Two irrigation systems in Colombia : their performance and transfer of management to users' associations

Policy, Planning, and Research WORKING PAPERS Fit IMY Agriculture Production and Services Agriculture and Rural Development Department The World Bank September 1989 WPS 264 Two Irrigation Systems in Colombia Their Performance and Transfer of Management to Users' Associations Herve Plusquellec Two Colombian projects show how local farmers can manage an irrigation system in a developing country if the management and personnel are well-trained and motivated and if the infrastruc- ture is in good condition at the time management is turned over to the farmers. The Policy, Planning, and Research Complex distributes PPR Working Papers to dtsseminate the findings of work in progress and to enoourage the exchange of ideas amnng Bank staff and aU others interested in development issues. These papers carry the names of the authors, reflect only their views, and should be used and cited accordingly. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions are the authors' own. Tlhey should not be attributed to the World Bank, its Board of Directors, its managenent, or any of its member countrics.  Polac,Pnnlng, and Research Aricultre Production and Services Two Colombian iffigation projects are studied in * The continuity of medium- and low-level this report, the Coello and RUT projects. Man- staff, many of whom have been employed '0 to agement or the RUT project is going to be 15 years by the district. transfered soon from public managers to fanr- ers. The Coello project has been farmer-man- * The availability of communication and aged for about 13 years. transportation facilitics. The keys to its success have been: * Some use of hydraulic engineering in the design of irrigation facilities, to simplify opera- * The dynamism of the private farming sector tions and reduce maintenance costs. and support services in Colombia. This study is part of a series of case studies * The high level of farmer training. on the interaction between design and perform- ance of irrigation systems in selected countries. * Pattems of land tenure - with farms an This series of studies is carried out in coilabora- average size of 15 hectares. tion with the Bank Operations Evaluation Department and the Intemational Irrigation * Regular maintenance. Management Institute (IIMI), Kandy, Sri Lanka. This paper is a product of the Agriculture Production and Services Division, Agriculture and Rural Development Department. Copies are available free from the World Bank, 1818 H Street NW, Washington DC 20433. Please contact Herve Plusquellec, room N-8067, extension 30348 (75 pages with tables). The PPR Working Paper Series disseminates the findings of work under way in the Bank's Policy, Planning, and Research Complex. An objective of the series is to get these findings out quickly, even if presentations are less than fully polished. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions in these papers do not necessarily represent official policy of the Bank. Produced at the PPR Dissemination Cente,-  CASE STUDIES OF TWO lRRIGATION SYSTDHS IN COLOMBIA Their Performance and Transfer of Manaxement to Users' Assuciations Table of Contents Pase No. Foreword .......................................... 1 Swaary and Conclusions. . ...... 3 I. IRRIGATION IN COLOMBIA .... .... 7 Institutional Framework . . 8 Water Charges .. ................................. 11 II. COELLO IRRIGATION DISTRICT ........................ 12 The Irrigation System ...... ..................... 13 Control Structures ...... ........................ 14 Design Efficiencies ...... ....................... 14 Agricultural Production ..... .................... 15 USOCoello Water Users' Associations .......... ... 15 III. ROLDANILLO-UNION-TORO (RUT) IRRIGATION DISTRICT ...... 17 The Irrigation System ................ ...8........ i Control Structures ...... ........................ 19 Agricultural Production ..... ..................... 20 IV. PERFORMANCE AND ANA&GEMENT ........................... 21 System of Water Allocation and Distribution ..... 21 Operations and Maintenance .. .................... 24 Staffing ................... ..................... 24 Equipment ................... .................... 25 Condition of Facilities . ........................ 26 Annual Costs ................. ................... 26 Cost Recovery ....... ............................ 27 Rehabilitation and Modernization ....... ......... 29 TABLES 1. Average Monthly Rainfall in Coello and RUT Irrigation Districts (Mm) ......... 31 2. Land Tenure in the Coello and RUT Irrigation Districts ............... ... 32  3. Cropping Pattern, Irrigation, and Yields in the Coello District (1987) ..... ........ 