* ~~21270 OCIAL DEVELOPMENT NOTES ENVIRONMENTALLY AND SOCIALLY SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT NETWORK Note No.46 May 1999 Sanliurfa and Harran Plains On-Farm and Village Development Project The Project impact of the rapid agricultural modernization instigated by irrigation on various social groups The Southeastern Anatolian Project (SAP) is a according to ownership criteria and gender; (2) learn regional development project comprising several how those benefiting from irrigation assess the quality irrigation and energy projects. One of these, the of material and technical services they are receiving, Sanliurfa and Harran Plains On-Farm and Village and find out what they expect in future; (3) identify Development Project, aims to irrigate an area of stakeholders in order to enhance the possibility of 150,000 hectares, equivalent to 10 percent of all the participation of the population in sustained cultivable land in Turkey. This would result in an development based on project goals; and (4) propose increase of 50 percent in the total amount of irrigated monitoring and evaluation indicators for project land in the country. The completed project will cover management and implementation. an area of 400 settlement units and affect more than 200,000 people. More than half the project is complete, The SA was conducted in 35 villages chosen for and 82,000 hectares have been irrigated. The proposed their variability with respect to the extent of new World Bank-supported project targets rural technological change in agriculture. The average size development efforts, including in-field land of these villages is 57 households and 400 people. improvement within the newly irrigated area of 178 Village background information was gathered village settlements. Land improvement refers to through questionnaires and discussions with consolidation (agglomeration) of plots, land use headmen or village elders. Within each village a planning, leveling for efficient irrigation, pavement of sample of the households (a total of 450) was new field roads in cadastral management, and surveyed. In-depth interviews with stakeholder agricultural extension activities. This social groups including women, landowners and landless assessment is part of the project preparation process peasants, and focus groups were conducted. and aims to identify an appropriate mix of project Interviews with other stakeholders, especially agency inputs to reduce poverty. representatives also contributed to the SA. Social Assessment Findings and Implementation The field work for the World Bank's social Changes in Production Patterns assessment (SA) was conducted in November 1998 Large-scale investments in irrigation have through a partnership of the Turkish Rural and Urban substantially increased agricultural productivity and Development Foundation, Oklahoma State University, household incomes in the region. Household incomes and Water/Construction Engineering and Consulting from cultivation are approximately double in areas Group. The specific objectives of the Bank's SA where irrigation canals exist. In absolute terms, completed in October 1998 were to: (1) understand the This note was prepared by Ayse Kudat of the World Bank. For more information on the social assessment, contact Ayse Kudat, The World Bank, 1818 H St., NW, Washington, D.C. 20433, USA, Fax: 202-522-2510, E-mail akudat@worldbank.org The views expressed in this note are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the World Bank. incomes and living conditions have improved for all segments of the population: landowners, tenants, Box 1. Land Owners Have Higher Incomes sharecroppers, and workers. Relative to their situation prior to these investments, low-income * ,- groups made substantial improvements in their 90% living standards. For instance, 71 percent of the % = landless used to have to migrate to other regions as 70% seasonal laborers prior to these investments, but only 50% 12 percent now find it necessary to do so. On the e 40% contrary, the region now receives mnigrant laborers 30% from other regions - some on a permanent basis, and 20% most on a seasonal basis. 10% = 0% Sharecroppers Land Owners As a result of transition to irrigated agriculture Households there has been a rapid shift in cropping patterns High M iddle Low toward cotton. Ninety-three percent of households plant cotton. The labor-intensive nature of cotton production has enhanced employment prospects of landless laborers. In addition, irrigated cotton growth farmers are owners of small plots who cultivate their has increased incomes for sharecroppers (although own land and occasionally rent some land. The major 70 percent of the harvest revenues go to landowners). source of income is farming-land ownership Besides the economic risks in cultivating a mono- determines family income levels (box 1). crop, land productivity is not high in cotton Sharecroppers cultivate an average of 5 hectares production. For these and other reasons, a shift away while those who own land cultivate an average of 18 from cotton production would be desirable, but first, hectares. In sharecropping arrangements the several constraints will need to be removed. landlord is responsible for the costs of material Government subsidies of cotton discourage the inputs and the sharecropper for all the labor. The cultivation of other cash crops. Since urban markets sharecropper receives 30 percent of the output, which are not easily accessible, farmers are reluctant to shift compares unfavorably to the usual 50 percent to perishable crops. There is a shortage of marketing arrangement made for rain-fed agriculture. Animal cooperatives. Finally, while improving in-farm road ownership has declined with the reclaiming of former infrastructure will yield positive results, landowners, grazing land for irrigation. Only 18 percent of the not the landless, will reap disproportionately high households own cattle. Forty percent own sheep or retums unless a socially feasible cost recovery goats. mechanism is established. Currently, there is little incentive for cost recovery and the regional/local The current distribution of assets, such as land, political structure is likely to continue to rely on the livestock, farm equipment, and income is highly state for major investments as politicians derive the unequal. Investments in agriculture are bound to largest benefit from these investments. disproportionately benefit landowners and those who are already wealthy. A clear social development Another important outcome of improved irrigation challenge