Sept 10 – 16 2006, PWTC, Kuala Lumpur

EMPOWERING WATER USERS ASSOCIATION -

TANABANGKA STUDY, INDONESIA

Soeprapto Budisantoso*

ABSTRACT

Five Water Users Associations were selected for three years of empowerment within the
Tanabangka Area of government developed Kampili Irrigation System, in District of
Gowa, South Sulawesi Province, Indonesia. The purpose of the empowerment was to
enable the water users perform its obligation in the operation and maintenance of the
tertiary irrigation system, as well as its participative contribution to the management of
primary and secondary irrigation system managed by the Government. In addition, the
study aimed to observe difficulties and problems related to development of sustainable
water users association under government participative irrigation management policy.
Five areas of activities were identified for this purpose, i.e. institution development, water
management, system maintenance, farming improvement, and training. The study
revealed that the existing five water users associations were completely weak due to
inappropriate organizing approach in their early development stage coupled with a strong
traditional role of water master elected traditionally by the community. The weak
organizations led to weakness in water management, and system maintenance.
Improvement of farming practices that led to a more efficient use of water and farm
equipment was also concluded. A number of training sessions were reported necessary
for the empowerment, and a set of training modules were developed for the purpose. A
progress in the area of institutional development and management, water distribution,
canal and structural maintenance, farming practice, were observed in the study. The
necessity of empowered non farmer’s institutions related to irrigation management to
assist water user’s organizations appropriately in the rights and obligations of the
organizations were also concluded, and a careful transformation of traditionally
legitimate water master’ role to water users organizations’ role in irrigation management
were also recommended.

1
Former Head of Utilities Management Service, Water Resources Management Services, South Sulawesi Province,
Republic of Indonesia, Jl. AP Petta Rani no 88, Makassar, 90222. Phone: 62-411-440322, Fax: 62-411-458438,
email: o816254353@yahoo.com.

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EMPOWERING WATER USERS ASSOCIATION,

TANABANGKA STUDY, INDONESIA

Soeprapto Budisantoso*

ABSTRACT

Five Water Users Associations were selected for three years of empowerment within the
Tanabangka Area of government developed Kampili Irrigation System, in District of Gowa,
South Sulawesi Province, Indonesia. The purpose of the empowerment was to enable the water
users perform its obligation in the operation and maintenance of the tertiary irrigation system,
as well as its participative contribution to the management of primary and secondary irrigation
system managed by Government. In addition, the study aimed to observe difficulties and
problems related to development of sustainable water users association under government
participative irrigation management policy. Five areas of activities were identified for this
purpose, .i.e. institution development, water management, system maintenance, farming
improvement, and training. The study revealed that the existing five water users associations
were completely weak due to inappropriate organizing approach in their early development
stage coupled with a strong traditional role of water master elected traditionally by the
community. The weak organizations led to weakness in water management, and system
maintenance. Improvement of farming practices leading to the more efficient use of water and
farm equipment were also concluded. A numbers of training were reported necessary for the
empowerment, and a set of training modules were developed for the purpose. A progress
in the area of institutional development and management, water distribution, canal and
structural maintenance, farming practice, were observed in the study. The necessity of
empowered non farmer’s institutions related to irrigation management to assist water user’s
organizations appropriately in the rights and obligations of the organizations were also
concluded, and a careful transformation of traditionally legitimate water master’ role to water
users organizations’ role in irrigation management were also recommended.

1. INTRODUCTION

1.a. Irrigation Development

Policy and strategy related to irrigation development in Indonesia (Figure 1), is guided under
the Indonesian Water Resources Law issued in 2004 (Law No 7/2004). It is under the
decentralization and participation policy aiming at sustainable irrigation management that
the law delegates the authority and therefore responsibility of irrigation development and

* Former Head of Utilities Management Service, Water Resources Management Services, South Sulawesi Province,
Republic of Indonesia, Jl. AP Petta Rani no 88, Makassar, 90222. Phone: 62-411-440322, Fax: 62-411-458438,
email: o816254353@yahoo.com.

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irrigation management to the regional governments (provinces and districts/municipalities)

and also to the beneficiaries as tabulated in Table 1. The tertiary systems, where farmers are
responsible for canal development and operation and maintenance (OM), defined as schemes
irrigated by tertiary outlets through tertiary canals based on Indonesian Irrigation System
Layout as shown in a schematic diagram shown in Figure 2.

