Performance assessment, irrigation service delivery and poverty reduction: benefits of improved system management

Effective irrigation service provides the environment for productive and sustainable agriculture vital for incomes and employment, economic growth and lifting people out of, and keeping them out of, poverty. Poorly managed irrigation can have the opposite effect. Irrigation performance assessment is an important management tool to aid in providing sound service. Performance assessment in irrigation and drainage is the systematic observation, documentation and interpretation of activities related to irrigated agriculture with the objective of continuous improvement. In this paper we provide basic concepts of performance assessment, then pay particular attention to aspects of performance assessment and service provision related to poverty alleviation. Particularly important are the management specifications for irrigation service, providing rules for access to water and payment for service. Inequitable access to water and poverty in irrigation are related to the degree to which specifications are met; who is included and excluded from the specifications; and whether specifications encompass the multiple uses and users of water. Primary focus for irrigation service has typically been given to irrigated crop farmers. For poverty alleviation, service provision and related performance assessment programmes need to give due attention to the many other people dependent on irrigation water including the landless, livestock keepers, fishermen and domestic water users. Advances in performance assessment techniques are needed in this area. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Un service d'irrigation efficace constitue un environnement propice à une agriculture productive et durable, essentielle pour les revenus et l'emploi, la croissance économique et l'extraction durable des personnes hors de la pauvreté. L'irrigation mal gérée peut avoir l'effet opposé. L'évaluation des performances en irrigation est un outil de gestion important pour aider à fournir un service satisfaisant. Elle consiste à observer, enregistrer et interpréter systématiquement toutes les activités liées à l'agriculture irriguée dans le but d'une amélioration continue. Dans cet article nous proposons les concepts de base de l'évaluation des performances avant de nous pencher sur les aspects de l'évaluation des performances et de la fourniture de service liés à la réduction de la pauvreté. Particulièrement importantes sont les spécifications de gestion du service de l'irrigation, qui précisent les