33 4. Cropping Pattern, Irrigation, and Yields in the RUT Irrigation District (1987) ........................... 34 5. Efficiency of Conveyance and Distribution in Coello and RUT Irrigation Districts ...................... 35 6. A Breakdown of the Coello Irrigation District Staff ...................... ..... 36 7. Budget for Coello Irrigation District (1987) ........................... 37 8. Budget for Coello Irrigation District (1988) ........................... 38 9. Actual Expenses for RUT Irrigation Districts (1987) .......................... 39 10. Projected Revenues from Water Charges in the Coello Irrigation District (1988) .......... ................. 40 APPENDIX 1 Chief Characteristics of Coello and RUT Irrigation Districts ........ .................... 41 APPENDIX 2 Agreement No. 41: General Regulations for the Irrigation Districts whose Management is Delegated to Water Users Associations ........ 45 MAPS IBRD No. 21534 - Roldanillo-Unioni-Toro (RUT) Irrigation District IBRD No. 21535 - Irrigation Districts IBRD No. 21536 - Coello Irrigation District  CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS US$1 - 300 Col$ (1988) Colombian peso (COl$) = 0.0033 USS WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 1 acre (ac) = 0.405 hectares (ha) 1 mile (mi) = 1.609 kilometers (km) GLOSSARY OF ABBREVIATIONS CHO - constant-head orifice ha - hectare HIMAT - Instituto Colombiana de Hidrologia, Meterologia y Adecuacion de Tierras (Colombian Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Land Improvement) IIMI - International Irrigation Management Institute INCORA - Instituto Colombiano de la Reforma Agraria (Colombian Institute for Agrarian Reform) Mm3 - Million cubic meters m3/sec - Cubic meter per second RUT - Roldanillo-Union-Toro WUA - Water User Association  FOREWORD This report is part of a series of case studies of irrigation systems in different countries. These studies focus on: o the extent to which the design of the irrigation system fosters effective water management and provides equitable, reliable, timely water distribution to farms (analyzes water efficiencies, the effectiveness of maintenance, and cost recovery), and o the extent to which the farmers' organization have taken responsibility for operating and maintaining the system and helping to recover costs. Case studies are being prepared by the Bank's Operations Evaluation Department in cooperation with the Agriculture and Rural Development Department (AGR) in two semi-arid countries, Mexico and Morocco, and two tropical countries, Thailand and the Philippines. Other case studies in South East Asia will be prepared by the International Irrigation Management Institute (IIMI). The report on the case study of the Gezira Irrigation Scheme in Sudan is under preparation by AGR. This working paper describes the design and management of two irrigation districts in Colombia: the Roldanillo-Union-Toro (RUT) district (9,700 ha) in the Cauca Valley and the Coello district (27,180 ha) in the Magdalena Valley.  -2- The Coello project is one of the two publicly built projects in Colombia for which management responsibility was transferred to the Water User Association when HIMATl/ was created in 1976. There are few such examples in developing countries. In the RUT project, the system of water conveyance is first through open canals to individual farms where it is then pumped into pressure systems for delivery to sprinkler. HIMAT plans to transfer management responsibility for this project to the Water User Association in June 1989. It will be interesting to see whether the RUT is as successful in this transfer as the Coello district has been. On account of the short time available for data collection and field visits, this report in no way presents the level of details and analysis found in reports of the Operations Evaluation Department. It should however, provide some useful information on irrigation projects in a humid tropical country where the farmers' involvement in management of irrigation schemes is institutionalized, and on two specific projects where water has been distributed to the satisfaction of the farmers and irrigated agriculture has been sustained for more than 20 years without major rehabilitation programs. 1, HIMAT: Instituto Colombiano de Hidrologia, Meteorologia y Adecuacion de Tierras. (Colombian Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Land Improvement).  -3- CASE STUDIES OF TWO IRRIGATION SYSTEMS IN COLOMBIA Their Performance and Transfer of Man'iaement to Users' Associations SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS The two Colombian districts selected for this study -- Coello and RUT -- are suitable for year-round culUivation because they enjoy a humid tropical climate with two rainy seasons. The average farm in RUT (5 ha) is a third the size of the average farm in Coello (15 ha), but is still large compared to farms in irrigated areas in most developing countries. Coello district benefits from certain physical advantages: The compact shape of the irrigable area and natural drainage. The flat lands of the RUT are difficult to drain and suffer from a high water table. Water is delivered and applied by gravity methods in Coello. In RUT, water is first lifted from the Cauca River and then distributed through open-channel distribution systems to the farmers who use their diesel pumps for pressurized application. Both systems are operated manually, although at Coello a number of simple control structures and desilting devices were designed to simplify operation and reduce the cost of maintenance. In both districts, water is distributed under a pre-arranged demand system. Water distribution is equitable, timely, and reliable although there are only few measuring devices and the systems are generally operated and water delivered based on the experience and instincts of district staff. Although irrigation service is satisfactory to water users, overall efficiency in the Coello district, estimated at 30 percent,  -4- is relatively low. The main problem, common to all rice districts in Colombia, is that rice is grown not on leveled lands (as in all other major rice producing countries) but on sloping fields with low contour bunds -- which wastes water and uses the abundant rainfall inefficiently. The higher overall efficiency in RUT, estimated at about 402, is attributable to the water-saving presstrized method of application. Rice is the predominant crop in Coello, followed by cotton and sorghum, so average water consumption there is much higher than in RUT, where rice cultivation is not authorized and the cropping pattern is more diversified. Crop yields -- especially rice (6 ton/ha) and cotton (3 ton/ha) -- are high by both national and international standards. The irrigation system in Coello district (and to a lesser extent in RUT) has been well maintained since its construction 35 years ago, so the requirements for rehabilitation are modest and largely confined to the replacement of maintenance plant and equipment. As in other Colombian districts, operation and maintenance (O&M) costs are recovered through two direct water charges, by application of a fixed and volumetric rate. The fixed rate, payable before each growing season, covers approximately 50Z of the O&M costs. The average O&M cost per ha in RUT is equivalent to US$55 in 1988 dollars. It is much higher than in Coello (US$35), reflecting the costs in RUT of energy for primary pumping, the cost of maintenance of pumping facilities, and the greater development of main and distribution canal systems, the drainage system, and the network of access roads. Collection rates on water charges are excellent (100Z) in both districts, but only 75? of annual budget e7r,enses are recovered in RUT; HIMAT contributes the rest. The Coello district gets no help in financing its annual O&M expenses.  -5- The annual O&M cost per hectare in Coello is probably typical, and a good basis for estimating the costs of managing, maintaining and operating a medium size project in a humid tropical environment under sustainable conditions. Coello district has been well managed by its Water User Association, USOCOELLO, since HIMAT2/ was created in 1976. The farmer-managed Coello district has succeeded for several reasons: Chief among them tae dynamism of the private farming sector and supporting service activities in Colombia, the high level of farmer training and the relatively large size of farm holdings. Other factors relevant to this comparative study have also played a role in this success: o the continuity of medium - and low - level staff (most of the operations personnel in both RUT and Coello districts have been employed at least 10 years and some more than 15 years); o regular maintenance, and the availability of communication and transportation facilities; and o some use of hydraulic engineering in the design of irrigation facilities, to simplify operations and reduce maintenance costs. These two Colombian projects have shown that a conventional design project in a developing country can perform reasonably well if certain conditions are present: highly motivated and trained personnel, good management, and adequate transportation an. :ommunication facilities. 2/ HIMAT: In4tituto Colombiano de Hidrologia, Meteorologia y Adecuacion de Tierras. (Colombian Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Land Improvenent).  -6- Coello represents an interesting case of successfully turning management of a publicly administered large irrigation scheme over to farmers. It is the Colombian government's objective to progressively turn the management of all irrigation districts over to water user associations. The question is whether the successful experience in Coello can be repeated in other districts. Transfer of management responsibilities to the RUT water association, scheduled for 1989, should be instructive. The RUT district presents more physical and managerial disadvantages than Coello: o higher O&M costs, to which the costs of individual pumping for pressurized application should be added; o smaller average farm size; and o unfavorable drainage conditions and the risk of flooding from the hill streams and the Cauca River. Will the small farm holders in RUT be able to pay their share of O&M costs? Will the Water User Association be able to sustain maintenance of the irrigation facilities well enough to prevent deterioration of the facilities? In a wider context, the question arises whether the same approach to irrigation design and management would work with the very small holdings found in most developing countries. This question will be examined in similar studies of irrigation projects in A 'a and Africa.  -7- CASE STUDIES OF TWO IERIGATION SYSTEHS IN COLOMBIA Their Performance and Transfer of Management to Users' Associations I. IRRIGATION IN COLOMBIA 1. Of the 810,000 ha under irrigation in Colombia, 347,000 ha are irrigated in public projects managed by HIMAT and 463,000 ha are irrigated by the private, sector. 2. Little information is available on private irrigation because there is no agency concerned with its promotion and coordination. About half of the private irrigation systems are located in the fertile soils of the Cauca River valley. Most of these systems were developed by private individuals with financial assistance from the state in the form of development loans. Conservation of these systems is the farmers' responsibility. By and large, private irrigation is well equipp d and effectively managed -- vertically integrated to processing facilities for sugar cane, cotton, and feed grains. Private irrigated agriculture mainly uses sophisticated technology. Water is pumped from river or tubewells and applied to the land by sprinklers or efficient surface methods. The water is carefully controlled and irrigation highly efficient. Yields are relatively high: an average 80-120 tons/ha for sugar cane, 2.6 tons/ha for soybean, and 2.6 tons/ha for cotton). Cropping patterns are determined by the farmers according to price incentives and the relative profitability of various crops. 3. The public irrigation/drainage subsector in Colombia comprises 24 districts, of which 16 are essentially for irrigation. The remaining eight  B-8 are classified as drainage schemes. The total physical area for the 24 districts (which average 14,000 ha each) is 343,000 ha -- of which 120,000 ha have irrigation and drainage infrastructure and 113,800 ha have only drainage infrastructure. 4. Designed during the 1960s, most of the public districts are based on simple designs. Two have storage dams, eight are supplied from direct river diversions, and seven from river pumping stations. Institutional Framework and Farmer MHawement Structure HIMAT was est4blished in 1976 as an autonomous public entity attached to the Ministry of Agriculture. It took over public sector irrigation and drainage investments from another organization, INCORA, which previously had established them in conjunction with land reform. The Colombian Institute for Agrarian Reform, INCORA, established in 1961 to reform the agrarian social structure of Colombia, initially concentrated on land reform. In later years, INCORA diversified its operations considerably, and undertook land and water development projects. The transfer of technical responsibility from INCOPA to HIMAT in 1976 reflects the decline of agrar4an reform as a national priority. HIMAT is governed by a board of directors from several public institutions, and presided over by the Ministry of Agriculture. Thirteen regional directors are responsible for managing HIMAT's activities. HIMAT has a total staff of nearly 2,000, of which half are in the irrigation and drainage Sub-directorate (1,950 in the regional offices, and 50 at the central office). A Water Users' Association (WUA) was established for each of the 24 irrigation and drainage districts. The government attaches great  -9- importance to the need to strengthen the Water Users Associations so that management of irrigation and drainage facilities can eventually be transferred to them. A program to rehabilitate and complete the existing districts begun in 1981, is being implemented with the help of the World Bank. Once a reliable irrigation service has been established, the recovery of O&M costs is expected to gradually improve eliminating the need for further budget allocations. Once O&M costs are fully recoverable the district management is to be