Management transfer in irrigation schemes in the nordest, Brazil : role-playing games and involvement of users

In Brazil, state irrigation schemes have been designed in the semi-arid Nordeste with both an economic development and land reform objectives. Small family farms and entrepreneurial farms then co-exist in these systems. In the 1980s, as in many other countries, water management, which was the responsibility of a state organisation called CODEVASF, was transferred to solve budget deficit problems. Irrigation Districts, technical bodies managed by a council of administration, are now responsible for water management and technical and financial sustainability of the irrigation schemes. But users participation to irrigation management, in particular to water pricing reforms, in a context of increasing indebtedness faces many problems - access to information and capacity to use it, understanding of problems and dialogue between stakeholders. Water pricing reforms encompasses the entire set of problems related to irrigation, from irrigation scheme design to input management, including commercialisation or water turns management. How can the discussion of water pricing reform then contribute to sustainable water management, through changes in projects and practices? The approach developed focuses on the interface between producers and water districts. First, water management costs are analysed as well as farmer's constraints related to their production systems. A role-playing game was then developed to share the diagnostic of problems and to help stakeholders discuss water management challenges and issues. Stakeholder involvement and discussion of problems - for instance water pricing and interface users/district - are greatly facilitated by the game. The game also appears as a good representation and simplification tool, in which players can project themselves although the game "is not their field reality". Finally, the game can be used for diagnostic - problems identification, dialogue on possible solutions- and also shows learning potential capacities. Related topics: 4. Irrigation Management Transfer, processes and issues; 5. From individual users to water management organizations, emerging collective action. (Texte intégral)