A comparison of two methodologies for assessment of irrigation performance under the Warabandi system

A water management study of Warabandi in northwest India in 1983 developed a methodology for assessing the performance of large scale smallholder irrigation schemes by observing irrigated areas and carrying out random crop cutting. A study of Warabandi in 1988 took a shorter amount of time and concentrated on direct measurements of flow and seepage in order to assess the performance of the physical conveyance system. This paper contrasts these two approaches and gives practical guidance on how to go about carrying out a rapid assessment of the performance of the physical conveyance system of an irrigation scheme.