Figure 1. Indonesian Archipelago and Project Location

Figure 2. Schematic Diagram of Indonesian Irrigation System Lay Out

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Table 1. Policy and strategy of Indonesian Irrigation Development and

Management under Water Resources Law No 7/2004

1.b. Participatory Irrigation Development and Management.

The participatory irrigation development and management, is defined as participation of

beneficiaries and other stakeholders in the whole process of development and management
not limited in the planning, implementing, and decision making process but also in financing
and providing other resources as inputs to the irrigation development and management.

Under the foregoing policy and strategy, the institutional development, empowerment, and
capacity building of the stakeholders, particularly farmers, could be reached by the following
activities:
1. Incorporation in the planning , design, and implementation of irrigation development
(construction and upgrading) and management (operation, maintenance, and rehabilitation),
2. Participation in financing and providing resources, as an obligation in construction,
operation and maintenance of the tertiary system, and as contribution in primary and
secondary system.

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3. Provision or assistance of organizational assets:

• For income generating as well as farming and irrigation management tools, such
as hand tractors, irrigation pumps or others.
• For organizational activities such as farmers meeting hall, part of office material,
office equipment, or others.

2. THE PROJECT

2.a. Empowerment Water User Association Project

In line with the aforementioned policy and strategy namely The Participatory Irrigation
Management, The Directorate General of Water Resources (DGWR) Ministry of Public Works,
of the Republic of Indonesia, support a three years program named The Empowerment of
Water User Association Project. The Project started in April 2004 for five WUAs in four tertiary
blocks of the Kampili Irrigation Schemes, District of Gowa, newly rehabilitated by Indonesian
Government. These four tertiary blocks, located in the Village of Tanabangka and its vicinity,
is defined as Model Area (Figure 3). The purpose of the empowerment was to enable the
water users perform its obligation in the operation and maintenance of the tertiary irrigation
system, as well as its participative contribution to the management of primary and secondary
irrigation system managed by Government. In addition, the study aimed to observe difficulties
and problems related to development of sustainable water users association. The activities
of the Project and the related targets are shown in Table 2.

Table2. Activities and Targets of The Project

To achieve the targets, the project was designed by the cooperation of Central, Provincial,
and District Government. In addition, an NGO is incorporated within the team to assist with
the full time village level operation.

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Figure 3. Project Location and Schematic Diagram of Model Area

2.b. Condition of Organizations.

The condition of 5 WUAs in the Model Area (July 2005) are described in the following Table
3. while the structure of management committee is shown in Figure 4 hereinafter.

However, in fact, when the Project was started the five WUAs in the Model Area apparently
were established without proper election and establishment procedures, resulting in weak
organization with the following indicators:
• Numbers of member and tertiary areas boundary was apparently only estimation.
• Chairman and other management committee members do not know their members.

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Table 3. Features of Water Users Association (WUA) in The Model Area

Figure 4. Standard Organizational Structures of WUAs in Model Area

• Farmers neither know which WUA they belong to, the board members, and the function
of WUAs
• No organizational meeting has been initiated internally.
• No administration and financial record has been made.
• Irrigation fee has been paid to a water master in the traditional way, not to be recorded
by WUAs treasurer, for the water master is the traditional irrigation

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water manager in which traditionally elected, trusted, and paid (as irrigation fee) by farmers.
• Chairman and other management committee members do not fully understand the
content of the bylaws.

Under the project’s WUA’s organization strengthening activities, the following detailed activities
has been introduced, and scheduled to be implemented together with farmers:
• To survey the present condition of WUAs, including inventory of member farmers,
• To confirm the role of related government institutions and other stakeholders for
empowerment of WUAs, and to develop agreement on irrigation operation and
management in the model area from primary, secondary, to tertiary systems.
• To improve the management of WUAs, meetings, understanding bylaws, action plans,
schedule of activities, and implementing the plan by WUAs.
• To improve financial management by assisting in preparation of budget, and recording
the financial incomes and expenditures step by step.

2.c. Water Management in the Model Area.

The foregoing Table 6 shows that by July 2005, 74 % in average of designed plots in the
model area receive irrigation water. When the Project was started in 2004, the irrigated plot
was only 50 %. The present remaining 26 % was still unable to get sufficient water. Those
conditions were attributable to deficiency in tertiary system development. There are also no
record of water flows quantity from any off-takes facilities that cause difficulties in monitoring
the amount of water consumed by the farmers and the performance level of water distribution
and management. The following activities then to be implemented with the participation of
WUAs:
• To survey and evaluate condition of water management.
• To prepare water distribution plan in harmony with agreed planting schedule and
designed amount of water required by the farmers.
• To operate and monitor (by flow meter) the water distribution.
• To operate and monitor the water management based on the prepared plan.

