Choice, Inclusion, and Access to Information: Understanding Female Farmers’ Participation in Kyrgyzstan’s Water-User Associations
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Water-User Associations and Agriculture in Kyrgyzstan
3. Methods
4. Results
5. Discussion
5.1. Socio-Economic Characteristics and WUA Membership
If you want to sign up for your turn to get water the canal area is filled with cars and about 200 people go to get water. I tell people that I am an old eje (literally translated as older sister or aunt, this term is used in reference to any woman older than the speaker) and need water. I tell my myrab, “Please let me get water, I am an old eje.”
5.2. Determinants of WUA Participation
5.2.1. Access to Information and WUA Participation
I heard there was [a meeting] last year. But I am mostly at home so I did not hear about it until after it happened so I could not attend. If we hear about them and they tell us we can go, I would go.
5.2.2. Inclusion/Exclusion and Participation
Only men participate in ashar. We are not allowed to participate. I do not know why, but women do not participate. It is a shameful if we do.
My family situation is bad. I have five daughters…Basically, people don’t give water to the women without husbands, those whose husbands work as labor migrants in Russia. This is the main problem. Others can negotiate to get the water first. Families with men, they can oversee the distribution of water because they can close the water gates and get water for their own orchards. Because we are not participating, we are left behind by the men who monitor the water. We have to irrigate the land late at night and instead of sleeping, we get water.
5.2.3. Participation and Choice
We, the women who have to endure the burden of being the breadwinners, we don’t participate because we have other household activities that we have to complete. We do not have husbands, our children are young.
If there is water at night, you should irrigate. We do not pay [for water]. We irrigate our land at night. When there is water, you can take it. When there is not water, but you need it, you just open the gate and change the direction of the water.
We discussed water issues [at the meeting] but the officials don’t care. There is no one who can monitor the water to make sure things are working correctly. Officials say they are here to provide access to water. But they don’t care. All they care about is money and we are the last thing they care about.
I go [to the WUA meetings] to get adequate water. For example, in early spring, they organize meetings about canal cleaning. And they say if you clean the canal you will get water. Participation in those meetings is for our own benefit and to be informed about latest news, and to know the price [of water] … how the schedule is designed, who the myrabs are, and how many myrabs will be working [in our area].
Just this morning we had a conflict about water. My son went at our turn to irrigate but the neighbor did not allow him to get water because they said that they had gotten water for two hours from the myrab. It was also our turn, so the myrab must have told two families they had water at the same time. My mother said “Go talk to the myrab, they know the schedule.” So we went to the myrab and he fixed the schedule and the problem was solved.
Because of my farm, I am an active leader in the WUA. When there is no water, my crops will not grow so I need to support the work of the WUA. This is so they will deliver water on time. And when you get water on time, you will have a fertile harvest.
I can’t sleep at night because I always think about water problems. I want to serve the people. The only thing I wish is that the lives of the farmers will get better. My obligation is to get the water to them. The better people’s lives become, the happier I will be.
6. Conclusions
Acknowledgments
Author Contributions
Conflicts of Interest
References
- IWMI How to Establish a Water User Association? Practical Steps for Social Mobilizers. Available online: http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/regional-content/central_asia/pdf/wua_eng.pdf (accessed on 29 October 2017).
