Improving water resource management in India's agriculture: Search for effective institutional arrangements and policy frameworks

The process of signing of all agreements for the project by all the parties was completed in late January, 2003 and work for the project commenced in earnest in February 2003.

There have been two main foci of the work since commencement in February 2003. More specifically, these were:

1. The development of an assessment framework for analysing water institutions in a variety of contexts. The framework is central to the project as it will be used to guide analysis and instruct fieldwork in particular.
2. Convening the project-initiating international workshop to review and refine the proffered framework. The most convenient and earliest date that would accommodate the target group of participants for the workshop was July 16-18, 2003.

The planning and review necessary to accomplish the first objective ascribed to the project was completed in the report period (2002-03). This objective relates to the development of an overarching framework for comparing a range of institutional issues in the water sector.

Non-trivial challenges commonly arise from trying to develop this type of framework, not least because of the institutional specificity arising from unique resource and cultural factors. Thus, the main focus in this project has been to develop measures or criteria that are not constrained by specific contexts. Put simply, the resulting framework provides a vehicle for transferring the lessons of institutional success rather than the institutions per se.

An extensive review of the water institutions literature and the principles used to underpin successful elements of Australian water reform were employed to identify key institutional design features. The five key criteria identified were:

Clear institutional objectives
Connectedness between formal and informal institutions
Adaptability
Appropriateness of scale and
Compliance capacity

In addition to identifying important institutional criteria for managing water resources, a range of heuristics and empirical estimation techniques have also been identified that will assist in evaluating various institutions in differing contexts in India (i.e. objectives 2-5 of the project).

The framework and the various heuristic and empirical measures was exposed to scrutiny by convening a workshop of water bureaucrats, academics and irrigation and resource managers. This workshop was scheduled for 17th and 18th July 2003 and the related organisation and logistics to facilitate the workshop were undertaken in year 1 of the project.

Participants for the workshop within the reporting period included a range of national and international water experts and practitioners. These included Mrs Radha Singh, Secretary of Water Resources for the Government of India, Professor Rathinasamay Saleth, Senior Institutional Economist with the International Water Management Institute and Don Blackmore, CEO, Murray-Darling Basin Commission, Mr George Warne, CEO, Murray Irrigation Limited, Mr David Hariss, Regional Manager, Department of Infrastructure Planning and the Environment (NSW), Dr Alistair Watson, Distinguished Fellow, Australian Resource and Agricultural Economics Society and other luminaries.

The process of signing for the project was completed in late January, 2003 and work for the project commenced in earnest in February 2003. In the first 18 months of operating two main activities were achieved:
1. the development of an assessment framework for analysing water institutions in a variety of contexts
2. putting in place the arrangements to conduct the project-initiating international workshop to review and refine the proffered framework.

This has allowed the project to focus on five main areas:
1. the refinements and extension of the theoretical elements of the institutional framework following scrutiny by participants at the initial international workshop
2. selection and case analysis of 16 institutional scenarios in India covering ground water, check dams, co-operatives and water user associations
3. the development of statistically robust items for measuring the perceptions of irrigators as they pertain to the main elements of water institutions
4. development of a survey instrument for making comparisons between water institutions in India and Australia
5. undertaking field work in India in January 2004 in Mesahana District looking at the legal elements of groundwater and those rules evolved by the local communities for the operation of shared wells.
The initial institutional review highlighted five main criteria that warranted consideration. Namely:
clear institutional objectives
connectedness between formal and informal institutions
adaptability
appropriateness of scale
compliance capacity.
Hitherto, calibration of institutional criteria has relied largely on a range of heuristics. One of the significant contributions of this project is the attempt to develop and apply empirical estimation techniques.
To ensure that empirical measures are meaningful in the differing contexts of irrigation in India, an extensive situational analysis was initially undertaken in the second reporting period. Examining the performance of water institutions has historically proven problematic in the absence of a metric that can be applied in differing contexts. During the second reporting period a range of items were trialled to test the reliability of survey items capable of accurately capturing irrigator's perceptions of institutional performance. Developed initially within Australia, these items are of a sufficiently broad level to allow comparisons across different settings. For example, four items now consistently capture irrigator's underlying perceptions about the clarity of the rules under which the institution operates. Similarly, four items consistently measure the irrigators' views on the adaptability of rules. Combined with on-the-ground data these items (20 in total) are to be incorporated in modelling work scheduled for the third reporting period.

Work for the project commenced in earnest in February 2003. In the first reporting period (concluding 1 July 2003) two main activities were reported. Namely:
1. The development of an assessment framework for analysing water institutions in a variety of contexts.
2. Putting in place the arrangements to conduct the project-initiating international workshop to review and refine the proffered framework.

In the second reporting period the project focussed on five main areas:
1. The refinements and extension of the theoretical elements of the institutional framework following scrutiny by participants at the initial international workshop.
2. Selection and case analysis of 16 institutional scenarios in India covering ground water, check dams, co-operatives and water user associations.
3. The development of statistically robust items for measuring the perceptions of irrigators as they pertain to the main elements of water institutions.
4. Development of a survey instrument for making comparisons between water institutions in India and Australia
5. Undertaking field work in India in Jan 2004 in Mesahana District looking at the legal elements of groundwater and those rules evolved by the local communities for the operation of shared wells.

