The main feature in this issue dwells on the critical policy issues in irrigation development confronting the agriculture sector. In particular, it discusses the unsuitable design of irrigation systems arising from poor assumptions and technical calculations, the trade-offs between construction of new systems and rehabilitation of existing ones, operational and maintenance issues, and financing and cost recovery. Since the 1980s, the relevance of continuing the heavy public investments in irrigation expansion has begun to be questioned due to the consistently poor performance of the national irrigation systems.
This issue also features the AEC fora organized by PIDS and the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) in various regional hubs of the country, the seminar collaboration of PIDS and the Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department, and the workshops on impact evaluation methods and tools organized by the Institute for the staff of the NEDA and the Department of Budget and Management.
