Management turning-over and participatory management of irrigation schemes: a case study of the Gediz River Basin in Turkey

This paper argues the results of turning-over process in agricultural water management of Turkish agriculture. Water is a common pool resource, although services from this resource can be privately appropriated for production. This common problem, which has arisen during past public interventions, is related to institutional costs and information problems. The best solution was found to be management transfer from the state to users, such as Water User Associations (WUAs), cooperatives, farmer unions, etc. Participation is a process in which stakeholders influence policy formulation, investment choices and management decisions affecting their communities and establish the necessary sense of ownership. This paper is an attempt to determine whether the level of farmer participation in the decision making process has been realized and to make comparison of the irrigation scheme activities by making differentiation between the situation before and after turning-over.