The Wye College Irrigation Game

An irrigation management role-playing game is described. The game aims to provide experience of the problems and complexities of real irrigation management issues, and practice in the application of basic theoretical concepts and methods which are relevant to the successful operation and maintenance of an irrigation scheme. Players acting as farmers or as scheme managers make decisions regarding the operation of a scheme which are processed by micro-computer. Experience shows that the game can achieve its training objectives, stimulates discussion of a wide range of factors affecting the success of irrigation schemes and has the potential for further development.     

Experiences with the Irrigation Management Game

The Irrigation Management Game is a role playing exercise for the training of personnel involved in the management and operation of irrigation schemes. The paper describes the author's experience in developing and using this management game, and gives advice on the development of such training material.     

Changing technology for training irrigation managers

This article describes developments in microcomputer and video-disc technology which may be used in the training of managers for irrigation projects.     

Strategy and programme development for international irrigation training

The Centre for International Irrigation Training and Research has been established to provide a focus in Australia for training and research in irrigation engineering management, and to develop management training programmes, in the first instance for responsible managers of regional irrigation supply and distribution networks. The core programme is a six month course in irrigation engineering management that has been developed with a careful balance of academic coursework and “on-the-job” training, strongly oriented towards practical management. The syllabus material has been drawn largely from the Australian experience, which provides a basis for mutual exchange and interaction between the course participants. The academic content will follow three general themes which are Institutional Frameworks (20%), Physical and Environmental Framework (40%) and System Operation, Management and Maintenance (40%). Field training will be undertaken in regional irrigation centres in four states of Australia.     

The Experience of Irrigation Management Transfer in Ghana: A Case Study of Dawhenya Irrigation Scheme

Government disengagement from day-to-daymanagement of irrigation infrastructure hasbecome a widespread strategy in Asia,Africa and Latin America. This paperexamines a case study of managementtransfer of a rice irrigation scheme inGhana. The criteria used relate toagricultural, financial and economicperformance and environmental sustainability.The study showed that whilstboth cropping intensity and cultivated areadecreased after transfer, the relativelyhigh yields were sustained. The averageproduction cost before transfer decreasedby about 7% from $827/ha to $774/haafter transfer. Most importantly, averagenet income increased by more than 100%from $260/ha to $549/ha after transfer.Very high financial self-sufficiency ratioscoupled with low running cost achieved bythe farmers' co-operative led to theconclusion that transfer has resulted inbetter performance so far.     

The Juba Sugar Estate Game

An irrigation management training game is described. This game is based on the Juba Sugar Estate in Somalia and it involves the management of scarce inputs (water and fertiliser) and resources (labour, capital equipment, money and fuel). Participants take roles within small management teams and they make decisions concerning fertiliser application, irrigation, maintenance, harvest and cane haulage. The major objective of the game is to give the participants insights into the complex interactions between resources, inputs, activities and management decisions. A secondary aim is to encourage team work and mutual understanding of complementary job functions.     

Future irrigation training and research: Needs,strategies and means

The paper presents an analysis of the needs, strategies and means for training and research in irrigation. Some of the existing and proposed training programmes in irrigation and related fields are evaluated. The importance of enhancing professional skills of irrigation personnel through training and research, and of training farmers and communal leaders in water management skills for succesful irrigation is highlighted. The major concerns in future irrigation training and research are focused on social, economic and political issues which affect the basic tenets of efficiency and quality in irrigation water allocation and management. Action programmes to enhance both capabilities and investment in training and research in irrigation are proposed.     

Innovations in irrigation management and development in Hunan province

Mass movement labor was an important contributor to irrigation system construction in China during the seventies, making up a third or more of system costs. Total per-ha system costs are roughly consistent with those in other Asian countries when contributed labor is valued at estimated farm wage rates, but less than average if zero labor opportunity cost is assumed.Innovative practices are being employed in managing and supporting irrigation system operations in Western Hunan Province. Many are ones which have been advocated repeatedly elsewhere but infrequently applied. These include the volumetric wholesaling of water to distribution organizations, farmer water charges with both fixed and volumetric components, financially autonomous irrigation management agencies, and delegation of water distribution and fee-collection responsibility to village-based organizations. Heavy emphasis currently rests on financial self-reliance of schemes as denoted by the slogan, let water support water. This has led to a proliferation of secondary income-generating enterprises associated with irrigation system management, as well as strenuous efforts to collect irrigation fees. Often the secondary enterprises generate a larger share of total income than does the irrigation service itself.Fee levels for rice generally fall into the $12 to $20 ha/yr range, intermediate to those prevailing in Pakistan at $8.50/ha for two crops of rice and the Philippines at $45/ha for double cropped rice. Collection of fees is typically handled by the village. Charges are usually levied on an area basis but one large system employed a more complicated system which had both fixed and variable components. Water allocation at lower system levels is also delegated to the village in many cases, with the state serving as a wholesale provider of water.Abbreviations and units ha-m hectare-meter - jin unit of weight equal to 0.5 kg - kw kilowatt - mu unit of land area equal to 1/15 ha - Rmb Renmimbi (Yuan) equal to US$ 0.27 officially in September 1988 and about half of that unofficially - RMD Reservoir Management Division - WCB Water Conservancy Bureau - WMD Water Management Department     

