Irrigation Tanks Management Commended
Published on by Water Network Research, Official research team of The Water Network in Business
Food and Agriculture Organisation Lauded Indian Model of Managing Irrigation Tanks
The Tamil Nadu model of providing primacy to the views of farmers in the management of irrigation tanks has been lauded by an official of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), who is heading a team to review tank projects in India.
Conventionally, the tank management has been governed by the water engineering-centric approach. But, in Tamil Nadu, "the focus is on farmers, their needs. And, that's the way it should move," says Jim Hancock, Natural Resources and Livelihoods Officer at the Investment Centre, Asia Pacific Service of the FAO.
After observing the execution of the World Bank-funded Irrigated Agriculture Modernisation and Water-Bodies Restoration and Management Project (IAMWARM) in Kancheepuram and Villupuram districts last week, Mr. Hancock told The Hindu that another feature that impressed him and his team was the way the existing institutions were working together, from the State down to the village, to address water issues.
As for the role of tanks in the southern States of the country, he said: "The cultural, rural, dry southern India is centred on tanks." Pointing out that tanks had a wider purpose, he said they served not only the requirements of agriculture but also those of drinking water, sanitation, livestock, horticulture and fisheries. This was why they were important to the development of the States.
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