlier; however with the canal work, the labour opportunities increased in the village itself. With his modest income he has got his two daughters married. The Table below shows the impact of irrigation on migration and wage labour:

S.no Scheme No. of adults migrated No. of adults remained at No. of individuals got before village employment during project

landholders Landless landholders Landless landholders Landless

1 Ranjit 35 10 25 5 10 5

2 Narawlala 70 20 50 10 20 10

3 Salkheda 85 35 50 40 30 10

4 Takli 100 25 40 30 60 10

5 Bhorwada 80 30 40 15 40 15

Water Availability

Equity in water distribution is a great challenge in all irrigation projects. In this project the results show a mixed bag. It is important to bear in mind that the process has just been initiated, with many villages and households still do not have access to water. Although a good part of the canal network is restored but it still has areas where repair is required in the minor, sub minor and several outlets. Besides, capacities of WUAs not reached its potential in effective irrigation management, i.e., equitable distribution of water, maintenance of schemes, water fees collection, on farm management etc. Therefore the water distribution as seen in the table below does not present a balanced scenario. More needs to be done and especially at the tail end and also the villages which are left out.

Water Availability

Category of Benefited Benefitted families families

Village ST SC OBC and Head Mid Tail others

Bhaorwada (Bhorwada 145 - - 105 40 - scheme)

17 Rui (Bhorwada scheme) - - -

Bhulgaon (Bhorwada - - - scheme)

Julwania (Bhorwada - - - scheme)

Takli (Takli scheme) 130 - - 105 15 10

Lahadgaon (Takli)

Ojhar (Takli scheme)

Narawala (Narawala 130 - - - 120 10 scheme)

Rajpur (Narawala scheme) - - 10 - - 10

Unchi (Narawala scheme) 23 - - - 23 -

Salkheda (Salkheda scheme) 80 3 57 15 125

Jalgaon (Salkheda scheme) 6 2 - - 8

Gonpura (Salkheda scheme) 55 - - 50 5 -

Atarsambha (Salkheda 10 - 2 1 - 12 scheme)

Limbai (Salkheda scheme) 53 - 5 58

Anjad (Ranjeet scheme) 4 1 345 128 165 52

Sajvay (Ranjeet scheme) - - -

Balkua (Ranjeet scheme) - - -

Total 644 4 421 581 383 102

Capacity building:

ASA’s prior experience in ICEF-WRD project in setting up institutional mechanism for irrigation governance gave them a head start to set the process of capacity building in motion. As is well known WUAs in most places are practically defunct, exist only on paper. Capacity building of WUA and WRD thus assumed the central tenet of the project. ASA embarked on the long journey of WUA’s empowerment, leadership development, definition of their roles, responsibilities and entitlements, exposure visits, etc., in the spirit of PIM.

18 Capacity building initiatives in general are known to be slow and time consuming specially given the farmers’ disenchantment with government systems (irrigation largely perceived as government responsibility). However, participatory walk throughs, field inspections by ASA, joint problem identification with the community and selection of critical restoration options helped build confidence amongst the stakeholders. As one of the farmers remarked, “when Patel sahib came in the beginning to hold meetings, we were not interested…but our curiosity developed when he started visiting talaab and nahar…. Besides, hosts of training, technical inputs and exposure paved the way for community participation as illustrated in the table. (See Annex 3 for capacity building activities undertaken)

Clearly the capacity building of WUAs through gamut of interventions were designed towards institutionalizing the norms, systems and their roles and responsibilities. The impact of capacity building measures in fostering a sense of ownership was evident since the beginning of the project. First of all, the engagement and interest level of WUAs were put to test especially in the context of fractious interface with the department in the initial days. The WUAs’ resilience was visible during repeated meetings and negotiations with the government to get the work done since the technical supervision was to be provided by the irrigation department. WUA’s transformation from inaction and sluggishness to a vibrant body has been a real milestone of the project. Acting as pressure group, they used social control to monitor the civil works and at times stopped work if badly done. Yet another significant achievement was that the WUAs proved themselves capable of construction, especially during the base work which fostered a greater sense of ownership. This is our asset…it is in our interest to do best possible job… as told by the WUA president from Takli village.