2.d. The irrigation facilities management.

The alignment of tertiary and quaternary canal is being reviewed through field examination
with the participation of block members of WUAs. It was revealed that WUAs do not know
well about plan of tertiary block irrigation system, including the operation of division boxes.
Therefore some boxes have not been used and some boxes broken by farmers. However,
maintenance of the tertiary system and facilities has been introduced to improve WUAs
capacity and understanding on the matters.

Therefore the empowerment activities include:

• Joint sur vey present condition of irrigation facilities and maintenance
• Assistance in preparation of maintenance and improvement plan and budget of the
tertiary and quaternary irrigation systems.
• Assistance in implementing and monitoring development and maintenance of irrigation
facilities based on the plan.

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2.e. Farming Improvement.

A block demonstration was performed to evaluate the proper use of irrigation water and the
use of farming equipment, such as a hand tractor, to evaluate method of land preparation.
The use of the hand tractor granted by project as an asset of the WUAs, is an effort to practice
asset management method by WUAs to generate income by rental of the equipment to the
member farmers. The rental to be recorded by WUA and income will also be recorded and
be kept by the treasurer. Other activities include:
• To survey present farming system
• To establish cultivation techniques adaptable for farmers
• To strengthen the farming assistance system: guidance in cultivation, procurement of
seeds and fertilizers, and post harvest management.

2.f. Training.

Training and workshops, including on the job training to WUAs and to other stakeholders
related to the empowerment program, such as training of counterpart by the experts in the
field, and overseas training in participatory irrigation management, were held to reach the
targets of empowerment objectives. Twenty two training modules were prepared through the
series of national workshop in the fields of improvement of WUAs’ organization, water
management, facilities maintenance, and farming. The further activities is to implement training
for Central and Local Government officers and for WUAs, farmers’ leaders, and NGOs related
to empowerment of WUAs by using the foregoing training modules.

3. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

Participation of farmers in irrigation development and management, requires not only

incorporation of farmers in the decision making and implementation of the process, but also
allocation (or mobilization) of farmers input and resources in kind of manpower, materials,
and finance. The foregoing steps to be obtained through empowerment of Water Users
Associations (WUAs). The Project’s model in Tanabangka Village is a study ground of series
of empowerment objectives and related activities applied to five WUAs, expecting a strengthened
and well organized organization in the end of empowerment period, and become sustain-
able in performing its duty in operation and maintenance of irrigation infrastructures. The
study revealed that the existing five water users associations were completely weak due to
inappropriate organizing approach in their early development stage coupled with a strong
traditional role of water master elected traditionally by the community. The weak organizations
led to weakness in water management, and system maintenance. Improvement of farming
practices leading to the more efficient use of water and farm equipment were also concluded.
A numbers of training were reported necessary for the empowerment, and a set of training
modules were developed for the purpose.

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Joint efforts between farmers and government staff in the area of institutional development
and management, water distribution, canal and structural maintenance, farming practice,
were observed in the study. The study recommend necessity of empowered non farmer’s
institutions related to irrigation management to assist water user’s organizations appropriately
in the rights and obligations of the organizations, and a careful transformation of traditionally
legitimate water master’ role to water users organizations’ role in irrigation management. The
apparent progress leading to projects objectives has been recorded, yet a continuous effort
to motivate and to facilitate farmers’ acceptance to the WUAs modern organization standard
without diminishing positive farmers’ tradition is a challenge to the Project.

REFERENCES

1. Government of Indonesia, 2004, Republic of Indonesia’s Law No.7 Year 2004 on Water
Resources, Directorate of Water Resources and Irrigation, Ministry of National
Development/National Planning Agency, The Law, 55, The Explanation, 55, Indonesia.

2. Government of Indonesia, 2006, Draft Government Regulation on Irrigation, Directorate

General of Water Resources, Ministry of Public Works, 62, Indonesia.

3. Directorate General of Water Resources Ministry of Public Works, South Sulawesi Water
Resources Management Services, District Government of Gowa, JICA Technical
Cooperation Team, 2005, Water Users Association Project’ Various Reports, Minutes
of Meetings, and Documentation.