Farmer Management of Groundwater Irrigation in Asia: Utilization of Groundwater Resources in North-Western Sri Lanka: Some Issues Pertaining to Sustainable Development

DURING THE LAST few years there has been an increasing emphasis on the development of the groundwater resources in the intermediate and dry zones of Sri Lanka. Construction of shallow dugwells are subsidized by two implementing agencies of the government through the Agrowells Program to promote year-round cropping. Nevertheless, the Program has not proceeded by proper hydrological surveys. At the very inception the Program suffered a number of setbacks specially with reference to group wells. On the whole the subsidy covers only a fraction of the cost of constructing a well and poorer farmers are automatically excluded from the Program as they have no means of meeting the balance expenditure. Over-estimation of the potential of the agrowells, exposure of the farmers to the Program without proper training in the methods of irrigation and pump maintenance, inadequate attention given to agronomic aspects of groundwater utilization, negligence of the institution building for the post-construction phase and the failure to mobilize active farmer participation are major constraints to the sustainable development of the ground­water resources. It is imperative that the strategies followed at present should change toward achieving sustainability for the future.