Potential of WUA to play a responsible role in the irrigation management has been well established in this project. Not surprising therefore, 3 Presidents of WUAs with their teams have won the recent election. This is a great testimony of public appreciation of the work done. Although a lot remains to be done, yet the guidance and supervision by ASA has increased WUAs’ motivation and skills “to do the right things” and “to do things right”! The collector of Badwani being impressed with the participation of local community had promised cooperation to revive the canal irrigation with the only caveat being, the community had also to contribute to avail of funding for maintenance. Motivated by this challenge, the WUA of Ranjeet tank, mobilized INR 20000 from irrigators and true to his word, the collector released INR 60000 to the WUAs for future maintenance.

b) Good Agricultural Practices

Given the symbiotic relationship between water and land, ASA’s interventions are designed to protect environment and develop human and institutional capability. Once the farmers are assured of water, increasing agricultural productivity is the next step. As a facilitator, ASA’s approach has been to enable different constituents in the economy – farmer’s collectives, agricultural extension services, markets, cooperatives, etc to operate in a smooth and efficient manner. Farmers were given training on improved techniques of vegetable cultivation, identification of quality agriculture inputs for rabi and kharif crops, pest management, post harvest measures etc. It was observed that they have adopted new crops armed with knowledge and new technology.

19 S.nos Scheme New crops adopted No. of farmers Area in Ha by farmers 1 Ranjit Summer Cotton 20 50 GW 366 10 20 2 Narawla GW 366, 322 40 25 Onions 25 10 3 Salkheda GW 366, 322 42 34 4 Takli Summer cotton, 25 30 GW366,322 15 18 5 Bhorwada Summer cotton 20 28 Nirmal Lokvan 10 15 GW366 12 12

Although assessment of agricultural productivity in real terms is difficult to assess at this point (as the construction has been completed few month back in most of the places), yet the practices and processes initiated by the project demonstrate huge potential in changing the agricultural landscape in the tribal belt of Badwani district. As discussed with community the following changes were observed amongst the beneficiaries who had used irrigation and applied good agriculture practices last year.

The table below illustrates the changing scenario from the base line conditions in overall productivity:

Crop Name Average Average Production Average Production (in Kg/Ha) (in Kg/Ha) Production (in Project Areas Madhya Pradesh Kg/Ha) Project Areas after irrigation Cotton 1199 829 2000 Maize 1000 979 1400 Pigeon Pea 641 679 800 Wheat 1964 1915 2500 Gram 860 981 1050 Soyabean 1082 1097 1200 Groundnut 864 940 1200

These are small and marginal farmers with around two acres of land, struggling against low crop yield, high input cost and vagaries of weather. The situation post project looks optimistic and hopeful. Farmers are found to be adopting good agricultural practices, e.g., PVSV, BCI and vegetable cultivation as can be seen from the table below.

S.nos Scheme Particular Nos Average area per farmer 1 Ranjit Farmers adapted PVSP 0 0 BCI 0 0 Vegetable cultivation 20 0.5 ha.

2 Narawala Farmers adapted PVSP 14 0.5 ha. BCI 191 1.25 ha.

20 Vegetable cultivation 50 0.5 ha. 3 Salkheda Farmers adapted PVSP 10 0.4 ha. BCI 230 0.8 ha. Vegetable cultivation 70 0.2 ha. 4 Takli Farmers adapted PVSP 10 0.5 ha. BCI 0 0 Vegetable cultivation 30 0.25 ha. 5 Bhorwada Farmers adapted PVSP 26 0.4 ha. BCI 125 0.5 ha. Vegetable cultivation 20 0.5 ha.

When discussed with the farmers who have made this transition, they seemed satisfied with ASA’s PVSP methodology; they have used varieties of wheat, cotton and soyabean seeds resulting in 6-8 quintal yield increment. Mix and intercropping have also made deep inroads into the farming practice regardless of the land size. It was remarkable to hear an old tribal woman in Bhorwada village explaining the merits of varietal seeds in a public meeting, especially about low input costs. A marginal farmer herself, she got an increase of about 3-4 quintal from soyabean. Her only contention being not getting widow pension from panchayat! Clearly, the “basket of choice” intended for these resource poor tribal region along with “farmer to farmer dissemination” indicate move towards a steady sustainable path.