- United Nations Development Programme. UNDP Human Development Report; 0-230-50058-7; Palgrave Macmillan: New York, NY, USA, 2006. [Google Scholar]
- Groenfeldt, D.; Svendsen, M. Case Studies in Participatory Irrigation Management; 0-8213-4540-0; World Bank Institute: Washington, DC, USA, 2000. [Google Scholar]
- Meinzen-Dick, R.; Zwarteveen, M. Gendered participation in water management: Issues and illustrations from Water Users’ Associations in South Asia. Agric. Hum. Value 1998, 15, 337–345. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Van Koppen, B. Gender in integrated water management: An analysis of variation. In Nature Resource Forum; Blackwell Publishing Ltd.: Hoboken, NJ, USA, 2001; Volume 25, pp. 299–312. [Google Scholar]
- Zwarteveen, M.; Neupane, N. Free-Riders or Victims: Women’s Nonparticipation in Irrigation Management in Nepal’s Chhattis Mauja Irrigation Scheme; Research Report #7; International Irrigation Management Institute: Colombo, Sri Lanka, 1996. [Google Scholar]
- Zwarteveen, M.; Bennett, V. The connection between gender and water management. In Opposing Currents: The Politics of Water and Gender in Latin America; Bennett, V., Davila-Poblete, S., Rico, M., Eds.; University of Pittsburgh Press: Pittsburgh, PA, USA, 2005; pp. 13–29. [Google Scholar]
- Das, P. Women’s participation in community-level water governance in urban India: The gap between motivation and ability. World Dev. 2014, 64, 206–218. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Agarwal, B. Environmental action, gender equity and women’s participation. Dev. Chang. 1997, 28, 1–44. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Sultana, F. Community and participation in water resource management: Gendering and naturing development debates from Bangladesh. Trans. Inst. Br. Geogr. 2009, 34, 346–363. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Cleaver, F. Choice, complexity, and change: Gendered livelihoods and the management of water. Agric. Hum. Value 1998, 15, 293–299. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Guijt, I.; Shah, M. The Myth of Community: Gender Issues in Participatory Development; 978-1853394218; Sage Publications: New Delhi, India, 1998. [Google Scholar]
- Cornwall, A. Whose voices? Whose choices? Reflections on gender and participatory development. World Dev. 2003, 31, 1325–1342. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Zwarteveen, M.; Meinzen-Dick, R. Gender and property rights in the commons: Examples of water rights in South Asia. Agric. Hum. Value 2001, 18, 11–25. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Narayan, D. Empowerment and Poverty Reduction: A Sourcebook; World Bank Publications: Washington, DC, USA, 2002. [Google Scholar]
- Arnstein, S. A ladder of participation. J Am. Plann. Assoc. 1969, 35, 216–224. [Google Scholar]
- White, S. Depoliticizing development: The uses and abuses of participation. Dev. Pract. 1996, 6, 6–15. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Agarwal, B. Participatory exclusions, community forestry, and gender: An analysis for South Asia and a conceptual framework. World Dev. 2001, 29, 1623–1648. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Cleaver, F. Paradoxes of participation: Questioning participatory approaches to development. J. Int. Dev. 1999, 11, 597. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Abdullaev, I.; Yakubov, M. Assessing the gender performance of the water users associations of Central Asia: Case study from IWRM Ferghana Project. In Proceedings of the ICWC 39th Annual Water Conference, Almaty, Kazakhstan, 19–21 May 2004. [Google Scholar]
- Stulina, G. Role of women in the irrigated agriculture sector in the Fergana Valley: Findings of field surveys. Irrig. Drain. 2015, 64, 491–500. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Harris, L. Gender and emergent water governance: Comparative overview of neoliberalized natures and gender dimensions of privatization, devolution, and marketization. Gend Place Cult. 2009, 16, 387–408. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Farolfi, S.; Hassan, R.; Perret, S. Water Governance for Sustainable Development: Approaches and Lessons from Developing and Transitional Countries; Quae: Versailles, France, 2006. [Google Scholar]
- Zinzani, A. The reconfiguration of participatory irrigation management in water users associations: Evidence from Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Cahiers d’Asie Centrale 2015, 25, 133–153. [Google Scholar]
- Mukherji, A.; Fuleki, B.; Shah, T.; Suhardiman, D.; Giordano, M.; Weligamage, P. Irrigation Reform in Asia: A Review of 108 Cases of Irrigation Management Transfer; Final Report to the Asian Development Bank; International Water Management Institute (IWMI): Columbo, Sri Lanka, 2009. [Google Scholar]
- Ghazousni, W.; Molle, F.; Rap, E. Water User Associations in the NEN Region: IFAD Interventions and Overall Dynamics; IWMI: Columbo, Sri Lanka, 2012. [Google Scholar]
- Sehring, J. Water User Associations in Kyrgyzstan; Discussion Paper; Zentrum für Internationale Entwicklungs- und Umweltforschung (ZEU): Gießen, Germany, 2005; Volume 25. [Google Scholar]
- Nizamedinkhodjayeva, N. Rural livelihoods and irrigation management transfer: Case-study of three countries in the Ferghana Valley of Central Asia. JAIS 2007, 42, 41–60. [Google Scholar]
- Wegerich, K. Water User Associations in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan: Study on Conditions for Sustainable Development; Occasional Paper No. 32; University of London: London, UK, 2000. [Google Scholar]
- Alymbaeva, A. Institutional Development of Water Users Associations in Kyrgyzstan. Master’s Thesis, Rochester Institute of Technology, New York, NY, USA, 2004. [Google Scholar]
- Law on Unions (Associations) of Water Users. Available online: http://www.cawater-info.net/library/eng/kyrgyz_wua_2002.pdf (accessed on 10 September 2016).
