Impact Assessment of Water Users Associations in Canal and Canal-cum-Tubewell Irrigated Areas in Tamil Nadu

The study empirically analysed the farmers’ participation in different activities of Water Users Associations (WUAs) in purely canal and canal-cum-tubewell command areas in the Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu and their impact on cropping pattern, water use, productivity, efficiency and reliability in canal irrigation. The participation of selected farmers in WUAs activities has been found satisfactory, and canal water user farmers participated more actively than canal-cum-tubewell user farmers. There was an impressive increase in the cropping intensity in the post-WUAs period in comparison to pre-WUAs period. The number of canal irrigations applied and yield realised in paddy cultivation were found significantly higher during the post-WUAs period than per-WUAs period on participating farms. These increase were higher on purely canal irrigated farms than that of canal-cum-tubewell irrigated farms. The lack of proper coordination among the farmers, poor awareness about the benefits of WUAs, no government initiative and lack of leadership quality among the farmers were the major constraints to the formation of WUAs. The study has suggested that efforts should be directed towards the formation of WUAs in other areas by addressing the constraints and ensuring effective participation of all stakeholders in the functioning of WUAs.