The Impact of Uneven Access to Water on Divergence of Income among Paddy Farmers in the Dry zone of Sri Lanka

Abstract

This study examined the consequences of uneven access to irrigation water on the divergence of income, rural poverty, and technical efficiency of paddy farms in major irrigation schemes in the dry zone of Sri Lanka. The empirical study was conducted on a sample of 420 upstream and downstream farmer households covering three major irrigation schemes under different water stress. The Gini decomposition approach was applied to measure income and assets inequalities among households. The study found that uneven distribution of irrigation water within the schemes and between the schemes had a significant impact on income and assets variation among rural paddy farms. The downstream and high-water risk farms appeared more productivity than did the upstream and low water risk farmers mainly due to variation of water availability throughout the year. The income and assets accumulation inequality across upstream and downstream were significantly high. Finally, the study proposed that participatory water management policies are more appropriate than market-oriented policies to overcome water disparities within (and between) the schemes in Sri Lanka.

Keywords: Irrigation; Disparity; Efficiency; Poverty; Inequality; Management

Australian Academy of Business and Economics Review, vol 3, issue 2, April 2017, pp 99-112