Can changes in irrigation governance improve water management on the farm?

Around the world, the social organization of irrigation is changing. Farmer groups have been asked to manage their irrigation systems as national and subnational governments have decentralized irrigation systems and given greater responsibility to farmers in its management. Under the reforms, known variously as Irrigation Management Transfer (IMT) or Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM), responsibility is transferred from governments to farmers or groups of farmers within water user associations to actively manage local irrigation-related resources, collect water charges to finance system maintenance, and coordinate water use with upper-tier structures in the irrigation system.