Over recent decades, there has been a shift in the focus of government irrigation schemes towards groundwater development throughout the Gangetic Plains, especially in the Nepal Tarai-Madhesh. This report explores the impact of landlord-tenant relations on access to groundwater irrigation. Tenant farmers have a reduced incentive to invest in pumping equipment and the boring of tube wells due to the high cost involved, insecure tenure and high rent payments, while landlords themselves have been shown to offer little support.

The demand for rice (Oryza sativa) in Ghana is increasing at a rate of 11.8% from 939, 920 t in 2010. Though there has been some increase in production it does not match the increase in consumption. This study seeks to determine the most suitable areas for inland valley rice cultivation using computer based models for selected sites (15km by 15km) in the Brong Ahafo Region (BAR) and Western Region (WR) of Ghana. A sensitivity analysis was carried out by excluding the least contributing parameters and varying their weights to determine highly suitable areas.

The study is reported in two Working Papers. Working Paper 17 reports the findings of the HIM exercise. This paper contains the policies, legislation and organizations relevant for understanding of the HIM for the Olifants river basin. It also includes the historical development of the institutional framework in the basin, as this history has left a profound imprint on the South African society at large and is still dictating, in many cases, the interactions between the different organizations.

This article highlights the continued significance of pre-capitalist formations in shaping the trajectory of economic transition in peripheral regions, even in an era of neo-liberal globalisation. There is a tendency for Marxist scholars to assume the inevitable “dominance” of capitalism over older modes of production. Using a case study from Nepal's far eastern Tarai, this paper seeks to understand the reproduction of feudal social relations in a region which is both accessible and integrated into regional and global markets.

The final report of this project documents the lessons learned by researchers, social organizers, agency personnel and farmers. The project has demonstrated the willingness and ability of farmers and agency personnel to manage the land and water resources of the area jointly. The view of the researchers is that the small dams offer an excellent opportunity for the promotion of reforms in the irrigation sector.