GIS技术在高原灌区灌溉管理中的应用研究

通过对GIS技术在蜻蛉河大型灌区的应用研究,建成灌区灌溉管理系统。本系统采用分层和模块化的设计原则,建成一个应用型的灌区灌溉管理GIS系统,实现灌区管理中图、文、表、管理一体化及灌区水利工程管理、作物种植、供需水平衡以及灌溉引水配水等工作的电子化管理模式。     

内蒙古河套灌区灌排信息管理决策支持系统

在全面分析河套灌区灌排管理的基础上 ,应用决策支持系统原理 ,开发研制了河套灌区灌排信息管理决策支持系统。在河套灌区灌溉历史上 ,首次实现了河套灌区总局、管理局和管理所三级灌排信息的计算机管理。该系统不仅可为河套灌区用水的科学管理提供科学的决策依据和决策方案 ,而且对于河套灌区推广节水型灌溉农业 ,将起到重要的推动作用     

Design and management nomograph for furrow irrigation

There exist capabilities for analyzing the behavior of surface flow and the ultimate distribution of infiltrated water in furrow irrigation. The corresponding synthesis, i.e., the selection of appropriate combinations of inflow rates, cutoff times and length of furrow — design and management, currently not so well established, is treated herein. A design-management nomograph is proposed for free draining graded furrows. This is a plot of efficiency, time of cutoff and uniformity coefficient contours each given on a length-flow rate space adjacent to one another, for a furrow with given infiltration characteristics, flow geometry, slope, roughness and required depth of application. The nomograph can be used to determine the combinations of length, time of cutoff and flow rate that would yield in optimum combination of efficiency and uniformity.     

Modernization of irrigation systems: A case of research,oriented to improve management

In recent years, the traditional concept of an irrigation project has been changing. From just a physical structure for the storage, conveyance and distribution of water, it is now being regarded as a more complex system, including farmers' participation. This implies an improved management in all phases, from reservoir operation to farm management, and therefore the change from simple operation and maintenance to operation, maintenance and management.To face this new challenge, existing projects must be modernized. The Sorraia Irrigation Project is one of those projects. In this paper major problems are identified and it is showed how research (namely through modelling) can be oriented towards an improved management, regarding the conveyance and distribution systems as well as the on-farm systems.Finally it becomes evident that beyond the technical problems to be solved, the involvement and participation of farmers must be improved at all levels of management. Hence, there is also a need for implementing programs on education, training and extension.     

灌区参与式灌溉管理经济与社会影响评价探讨

参与式灌溉管理是我国近年来在灌溉管理体制上的一项重大改革，它的实施在一些灌区产生了深刻的经济和社会影响，促进了灌区经济的发展和设施的建设，促进了灌区范围内新型社会关系的建立，正确评价其实施的社会和经济效果，评价其实施的社会价值，对于指导和推动灌区改革具有非常重要的意义。针对灌区实施参与式灌溉管理后对灌区经济与社会发展所产生的影响如何评价进行了探讨，提出了评价系统的结构、评价方法，列举了对甘肃省白银市东坪电灌工程参与式灌溉管理经济与社会影响评价实例。     

A Farmer-Centered Analysis of Irrigation Management Transfer in Mexico

With the rewritten Article 27 of the Mexican Constitution and the National Water Law of 1992, Mexico embarked on an ambitious program of transferring the management of many irrigation systems to local user groups, primarily farmers. By 1996, 372 water user associations had been formed to control water delivery to 2.92 million hectares. During this time water prices increased by 45–180% and government O&M subsidies were eliminated. Limited economic analysis of stakeholder impact has been conducted of the irrigation management transfer (IMT) program. This research effort pilots a partial budget analytical framework for analyzing the social benefits and costs of IMT. Two irrigation modules near Culiacan, Sinaloa were selected as case studies. Results reveal that even with significantly higher water prices, water users have invested more in their systems than during the post-IMT period and consider their overall irrigation costs to be lower. Lower transaction costs in the pre-IMT period explain the majority of these cost savings. Efforts to quantify incremental benefits and costs associated with IMT at the module and district levels proved difficult given the unavailability of reliable, time series information.     