In this reporting period five main tasks were undertaken. Namely:
1. Deriving observations and lessons from the case studies conducted earlier
2. Designing and refining the major survey instruments for primary field data collection in India
3. Identification of survey locations, development of sampling frame
4. Field work for collection of institutional data from the different survey areas
5. Data collection on the legal dimension of Indian water institutions

To date, an expansive institutional and farmer survey has been administered in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra covering a range of water institutions and drawing data from hundreds of farms. However, the survey work has been delayed in Gujarat due to heavy rains. This component of the work is expected to be completed by the end of September 2005.

In addition to the institutional and farmer surveys, another instrument gauging the legal dimensions to water management has been administered in Mula Canal, Wahdad. Over 400 interviews were conducted at the first two sites using professional interviewers and translators. An additional site is yet to be surveyed.

This reporting period coincided with the finalisation of data collection from the various irrigation institutions in the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. At the completion of this phase information had been gathered from 450 households, covering three states and 29 different institutional types. Broadly speaking, the data were interrogated to test the relationship between perceived institutional success (say in the form of more reliable sharing of water resources) and salient institutional factors derived from earlier parts of the study.

Core findings from the empirical analysis were as follows:

demonstration that good institutional design is critical to good institutional performance in water resource management
support for the view that New Institutional Economics and the organisational theory of good governance provide useful and complementary frameworks for establishing good design principles
increased recognition of the merits of devolved decision making to farmer-based organizations directly involved with irrigation;
appreciation of the influence of concurrent mechanisms by which authority is devolved to lower order organizations - it is not enough to simply say that decision making power now reside with artificially created farmer groups;
identification of the need for capacity building within organizations at the bottom of the decision making hierarchy, particularly in the form of skilled management and sufficient expertise to liaise with higher tiers of governance;
acknowledgement that greater effort is required to ensure that the improved performance of low-level organizations is not hindered by flawed decision making or the absence of coordination at higher levels in the institutional hierarchy - there is an urgent need for improved synchronization of decision making across the different levels of governance within irrigated agriculture in India.

These findings were tested and disseminated by a series of workshops in India and a final workshop at the end of June 2006. The workshops attracted participants from the three state governments from which data were collected in India, the Government of India and several NGOs operating in this field. The Australian workshop provided an opportunity for Indian government officials to share knowledge about institutional performance with representatives of the Victorian and NSW governments, the Murray-Darling Basin Commission and local research agencies.

The initial project concluded in June 2006 and was reviewed by Dr Alistair Watson.
Important observations from the review include:

the project was well-grounded and had a clear focus
the project objectives were broadly met, with some scope for enhancement in the context of objectives 1, 3 and 6
the community impacts of the project are tied to a broader process of policy change in India. Whilst not understating the formidable political challenges ahead, the reviewer noted that the benefits of achieving sensible policy adjustments can be substantial, and in this context the project played a valuable part
the capacity building and scientific impacts of the project had been significant
project execution had led to useful cooperation between participants.

In addition to these general findings, the review proffered several mechanisms for extending the existing work. More specifically, three direct developments were recommended in the form of:

publication of a book
further dissemination via journal and feature articles targeted at influencing Indian opinion
provision of survey data to other researchers

A formal extension proposal was accepted by ACIAR to deliver on the above activities. During this reporting period draft chapters of the book manuscript have been prepared and additional journal articles submitted for publication. The data set developed as part of the project has also been made available to other scholars and those interested in this work.

The extension proposal also foreshadowed additional dissemination activities in India. These activities have been stalled, primarily in an effort to leverage any visits into other work being developed by ACIAR under the theme of Water Shed Development.

The initial project concluded in June 2006 and was subsequently reviewed. The reviewer was complimentary of the work undertaken in the project and suggested extension on three main fronts:

publication of a book
further dissemination via journal and feature articles targeted at influencing Indian opinion
provision of survey data to other researchers

A formal extension proposal was accepted by ACIAR to deliver on the above activities. In last year's report the accomplishment of item 3 was reported.

The book manuscript has attracted the attention of an international publisher (Earthscan) and the project leaders are presently negotiating a publication agreement. Earthscan is a reputable publisher of scholarly work and has an established marketing network to facilitate distribution of the book in India and elsewhere. The proposed release date is October/November 2008.

The extension proposal also foreshadowed additional dissemination activities in India. These activities were initially curtailed, primarily in an effort to leverage any visits into other work being developed by ACIAR under the theme of Water Shed Development (WSD).

Subsequently, an article titled "Understanding Institutional Challenges in Water Resource Management in India" was prepared for dissemination of the findings and it has been published in the ACIAR South Asia Newsletter - May 2008 issue. Many findings of the project have been incorporated in a report "Evaluation of Participatory Irrigation Management Practices in India" submitted to the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India and this would have an impact on government policy. Findings of the project have been also incorporated in a report "National Agricultural Policy - Action Plan" submitted to the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India which would influence policy. A project researcher has been appointed to the "Taskforce on Irrigation" formed at the suggestion of India's Prime Minister by the Planning Commission and gives opportunity to influence policy.

In the past 12 months the results of the initial research were presented at several forums convened to consider how the institutional lens could be incorporated into meso-scale WSD projects in Andhra Pradesh. These workshops have been attended by state and national government officials where the outcomes from the institutional project were debated. At the time of submitting this annual report, a Proposal for a project centering on institutions in WSD was being circulated for external review.