Gender Analysis of Irrigation Projects: A Comparative Analysis on Mahaweli Irrigation Project and Carchi Irrigation Project

This study was conducted with a view to review the status of gender integration in two irrigation projects which have disparate gender-sensitivity. The study was also aimed at case-by-case documentation of how irrigation projects can succeed or fail basing on whether gender issues are accommodated or not. For the purpose of the study, two irrigation projects namely Mahaweli irrigation project in Sri Lanka and Carchi Irrigation Project in Ecuador were selected. A field visit was conducted to Mahaweli irrigation project and primary data related to gender issues and success of the project was collected through application of various PRA tools like Transact walk, Focus Group Discussion (FGD), Key Informant Interview (KII). The reliability of the data was validated by triangulation. For the Carchi Irrigation project, secondary dataset was obtained by reviewing available documents. Key findings of this case study revealed a comparison of gender analysis-in terms of participation in irrigation institutions of both the projects. Analysis on percentage of people active in decision making depicts that always 60 % women participated in decision-making in Carchi irrigation project whereas 78% Women always participated in case of Mahaweli irrigation project. Through the comparative analysis, the paper shows that Mahaweli Irrigation project can be taken as an ideal example from the gender perspective and documentation of Carchi irrigation Project will manifest its pitfalls and warn the future planners and policy makers relating to importance of gender sensitive plan.