FARMERS NETWORK FOR WATER SECTOR REFORMS IN SOUTH INDIA

This paper deals with practical experiences of one of the fundamentals of PIM i.e. Farmers Network for Water Sector Reforms (FNWSR) in South India undertaken by JalaSpandana. The basis to FNWSR is that the farmers are generally excluded from the process of policy formulation, and are mainly conceived as implementers of policies designed by others. It is posited that an explicitly multi-stakeholder policy process and balanced representation of the different interest groups in that, including farmers, will enhance the quality, acceptability and pace of water sector reform. In order to strengthen PIM through making PIM a farmers’ baby, FNWSR was initiated in Karnataka and later extended to States like Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, which have adopted PIM policy. The main objective of FNWSR is to facilitate farmers – the major stakeholders in irrigation to participate effectively in the political process of policy formulation and implementation. INPIM supported JalaSpandana to carry out FNWSR in 2004 and 2005. The results in terms of regular interaction with the concerned Ministry and Bureaucracy, pressure group to lobby for PIM, motivate fellow farmers to function efficiently at various levels of WUAs, etc seem alarming. In Andhra Pradesh, FNWSR succeeded in building pressure on the government and ensuring the continuity of WUAs. In Karnataka, the members of FNWSR succeeded in effective formation and functioning of project level WUAs institutions in four major irrigation projects. Similarly, in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, FNWSR have made significant impact on the structure and functions of WUAs and PIM.