A case for professionalization of water management in irrigation projects in India
The heavy investment in irrigation in India has not brought the expected benefits and this article argues first that a major difficulty arises from the way irrigated water is administered. The distribution of water is controlled by irrigation engineers who lack the knowledge and information to manage water in a way that maximizes agricultural production and achieves the confidence of farmers. The staffing structure and related professional values discourage the development of a new more appropriate specialism. The article goes on to argue that a new organization of work and associated staffing structure is needed which will encourage a new professional specialization bringing together staff and expertise currently dispersed in separate specialisms in engineering, agronomy and other aspects of agriculture.
Cana! Irrigafion Management an India : Some Areas for Action, AoeSysis and Research*
The unrealised potential of existing canal irrigation svstems in ndia is widely recognised. Lectures, papers , speeches, l apor t s , statistics—presented by political leaders, senil • officials, researchers and other informed observers, epresenting between them a range of disciplines and long and deep experience—have emphasised the scope t here seems to be for bringing the benefits of irrigation to larger areas and more farmers, and for distr ibuting a a d delivering the water in a manner that will be moreccst -effect ive , productive, equ i tab leand environmentally s able. This potential varies by zone and by project . It is perhaps least under the tightly managed cana] irrig tion of Northwest India (Malhot ra fo r thcoming) wherc strict rotat ions are practised both above and below the outlet. But taking India as a whole, one estímate is tha t only abou t one half of the officially estimated utilizeci hectarage under canal irrigation is effectively irrigated, lie rest receiving only erratic and partial irrigation at best (Seckler 1981:10). Whether this estímate is exact, 1. gh or low, the potent ial for addi t ional c ropped area j robably runs into millions of hectares per year and the potential fo r addit ional food product ion linked with imp-oved management should be a m a t t e r o f a t least sevei al million tons per annum.
Body sculpturing.
Significant improvements in body contour can be accomplished by surgical procedures having reliable, predictable results. Similar to the modern sculptor of inanimate art forms, plastic surgeons have utilized new materials and devised new techniques to achieve aesthetic improvement of the face, trunk, and extremities. The goals of the surgical sculptor are perhaps more challenging than those of the pure artistic sculptor, not only because they must result in improved appearance but also because the surgeon is limited at all times by considerations of regional anatomy, the availability of viable tissue materials, and the safety of his patient.