WATER MANAGEMENT SYNTHESIS

Project purpose will be achieved by analyzing existing farm water projects and by developing and disseminating improved techniques and methodologies. A short training course in diagnosing farm-level water management problems will be designed and given to technicians in two LDC"s. Data collected and analyzed during the course will be made available to host countries and Missions in published form. On the basis of a worldwide inventory of water management projects, a methodology will be developed for examining and categorizing new and old irrigation projects. In particular, a close examination will be made of existing AID farm water projects, including such areas as on-farm storage, small pumping plants, and conveyance structures, in order to develop technology handbooks and training aids based on specific site experiences. These state-of-the-art handbooks will be published in English, Spanish, and French. A handbook on the technology of land leveling will be developed at the outset of the project in order to dispel widespread LDC ignorance of this subject. Detailed descriptions will be made of irrigation methods in use at small, traditional farms in areas of hilly terrain, flat terrain with diversified agriculture, and the rice systems of monsoonal Asia. In the project"s final year, two regional workshops will be held to demonstrate the utility of project outputs. The cooperation of FAO, international banks, and other donors will be sought to make the workshops as up-to-date as possible. Workshops will be given to LDC technicians responsible for irrigation and agricultural water management policy and operation. Data collected and analyzed during the project will be stored in AID"s computerized data system for retrieval on a country or subject-matter basis. The end of project status will be a set of published materials providing LDC"s with information, training assistance, and guidelines on the implementation of farm water management projects.