Irrigation management transfer is an important strategy among donors and governments to strengthen farmer control over water and irrigation infrastructure. This study seeks to understand whether irrigation management transfer is meeting the promise of its commitments. The authors use data from a survey of 68 irrigator associations and 1,020 farm households in the Philippines to estimate the impact of irrigation management transfer on irrigation association performance and on rice yields. They also estimate a stochastic frontier production function to assess contributions to technical efficiency. There are three main results. First, the presence of irrigation management transfer is associated with an increase in maintenance activities undertaken by irrigation associations. Second, by increasing local control over water delivery, the presence of irrigation management transfer is associated with a 2-6 percent increase in farm yields. Rice production in irrigation management transfer areas is greater even after controlling for various differences among rice farmers in transfer and non-transfer areas. Third, irrigation management transfer is, at a minimum, poverty-neutral, and may even give the asset-poor a small boost in terms of rice yields. The authors speculate that this boost may be a result of increased timeliness of water delivery and better resolution of conflicts related to illegal use.
