An assessment of the irrigation management transfer programme: Case study in the Mustafakemalpasa irrigation scheme in Turkey

In this study, management transfer of the Bursa-Mustafakemalpasa irrigation scheme, located in western Turkey, was assessed. The study was carried out in two stages. In the first stage, the irrigation management transfer programme was assessed using two performance indicators for six years before and after the transfer during the period 1992-2004. According to the results, the relative water supply and irrigation ratio were calculated as 1.5-1.6, 58-62% average values for the years before and after transfer, respectively. It means that relative water supply has not shown any important change before and after the transfer and stays within reasonable levels. On the other hand, although it is not a significant change, the irrigation ratio has increased around 4% after the transfer, which is a reasonable improvement. In the second stage, effects of the transfer were tested and assessed by the Logit model taking farmers perceptions concerning pre- and post-transfer. The probability of the changes in adequacy of irrigation water supplied to the farm, in fairness of water distribution within the system, in frequency of water distribution conflicts, in timeliness of water delivery to the farm, in irrigation fee policy, and in maintenance of drainage canals is significant at the 0.01 level. Also, maintenance of irrigation canals and water control and distribution structures has a positive effect on agreement or disagreement, but is not significant statistically. Adequacy, fairness and timeliness of water distribution regarding irrigation services given by the Mustafakemalpasa Water Users' Association are not sufficient. Therefore, frequency of water distribution conflicts increased after the transfer. Copyright (c) 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.