Building national capacity to develop water users' associations: Experience from the Philippines

Over a five year period the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) of the Philippines has been building its capacity to develop water users' associations on small-scale irrigation systems. The NIA approach is to develop a water users' association prior to construction of the physical system and then to involve association members fully in the planning and construction of the system. Implementing this participatory approach has required a wide variety of changes in the agency's policies, procedures, and personnel. The paper details the changes that have been made within the agency, examines the nature of the learning process which has led to these changes, and discusses the implications for donor support of other small-scale irrigation programs and more generally for programs involving village level work.