Performance Assessment of Water Users Associations as Perceived by Members: The Case of Ordibehesht Canal of Doroodzan in Fars Province

In order to increase agricultural water productivity and water use efficiency in agriculture, participatory irrigation management strategy through the formation of the water users associations to engage farmers in water management, has been recommended. Water users associations as an effective and appropriate strategy to increase participation of farmers in agricultural water management are greatly considered. However, transferring responsibility to water users associations without investigation of farmers’ opinion could lead to failure. Therefore, investigating factors affecting water users associations union members’ attitude toward development responsibilities was the main objective of this study. A questionnaire survey method was used in this study. Face validity of the questionnaire was validated by a panel of experts. A pilot study was conducted on 30 cases that were out of research statistical population and Cronbach’s Alpha analysis was calculated by SPSS software to measure reliability by estimating the Alpha coefficients. Those were between 0.72 and 0.87. Farmers who were members of water users associations union of Ordibehesht Canal in Doroodzan district were the research statistical population. 245 of them were selected as sample group by using simple random sampling method. Findings revealed that through four groups of independent variables (individual-attitudinal, social, farming-situational, and economic), age, level of education, household size, attitude toward Regional Water Organization and Local Water Utilization Company, attitudes toward fair relationships in the association, marital status, member’s responsibility in the association, knowledge toward objectives, authority and responsibilities of the association, level of participation in social activities, level of participation in the association activities, amount use of communicational channels and kind of information resources toward water and irrigation, respect to ethical principles among members of the association, kind of association, and income had a significant relationship with attitude toward performance of water users association. The results of multiple regression analysis revealed that six variables (attitudes toward Regional Water Organization and Local Water Utilization Company, amount of canal water usage, level of participation in association activities, cultivation area of wintertime crops, level of education, and annual income) could predict about 69.7 percent changes of attitude toward water use association performance. Some recommendations presented to enhance associations’ performance and augment members’ attitude toward water users associations at the end of the article.