Support system to agriculture by the project is most visible in terms of adoption of integrated pest management especially wrt cotton crop. ASA’s Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) in the project villages seems to have made a big difference to the cotton farmers. The farmers narrated their tale of woes including absence of regulated markets during the pre project days. At times they were forced to sell at INR 3000/quintal when it should have fetched them anywhere from INR more than 4800/quintal. However, linking the farmers to the better cotton value chain, significantly the project has tried to free the cotton growers from the clutches of exploitative traders and middlemen. Sure enough backed by improved technology and better governance, about 100 acres of land in Anjad village have been used for cotton cultivation this summer. The revenue fetched last year on cotton by those who produced is depicted in the table below.

s. no Scheme No. of farmers Quantity sold Amount (INR)

1 Narawala 43 29150 kg 42.5/kg 2 Salkheda 105 74994 kg 42.5/kg 3 Bhorwada 39 33489 kg 42.5/kg

Although switching an entire supply chain into a more sustainable footing takes time and effort, it was encouraging to observe wearing safety gears, the farmers presented a look and feel of being environmentally and socially responsible stakeholders. Cotton being a “thirsty crop”, ASA has encouraged farmers to use drip irrigation and close crop planting for efficient use of water (see table below for details). The plantation on the border of farms has not only protected the crops from diseases but also provided a small window of income generation especially where marigold was planted.

Drip irrigation

21 S.no Scheme No. of farmers Irrigated area (ha) from drip 1 Ranjit 2 2 2 Narawala 35 23 3 Salkheda 33 28 4 Takli 12 7 5 Bhorwada 10 4

c) Farmers’ Producers’ Organization

As a part of project initiative two Farmers’ Producer Company have been set up, one in Ojhar and another in Satak cluster. The researcher could meet the board members of Nimad Farmers’ Producer Company Private Limited (NFPCL). New and at a nascent stage with over 500 members, the company was set up in 2009 with a vision to support farmers through backward and forward linkages. It was observed during the field visit that the capacity building of farmers is still at the formative stage. Thus it is early days to assess the efficacy of the FPC, however having the institutional mechanism in place evidently has provided a sense of security to farmers. The cooperative has been active in supporting cotton farmers with market linkages including meeting with ginners, selling quality seeds and pesticides. Having done some initial business transactions, the FCP has reached a turnover of 6.5 lakhs.

In the coming year, the FPC has plans of getting into seed production to ensure quality seeds reaching to its members as well as play an active role in Better Cotton Initiative in terms of procuring and marketing. It has planned to procure about 500 MT of Better Cotton and sell it to the BCI certified Ginners. Similarly, the Khargone Farmers Producers Company Private Limited, set up in 2010, has started procurement of Better Cotton. They have already procured and sold over 30 MT of Better Cotton with financial transaction of about INR 10 Lakhs. They too have a plan to procure 500 MT of Better Cotton this season.

ASA has provided professional management team to both these Companies who work with the BoDs on day to day management of Company’s business. The systems and procedures (S&P) at the FPC level such as financial management, procurement, warehouse management, and human resource systems are in place. FPCs have their independent offices. Farmers perceive considerable benefit since the FPC has been set up and if these FPCs can demonstrate their full potential, it will generate future cluster based partnership organically.

d) Convergence with ASA’s other Initiative

Convergence of other initiatives by ASA has added a great value to the project and has resulted in lateral and vertical movement of the project benefits across a larger number of beneficiaries as is evident in the following sections. Particularly convergence could be possible for micro credit, watershed activities (in a limited scale), promotion of Better Cotton Initiatives and promotion of video enabled extension system called Digital Green. Also in two clusters of villages, ASA has started building small Farmers’ Producers Company targeting about 1200-1500 small holders per company in each cluster. Thus, convergence for ASA is a core strategy to work towards inclusive development. Therefore, ASA’s ability to converge

22 programmes of other donors in the same area is very much part of the design to make significant changes in the livelihood conditions of the small and marginal farmers.

Dug well scheme

Conscious of the fact that irrigation needs of all farmers cannot be met by canal, ASA through their other initiative has converged dug well scheme for very poor families. Harnessing of groundwater through well deepening and renovation of existing wells, though more expensive has proven to be a boon to the non- command area farmers. During the visit, it could be seen how these water sources had energized the farm economy by allowing the farmers to grow food and cash crops creating new income streams for these poor households.