Performance assessment of irrigation water management of heterogeneous irrigation schemes: 1. A framework for evaluation

Studies of the performance assessment of irrigation schemes have gained momentum since the late 1980s due to the common perspective that the resources (land and water) in irrigation schemes are not being managed appropriately. In this paper irrigation water management is considered as one of the activities of the irrigation scheme. Three phases of irrigation water management namely planning, operation and evaluation are identified. A framework for the performance assessment of irrigation water management in heterogeneous irrigation schemes is proposed in this paper, based on earlier studies made in this direction. The paper presents two types of allocative measures (productivity and equity) and five types of scheduling measures (adequacy, reliability, flexibility, sustainability and efficiency), together with the methodologies for estimating these for the scheme as a whole during different phases of irrigation water management.     

农业专家系统及其在灌溉管理中的研究应用现状

本文阐述了农业专家系统的研究现状及其在灌溉管理中的应用,并就其在节水农业专家系统研究中的几个问题进行了讨论。     

The financial viability of irrigation management companies: A case study of Cu Chi irrigation system,Vietnam

A crucial, yet little understood, element in the economic studies of irrigation is the role played by companies who manage the supply of water. Many of these companies are publicly managed as they have the potential to act as monopolists. Possibly as a consequence of their ownership structure, analysts have questioned the economic viability and management of these firms. The case is made that many of these companies do not run profitably, that they rely on government subsidies to survive, that they do not spend enough on maintenance and that they run down their capital base. The purpose in this paper is to specify the measures that allow analysts to examine the financial viability of a publicly owned irrigation management companies and to apply these to a scheme in Vietnam. Of concern and contention in any irrigation scheme is the price that a company should charge for water in order to recover costs in the short-run. It was found that the company under investigation could not operate without subsidies and did run down their assets. It was found that a great disparity exists between what the consumers were charged for water and what the company received for supplying it. To ensure the sustainability of the Irrigation Management Companies in long term, they may have to increase the water fee by 3.75 times the current rate set by the provincial government (US$ 20 per ha).     

参与式灌溉管理的内涵及发展

灌溉是一个复杂的系统，不仅包括各式各样的灌溉技术，而且还包括错综复杂的社会因素。引用Uphoff、Oorthizen和Repetto的理论阐明灌区内各项水利活动的相互关系以及实行参与式灌溉管理的缘由。通过对调查实例的介绍，分析了农民用水协会和承包这两种主要的改革模式，提出了作者对我国参与式灌溉管理推广和发展的建议。     

以农灌为出路的城镇污水管理

针对传统城镇污水管理中存在的下水道管理目标失当、污水处理系统工艺落后、出水管理不严格等缺陷,提出了以农灌作为城镇污水最终出路时应采取的一系列措施,包括调整下水道管理优先目标、加强城镇污水纳网管理和排水许可管理、加强城镇污水处理厂水质管理并制定应急预案、加强出水监测并实行公开制度、明确农灌用水条件等,以保证城镇污水安全、高效、合理的回用于农田灌溉。     

Performance assessment of irrigation water management of heterogeneous irrigation schemes: 2. A case study

The non-uniformity of soils, weather, fields, cropping pattern and canal systems in most surface irrigation schemes makes irrigation water management complex, but optimum performance is important particularly in irrigation schemes with limited water supply. This paper focuses on the performance of irrigation water management during the area and water allocation with a case study of an irrigation scheme in the semi-arid region of India. Often the irrigation managers or authorities of these heterogeneous irrigation schemes also need to deal with different allocation rules. The allocation plans and the corresponding water delivery schedules during the allocation process were estimated with the help of a simulation–optimisation model for different allocation rules based on cropping distributions (free and fixed), water distributions (free and fixed-area proportionate), irrigation depth (full, fixed depth and variable depth irrigation) and irrigation interval (from 14 to 35 days). The performance measures of productivity (in terms of net benefits and area irrigated), equity (in water distribution), adequacy and excess were assessed for these different allocation plans and schedules. These were further compared with the performance measures of the existing rule (fixed depth irrigation at a fixed interval). The analysis revealed that these performance measures are in some cases complimentary and in other cases conflicting with each other. Therefore, it would be appropriate for the irrigation managers to understand fully the nature of the variation in performance measures for different allocation rules prior to deciding the allocation plans for the irrigation scheme.