Privatization and sustainability of small-scale irrigation in Indonesia : a reassessment of Sederhana and HPSIS systems

The three projects were seminal efforts to aid small-scale irrigation development, particularly through physical infrastructure investment, introduction of water users" associations (Perkumpulan Petani Pemakai Airs or P3A"s), and the use of community organizers (CO"s) to work directly with farmers and enhance the P3A. The assessment team reached the following conclusions. (1) P3A"s have not been sustained, with a single exception in a Lombok system, where no irrigation had been conducted previously and no farmer organizations existed. Nonetheless, the government continues to support the P3A and CO concepts. (2) Farmer investment in both main and tertiary systems continues, despite government policy that farmers are only responsible for O&M in tertiary systems. In areas where there are PU staffing constraints, farmers have continued to play a key and sometimes determining role in the operation of the main system. (3) Commitment to small-scale irrigation on the part of the PU and the Provincial Irrigation Service (PRIS) has been sustained. PRIS is a continuing and important presence in the systems examined. (4) The physical infrastructure has largely been sustained, although perhaps not at the level expected or desired by PRIS staff. (5) Farm management practices introduced by HPSIS have been sustained, even though their link to improved water management has continued to be inadequate. Examination of the long-term impact of the projects revealed the persistence of indigenous institutions despite significant government intervention to introduce new organizations. These organizations (subaks in Lombok) and leaders (ulu-ulus in West Java) have continued their role in irrigation management. These roles may have changed in some cases, but they have not been marginalized despite government attempts to replace them. Only where the indigenous organizations were already weak (e.g., South Sulawesi) has the government succeeded. With respect to privatization, the GOI has not transferred the ownership of physical irrigation assets to farmers, although this assessment indicates that farmers can fully operate and maintain the tertiary system, and can draw on their own resources to operate the main system when PRIS cannot. (Author abstract, modified)