The farmer met in Narawla village had grown onion which fetched him 1.6 lakhs/acre. He looks happy as he no longer has to go for wage work outside the village. There is income and food security now. His dream is to educate his children so that they become “officers”! The dug well scheme has importantly addressed the issue of equity as there are many poor families who do not have land under the command. Additionally more than INR 40 lakhs have been spent in building water harvesting structures like check dams through NREGS watershed programme of ASA.

Additional area brought under irrigation in the project area is shown in the table below.

S.no Scheme Particular No of structures Additional irrigated area (ha) 1 Ranjit Dug well - -

2 Narawala Dug well 18 14.07

3 Salkheda Dug well 17 20.06

4 Takli Dug well 6 7.28

5 Bhorwada Dug well 15 18.2

Micro finance:

To address the credit needs of farmers, ASA had initiated JLG with 188 members in the 19 Project villages. More than 2500 families were connected with micro finance activity and the lending estimated to be about INR 2 crore. These families were also linked with micro insurance plan of LIC. ASA’s micro finance intervention was based on the understanding that in an augmented natural resource condition (achieved through land and water management) – an appropriate credit mechanism would pave the way for productive investment in farming and its diversification. The women’s testimonies demonstrated the accessibility of credit available at crucial times for agriculture purposes, especially in terms of supporting input costs.

23 However, given the recent climate of micro finance in the country, ASA decided to phase out of JLG. The researcher met two of the JLG members and it was evident that unmet credit needs were forcing families to go to money lenders. ASA may want to revive the microfinance programme using SHG model to support the farmers’ credit needs as well as access government poverty alleviation schemes which in most instances are routed through the SHG.

Challenges

a) Capacity building of WUA and subcommittees

WUAs though highly active during the three years of project phase, yet their capacity to manage and implement PIM has a long way to go. The good news is that they have demonstrated their ability to work diligently and responsibly on the ground guided by ASA. However, governance of water resources is a tricky area and it further gets complicated within the PIM framework. WUAs generally lack technical capacity to carry out complex tasks such as water allocation and have to depend on irrigation department that often resist on management transfer to users due to fear of loss of power and authority. WRD continues to control all major aspects of irrigation management. It executes and controls the tank, supervises the physical work, collects water tax from farmers, and so on.

Demonstration of higher order management like volumetric supply and pricing by WUA therefore could not be achieved. The major reason being the absence of mechanism at the state level to facilitate processes in terms of issuing government order for the WUAs to the pricing of water and collection of fees. In this respect, there has not been any significant change on the base line parameters. Noticeably there are pertinent issues at stake: genuine transfer of power by WRD and WUA’s institutional capacity to manage the irrigation system and broad base the governance to include all water users

Further, given the limited time span of three years, most of their efforts had gone into repair and renovation work of the canal and even then a lot remains to be done. Clearly having been weighed down by operational details in this phase, not much focus has gone on building WUA’s institutional capabilities, i.e., establishing mechanisms for effective accountability, conflict resolution, management of water distribution, etc. They continue to be dependent on ASA for operational and strategic guidance.

The sub committees were observed to be non functional and most of the times perceived by the local as redundant. Unless the entire system and structure deliver, WUA will never achieve its full potential. With the exception of Nirman Committee, the rest are only on paper even while ASA had organized requisite training and exposure visit for the members. It was observed during the visit, that key decisions were made by the top leaders of WUAs along with TC members. They are the ones organizing restoration work, chasing the department, holding meetings and doing myriad of operational tasks. In a long run, it will be difficult to sustain the momentum by just a handful of members. Clearly, it is not enough to create sub-committees if they are not engaged in the process and for that WUAs must also be willing to share its space and power in the spirit of participation and democracy.

b) Mounting indebtedness

24 Despite the demonstrated benefits of the project, the financial leakages within the households are the gaping holes in the project. For average farmer, it was observed that annual loan ranges from INR 30,000 – 50,000. So the gain from the project interventions post irrigation facilities actually run in deficit to service the money lenders whose interest rates are anywhere from 6-10% per month. It is quite disconcerting to find that even when a farmer, as observed in Anjad village, earns about 40,000 in a season; there is no evidence to suggest better impact at the household level. Across the project villages, with minor variation, the saga of indebtedness continues, as commented by a farmer, Khaata to chalta hai…! The situation looks grimmer for those who farm on rainfed conditions – with poor purchasing power causing indebtedness, seasonal migration with family, withdrawing children from school and so on, certainly do not present a hopeful picture. It is not only money but often the farmers are forced to sell their produce (cotton) at an exploitative rate to these loan sharks.

