Patterns of irrigation organization in Nepal: a comparative study of 21 farmer-managed irrigation systems

This comparative study was conducted to identify and describe the organizations that have evolved over a period of time to meet the farmers’ needs; to attempt to identify the factors that stimulate farmers to become organized for irrigation activities; and to examine key issues relevant to government policy for intervention and formulation of development strategy. The tremendous variations in environmental conditions that exist in Nepal have contributed to the development of a wide range of irrigation organization patterns. Twenty-nine different irrigation management tasks are also identified. The valuable experiences of farmer-managed systems suggest that certain management principles could be applied to government-managed systems for improved performance.

Text with a few tables and with a lot of annexes (about 45 pages; it includes a glossary, profiles of irrigation systems, maps and other figures).

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