- FAO National Gender Profile of Agricultural and Rural Livelihoods-Kyrgyz Republic. Country Gender Assessment Series. Available online: http://www.fao.org/3/a-i5763e.pdf (accessed on 29 October 2017).
- ADB Kyrgyz Republic: Developing Water Resources Sector Strategies in Central and West Asia. Technical Assistance Consultant’s Report. Available online: https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/project-document/79760/45353-001-tacr-01.pdf (accessed on 29 October 2017).
- FAO Country Profile: Kyrgyzstan: Aquastat Survey. Available online: http://www.fao.org/nr/water/aquastat/countries_regions/KGZ/index.stm (accessed on 29 October 2017).
- The World Bank Group. Vulnerability, Risk Reduction and Adaptation to Climate Change: Kyrgyz Republic; The World Bank Group: Washington, DC, USA, 2011; Available online: http://sdwebx.worldbank.org/climateportalb/doc/GFDRRCountryProfiles/wb_gfdrr_climate_change_country_profile_for_KGZ.pdf (accessed on 27 November 2017).
- Population and Housing Census of the Kyrgyz Republic. National Statistics Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic. Available online: https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/sources/census/wphc/Kyrgyzstan/A5-2PopulationAndHousingCensusOfTheKyrgyzRepublicOf2009.pdf (accessed on 29 October 2017).
- Sultanov, T. Kyrgyzstan: Extended Migration Profile 2010–2015; National Institute for Strategic Studies of the Kyrgyz Republic. International Organization for Migration: Geneva, Switzerland, 2016. [Google Scholar]
- Ritche, J.; Lewis, J.; Nicholls, C.; Ormston, R. Qualitative Research Practice: A Guide for Social Science Students and Researchers, 2nd ed.; 978-1446209127; Sage Publications: London, UK, 2014. [Google Scholar]
- Liamputtong, P. Performing Qualitative Cross-Cultural Research; 978-0521898683; Cambridge University: New York, NY, USA, 2010. [Google Scholar]
- The World Bank Data Kyrgyz Republic Data. Available online: https://data.worldbank.org/country/kyrgyz-republic (accessed on 29 October 2017).
- Ibraeva, G.; Moldosheva, A.; Niyazova, A. Kyrgyz country case study: Gender equality and development. In World Development Report 2012: Gender Equality and Development; World Bank Publication: Washington, DC, USA, 2011. [Google Scholar]
- Parpart, J. Who is the ‘other’? A postmodern feminist critique of women and development theory and practice. Dev. Chang. 1993, 24, 439–464. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Parpart, J. Post-modernism, gender and development. In Power of Development; Crush, J., Ed.; Routledge: London, UK; New York, NY, USA, 1995. [Google Scholar]
Total | Service Area 1 | Service Area 2 | Service Area 3 | Service Area 4 | Service Area 5 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Male officials | 9 | 2 (WUA chief accountant, city quarter leader) | 2 (WUA director, village head) | 1 (WUA director) | 3 (WUA director, RayVodKhoz director, accountant) | 1 (WUA hydro technician) |
Female officials | 2 | 1 (WUA director) | 0 | 1 (WUA council member) | 0 | 0 |
Female farmers | 49 | 4 | 13 | 18 | 3 | 11 |
Household Status | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total | De Jure HH | De Facto HH | Household Member | Average Age | Average Household Land Ownership (ha) | Average Number in Household | |
WUA leaders | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 58 | 3.15 | 5 |
WUA members | 9 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 52 | 1.3 | 6 |
Users | 35 | 8 | 3 | 24 | 45 | 0.83 | 5.7 |
Non-users | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 33 | 0.42 | 5.2 |
All respondents | 51 | 10 | 4 | 37 | 46 | 0.95 | 5.7 |
© 2017 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Share and Cite
Nixon, R.; Owusu, F. Choice, Inclusion, and Access to Information: Understanding Female Farmers’ Participation in Kyrgyzstan’s Water-User Associations. Sustainability 2017, 9, 2346. https://doi.org/10.3390/su9122346
Nixon R, Owusu F. Choice, Inclusion, and Access to Information: Understanding Female Farmers’ Participation in Kyrgyzstan’s Water-User Associations. Sustainability. 2017; 9(12):2346. https://doi.org/10.3390/su9122346
Chicago/Turabian StyleNixon, Rebecca, and Francis Owusu. 2017. "Choice, Inclusion, and Access to Information: Understanding Female Farmers’ Participation in Kyrgyzstan’s Water-User Associations" Sustainability 9, no. 12: 2346. https://doi.org/10.3390/su9122346