Interestingly, the loan trap is more for the landholders than the landless. This is related to the aspect of rising aspirations amongst the marginal farming class. Roughly about 40% of the farmers send their children to private schools and use private hospitals except in cases of institutional delivery where JSY seems to have found an acceptance. People simply avoid public services because these do not work! Further, community’s social expenditure on marriage, birth, festivals, etc is legendary. Therefore there is an urgent need to address these deeply entrenched behavioral and social factors that pose major barriers for the people who in any case operate at the margin and are vulnerable to persistent downward financial pressures. These leakages have to be controlled, perhaps through counseling to enable them to make well informed financial decisions and promoting SHG. The project has invested a lot in terms of money, time and human resources and it will be unfortunate if this does not lead to an improved quality of lives for the farmers.

c) Gender perspective

Presently the participation of women in irrigation management as well as in other activities seems to be extremely low with perhaps the possible exception of their past engagement in JLG. Even the women sub-committee hardly ever met and largely remained at the periphery of public domain. At present within PIM gender is addressed through giving women the voting right without any clarity on the long term objective. Likewise in the agriculture interventions, the women though visible as workers in the farm, yet remain at the margin of decision making. Strangely enough both irrigation and agriculture sectors are perceived as male bastions even while women not only have close associations (drinking, cooking, bathing, washing, agriculture) but also are known to have contributed significantly to the regeneration and production (weeding, harvesting) cycle.

The women met during the visit seemed to be have accepted the situation as fait accompli, also the social transaction costs are much higher for women than men. Women’s request during the meeting with the researcher was to have access to safe drinking water, as they had to walk over a km to fetch water. The project has to address the question of how canal can address women’s needs for domestic use of water and their other priorities. ASA should strive for creating enough space and scope for women (participatory planning with women) to present their needs and contribute their strengths to inclusive development. Within PIM, besides reservation of women as EC members, WUAs should also

25 elect such women who can actively participate in decision making and importantly look at women as farmers and irrigators!

Moving Forward

As discussed earlier, ASA’s integrated approach towards land and water interventions in these remote tribal hamlets has been an excellent beginning. In the three years’ time frame, one of the most significant achievements is the demonstration of the immense potential of the project. ASA has established the viability of using NREGS funds in restoring the critical patches of canal with the active participation of WUA. Going forward, attention needs to be paid to the unfinished repair works (prioritize the critical ones) as well as the field channels. As a next step, WUA leadership is planning to explore the possibility of using Swashasradhara scheme (a sub scheme of NREGS initiated by GoMP for canal restoration) to initiate work on field channels. This is worth exploring; however they would need initial trigger funding support.

As WUAs are legislative bodies, sustainability is inbuilt in the design. However as discussed earlier the functional sustainability of WUA would largely depend on genuine transfer of power from WRD and WUAs’ negotiation skills with the department in protecting the interests of farmers. At this juncture, they would need facilitation and support from ASA in terms of enhancing their institutional capabilities. The WUAs also expressed the need for more exposure visits (Satak, Gujarat) to learn about good practices on water distribution, on farm water management and maintenance of schemes. Having realized the potential, the farmers in the next phase expect more technology adaptation for further intensification and diversification of agriculture and market support. They envisage a greater role for FPC in the immediate future.

As far as the project interventions are concerned, the vision of sustainability seems to be embedded. The two crucial elements support the sustainable aspect in the project. One is that the poor farmers’ capacities are built to adopt environmentally sustainable technologies, process and building linkages; and their other is that the project initiatives have contributed towards enhancing sustainability of local natural resources. In both these elements, community’s participation and their ownership is critical. ASA’s facilitation has demonstrated the interests and capabilities of farmers as the key interest group in this process and they would need support for another 3-4 years to function autonomously.

Evidently much has been accomplished but much remains to be done. Many families still do not have access to any irrigation source. While it is not possible to ensure irrigation for all but a significant number of families could be covered by exploiting rain water harvesting opportunities. Further, ensuring access to irrigation and enhancing agricultural productivity are important interventions along with community’s entitlements to health, education, credit, social security and so on. Impacts of land and water could be more effective when these and complementary elements are in place.