transferred to Water Users Associations. Management of two districts, Coello (27,187 ha) and Saldana (13,985 ha) in the Magdalena Valley, was transferred to their Water Users Associations when HIMAT was created in 1976. Plans are to transfer management of the RUT district to the Water User Association in June 1989. Regulations were established in 1977 to provide guidelinei for the running of districts where management had been handed over from HIMAT to Users' Associations (see Appendix 2: Translation of Acuerdi No. 41 dated November 16, 1977). The main points of interest in this document deal with: 3 Responsibilities of the Office of the District Chief, o The Definition of water users, o Rights and obligations of water users, o Constitution and elections of the Board of Directors, o Powers of the Board of Directors, o Preparation of irrigation plans, o Water distribution, o Eligibility requirements for water use entitlement, o Individual farm turnouts, o Water charges, fixed and volumetric rate, and o Offences and fines.  -10- The board of each association is composed of seven members, four representing minor farm holdings (of less than 20 hectares) and three representing major holdings. The board members are elected for two years, but can be re-appointed indefinitely. The seasonal cultivation and irrigation program is submitted for approval to a consultative committee composed of representatives of the large and small farm holdings, regional directors of HIMAT and representatives of other agricultural institutions (credit, extension services) at the discretion of the water users'associations. Acuerdo No.41 also defines the book-keeping responsibi'Lties of the district management as including: o Master list of users, o Record and file of works and procurement contracts, o Updated inventory of the District's works and equipment, o Hydrological and meteorological records, o Records of rainfed and irrigated crops, o Record of irrigation distribution orders, o Record of volumetric consumption, o Books of inventories, materials, equipment control, unit costs, yields, etc. O Accounting and cash books, o Correspondence files, o Files of channel and on-farm water measurement records and topographical records, o Personnel records, o Book of minutes of the meetings of the Coordination Commitee, meetings with users, Users' Associations, etc.,  -11- o Any other information needed to ensure the District's smooth operation. Water CharRes Under Colombian law all beneficiaries of public works must pay a land appreciation surcharge proportionate to the value of the government's investment. Beneficiaries of land improvement districts are also liable for the cost of operations and maintenance (O&M). Operations and maintenance costs are recovered through (i) a fixed water charge (per hectare, per year) and (ii) a variable water charge based on the volume of water delivered for irrigation. The law does not state what proportion of these two charges are to meet O&M costs. Water rates are fixed once a year by HIHAT's Board of Directors before the first planting season starts, at the time of budget preparation. In setting the fixed and volumetric water rates, HIMAT determines the users'contribution to O&M costs, the government pays the difference. Fixed charges are paid in advance, regardless of land use. Their payment is a pre-requisite for receiving the irrigation service. The volumetric water charges are paid at the end of each season. The collection rate is generally high. Volumetric payments depend on how much water is actually delivered to the farmers. Rainfall varies markedly, which affects demand for supplementary irrigation water. Total water charges covered only 34.9Z O&M costs in 1980 and 28.5Z in 1987. Only a few districts, including RUT, approach self-sufficiency for operations and maintenance.  -12- II. COELLO IRRIGATION DISTRICT The Coello irrigation district is located about 150 kilometers from the capital, Bogota on the left bank of the Magdalena River in the Department of Tolima, at an elevation of between 200 and 300 meters. The project covers part of a large alluvial fan with a regular but relatively steep slope (a few meters per kilometer). The Magdalena River, which borders the project area on its east side, cuts deeply into the alluvial valley soils. The river and a number of deep gullies that dissect the project area ensuring the lower part of the project of adequate natural drainage. The Bogota-Cali highway crosses the project area. District headquarters are located in the town of Espinal, at the center of the area. The gross area of the Coello district is about 44,100 ha, of which only 27,187 ha are currently registered. The rest are not yet developed or completed. The climate is tropical with an average monthly temperature ranging between 25