A strategy for Mahaweli authority to meet future challenges amidst moves to close it down

The potential available in lands under Mahaweli Project, which cover about one third of farming areas of the Dry Zone, could easily help the country become self-sufficient in healthy foods, provided it is properly managed. However, at present the main focus of the Mahaweli Authority of Sri Lanka (MASL) is mainly on Operation & Maintenance of a vast network feeding the farms. Main purpose of the Mahaweli Restructuring & Rehabilitation Project (MRRP) funded by the World Bank in 2000 was to diversify that objective to cover on:

- BY ENG. MAHINDA PANAPITIYA Engineer who worked for Mahaweli Project since its inception

hancement of agriculture aspects also, System H Irrigation Systems covering about 20,000 Hectares commanded under Kalawewa "System" located in the Anuradhapura District was used as a pilot area to initiate this effort. However, only the Canal Rehabilitation component of the MRRP was attended because of the government policy at that time. Restructuring component is still awaiting to be completed. Only, a strategy called Water Quota was introduced under the MRRP to initiate the restructuring required addressing the agriculture component expected under MRRP is still not attended.

Propose Strategy

Total length of the canal network which needs seasonal maintenance is about 1,000 Km in a typical large scale Irrigation project such as Kalawewa. Main role of the Resident Project Managers (RPM) appointed to manage such projects should be to enhance the food production jointly with the Farmer Organizations. Therefore, the abreviation used for RPM should be redefined as Resident Production Manager. The role of a Production Manager is not limited to maintenance of canal networks as adapted presently. In the current production phase, Irrigation projects should be perceived as a Food Producing "Factory" - where water is the main raw material, the farmers are the owners of the factory, play the role of the labour force of the factory. The Production Manager's focus should be to maximize food production, deviating from Rice Only Mode, to cater the market needs benefiting farmers who are the owners of the "factory". Canals/water systems within the projects which need regular maintenance are just "Belts" conveying raw materials (water) in a Typical Factory.

Required Management Shift