As observed in the preceding sections, despite the overall increase in productivity, the credit needs analysis suggest that the income poverty of the farmers persists even when they are the direct beneficiaries of the project. This is due to the continuing indebtedness, huge spending on private facilities and low utilization of government services. Thus their need for social security interventions on

26 the ground seems fairly obvious along with holding the service providers accountable. Capacity building on financial literacy will be highly relevant by focusing on livelihood plan including asset building, regular savings, controlling wasteful expenditure, invest in children’s education etc.

The situation expectedly is far worse with non beneficiaries of the project; these include landless dependent on wage labour, small farmers dependent only on rainfed agriculture and women headed households often dependent on social security (pension). Robust safety net in this context has a potential to fill up the vulnerability gap as well as protect the people from risks and shocks (random/systemic). However, most often governance failure in such cases (NREGS, PDS, RSBY, MDM, CCT, etc) is well established. Essentially lack of coordination amongst various departments leads to denial of benefits to the most vulnerable and in such instances, justice is often delayed.

In view of the issues discussed above, it will be pertinent for ASA to review the microfinance option in the project villages. (Re) introduction of micro finance will be a good way forward not only for social mobilization but also a viable alternative to address unmet credit needs of community. This will also provide an excellent opportunity to mobilize women. The lack of gender perspective in the project can be redressed through organizing women’s SHG and providing them access to financial services and non financial services.

Women headed households is yet another category that needs further attention as they could be more disempowered than others in terms of access to resources and ability to earn and save. They would need customized non financial services besides access to credit. Micro insurance which ASA has already initiated could be scaled up and integrated with financial services (savings, credit) and social protection (health care in particular) thus focusing on livelihoods with social security. .

Given the prior experience of working with government, in the next phase, ASA should have dual strategic focus: to engage with the panchayat/block/district level officials on effective service delivery, governance issues and augment capacities of SHGs to work with other CBOs on convergence with government programmes and leverage resources. Just as the WUAs capacities had been enhanced and they acted as pressure groups vis-vis the WRD, likewise the SHGs and other CBOs need to develop their negotiation skills to take appropriate action on common agenda.

27 Annex 1: Log frame Indicators

Objectives Indicators

Increase in agriculture productivity  % increase in area under irrigation

 % increase in crop productivity

Equitable distribution of water  Tail enders receive water equitably

Institutional and financial establishment  WUAs qualify against Institutional Maturity of WUAs Indicators

Improvement in agriculture technology  Increased varietal replacement rate and seed adoption replacement rate

Integration of farmers with market for  Farmer’s Institution for agri-business established agri-business

Involvement of women in the MC and  Improved involvement in MC and sub-committees sub committee improved and in its decision making process

28 Annex 2: Checklist for FGD

1. WUA: Institutional building

 Composition, membership, subcommittees

 Tenure, election

 Processes: community mobilization for canal restoration, capacity building on PIM, operation and management, interface with WRD

 Conflict resolution, WUA leadership

2. Physical work: adequate, if not, what interventions needed

3. Water availability: current water availability amongst sample irrigators

4. Training and adoption of improved agricultural technology: BCI, PVSV

5. Land under irrigation, changes in cropping pattern and agriculture productivity

6. Women’s participation, micro finance

7. Formation of community based organizations (FPC): benefits

8. Economic benefits: increase in income, reduced migration and indebtedness, wage work,

9. Quality of life: health, social security

29 Annex 3

Details of Training and Exposure for Irrigators/WUAs

S.n Activity Progress Progress Progress Progress o (2008-09) (2009-10) (2010-11) (total)

1. Women’s sub committee meeting 12 12 10 34

2 Training to WUA-MC, WRD staff, 2 5 6 13 canal watchmen, etc on roles and responsibilities

3. Technical training to WUA-MC, 3 4 4 11 WRD staff, canal watchmen etc on PIM Act

4 Training to WUA-MC on canal 1 5 3 9 restoration work

5 Technical training to sub 1 5 4 10 committees

6 On the spot training to farmers on 5 14 4 23 quality of restoration (material quality measures)

7. Training to women’s sub- 1 5 4 10 committee

8. Training on water fees collection 2 4 6 12 and water distribution: roles and responsibilities

9. Training to agriculture support sub 2 3 3 8 committee on roles and responsibilities

10 External exposure visit on - 2 - 2 successful model like Ojhar (Maharashtra), DSC (Ahmedabad), ASA (Satak), etc