Author: William Price, USA

Year: 1999, ISBN: 81-85068-71-2

Type: Special Publication, Format: Print

Irrigated agriculture contributes more than one third of the food supply to the world population and it will have to continue to play a critical role in the coming century. Although the total irrigated area of the world is increasing, per capita availability of irrigated area is dwindling due to rapid population growth. Many irrigation projects built in the past are no longer irrigating their command area as originally envisaged. Construction cost of new irrigation schemes is increasing. Thus, improvement of productivity both, per unit of land and per unit of water are becoming equally important. Rehabilitation and/ or modernization of irrigation projects has been considered as one of the alternative to achieve afore-said twin objectives. The concepts of Rehabilitation and Modernization are not new ones. Both the strategies have been and are being implemented in numerous irrigation projects world-wide. Since Rehabilitation and Modernization requires substantial investment, the concerned planning and implementing authority should have a clear picture about its necessity and cost effectiveness. The preparation of this Guideline was initiated by Working Group on Development and Management of Irrigation Systems (WG-DMIS). The document is prepared with a view to providing Guidelines and sort of a checklist of several basic factors which need to be considered by the personnel involved in rehabilitation and modernization of irrigation projects, so as to arrive at an appropriate management decision. It is obvious that, each project has site specific issues. The Guidelines therefore will have to be sued in a broader context. It is hoped that this document will be of great assistance to those faced with the task of planning and implementing the rehabilitation and modernization of irrigation schemes, the world over.