Written by Mekong Institute

Since  the  large-scale  physical  extent  of  irrigation  schemes tends  to  be  a  major  obstacle  to their  effective  and  efficient  management  and  development,  two  Farmer  Water  User Communities  (FWUCs),  the  Krouch Saeuch and  Anlong  Svay  FWUCs,  were  established  in 2010 to manage the secondary and tertiary schemes of the Damnak Ampil irrigation system. This  research  study  aims  to  assess  the  performance  of  these  two  FWUCs, and  to  uncover what challenges  were  encountered  during  the  five years of  their  operation.

 This  study  also recommends any  necessary  interventions  for  the improvement of  the  performance. The performance  was  assessed  based  on  five  criteria:  organizational  management, the level of participation  of  water  users,  operations and  maintenance,  financial  management, and organizational linkages. For the challenges, the internal and external factors were examined. The  results  showed  that  the  level  of  the  performance  of the Krouch Saeuch FWUC  was average, while  that  of  the Anlong  Svay  FWUC  was poor.

 The  overall  challenges  are  the inefficiency  of  the  physical  irrigation  systems,  weak  governance  and  management,  lack  of participation  by water  users,  low  level  of  outcomes from  the irrigation  schemes,  lack  of incentives  for  the  FWUCs leaders,  little external  support  for  the financial  and  technical aspects,  and  the  threat  of  natural  disasters, such  as drought  and  flooding.  Interventions  by relevant  actors are required to improve the  quality  of  the  irrigation  systems,  and  thereby, improve the performance of the FWUCs in ensuring the adequate and timely supply of water.