Main text and annexes

The State Departments of Irrigation (ID) and Agriculture (AD) will implement the project, which focuses on MIS design and construction and the training of ID/AD personnel and of farmers. Fifty MIS"s, having a combined command area of 25,000 ha and directly benefiting some 12,500 farm families, will be built under ID/AD supervision (with the help of various project coordinating committees). Construction will include two pilot MIS"s to test innovations in design, water control and regulation equipment, and management practices. Contacts will be established between farmers and engineers/extensionists during the design and implementation phases so as to incorporate farmers" concerns and make the system user-oriented. As MIS"s are being built, farmers will be helped to plan for water use and apply for credit for on-farm improvements. As the MIS"s become operational, 200 chaks or demonstration blocks (4 per MIS) will be set up to disseminate to farmers tested technology and management practices, e.g., land development techniques (such as land leveling), drainage ditch construction, suitable irrigation methods, and agronomic practices. An ID unit will monitor groundwater use and encourage farmers to develop groundwater resources. A program will be institutionalized to train farmers to operate and maintain the system below the turnout and to regulate and distribute water more equitably. Short courses, seminars, and workshops stressing the importance of irrigation and extension activities in fully serving farmers" needs will be organized for ID/AD personnel. Design officers and field technicians will be instructed in such topics as land development and the conjunctive use of surface and groundwater, while senior ID/AD officials will be taught irrigation system planning and layout, watershed model and reservoir operation, construction quality, etc. Finally, field-level socioeconomic data will be collected to form the basis for a policy dialogue with the State of Madhya Pradesh on the MIS system. Amendment of 6/12/87 extends the PACD by 21 months and institutes a system of performance-based distribution of funds, which will allow the project to concentrate more on irrigation planning, design, and operations (rather than the simple building of dams) and to develop institutional capabilities in these areas. (PD-AAV-756)