of any Bank-financed investment in this is the increase in farm equipment and tractor region where traditional, feudal relationships ownership. A third of the interviewed households dominate is the identification of mechanisms through now own tractors (more than half of which were which those who are landless and poor can also bought within the last three years). Landlords benefit provide tractors for their sharecroppers' use and lease them out to other cultivators. Currently, farm Social Conditions equipment is owned almost exclusively by Tribal affiliation is important. It serves as a social landowners, as landless laborers lack the collateral to safety net- 99 percent of the population are members access credit for acquiring technology and of tribes. The average household size is 6.6 with the equipment. majority of households consisting of nuclear families. Polygamy is prevalent in 17 percent of households. Stratification and Distribution of Income Women have subordinate roles. They do not receive Sixty percent of the households are landless: they their fair share in inheritance, and the tradition of work as sharecroppers or in wage employment. bride price continues in 83 percent of households. Landlords with large holdings lease out some land, Only 16 percent of women have completed primary but predominantly engage sharecroppers. Family education. Eighty-two percent of the women are 2 illiterate compared to 29 percent of the men. This land improvement thus have a direct impact on gender gap is decreasing among school-age incomes. However, investments in both land children- 46 percent of the girls and 41 percent of the consolidation and land leveling primarily benefit boys are illiterate. those already wealthy, and current levels of farmer participation in cost recovery is low. Thus, those who Anunexpected benefitfrom the consolidation of are already better off enjoy a disproportionately high plots has been the ratification of women's property share of subsidized state investments in private rights. Women inherit land but de facto tenure is property. The Bank should stress the importance of a often exercised by the male head of household. With socially equitable system of cost recovery for all consolidation, land plots have to be properly investnents in individually owned property. registered. This process legitimizes women's legal rights of ownership. While it will take time for feudal Drainage, too, is insufficient and its improvement traditions to change, the Bank's support for land is crucial for both economic and environmental consolidation will have a positive impact on the reasons. Sixty-four percent of landowners say that status of women. main drainage ditches are insufficient, 88 percent say that no drainage exists at all in their own fields. Improvements in village infrastructure have not Without proper drainage, farmers risk problems with kept pace with agricultural technology and can work salinity, soil erosion, and contaminated water. to the detriment of women. For example, 47 percent of Although there is some willingness on the part of households claim drinking water as the most landowners to help finance the costs of leveling and important problem, but fetching water is draining fields, the amounts offered were low. predominantly a woman's task, and the wells are often far away. A solution to this problem would Land consolidation increases the value of land directly improve the welfare of women. It would also and lowers the cost of irrigation infrastructure. improve health, especially of children, since the Seventy-eight percent of the landowning respondents deficient quality of drinking water is the main source said that in areas in which a number of small plots of childhood disease and mortality. were consolidated into larger plots household income from arable agriculture increased by 39 Sixty-eight percent of the villages claim percent, benefiting a larger share of the population. insufficiencies in primary education. In these villages Considering that landless sharecroppers receive one- 55 out of the 98 school-age children do not attend third of this increase, it is important that the Bank school. Twenty-nine percent of the villages complain support further land consolidation measures. that the school building is not serviceable, and 25 percent of the villages claim they have no primary Institutions school in their village. The principal reason for not Insufficient coordination among various agencies sending children to school is the use of children's responsible for rural development and lack of labor in agriculture. Children in poor households are knowledge about the institutions responsible for required to accompany their families for seasonal development projects has led to a low level of trust in labor elsewhere, and miss schooling opportunities. public institutions. Civil society organizations are Thirty-five percent of children of landless families do weak. Strengthening these organizations to enhance not attend school. For small- and mid-level participation of the landless would significantly landowners, family labor is even more essential, 53 improve the economic status of the poor. Currently, percent and 57 percent of these children, respectively, there are 11 water-user associations in the irrigated do not attend school. In the case of landowners of area, which are neither run efficiently nor large plots, however, 86 percent of the children attend democratically. Each village is represented by a school. While the Bank provides high levels of headman and two representatives. The associations support to the Basic Education Program of Turkey, are managed by seven-member committees that often solutions lie in strengthening the incomes of poor consist of the leaders of lineages and tend to reflect families. the traditional social order of the region. Not LandlImprovement surprisingly, complaints about water-users associations are widespread -38 percent of the Leveling fields, which has already been done in heads of household, and 57 percent of the village 21 percent of the region, increases efficiency in water headmen feel that the allocation of water is not fair. use. Average income from arable land is 38 percent Enhancing participation of sharecroppers in water- higher in households where fields have been leveled. user associations is of particular importance, and Irrigation without leveling land leads to flooding, these organizations can serve as channels to improve over-irrigation, and salinity problems. Investments in sharecroppers' welfare. 3 Extension services are deficient. hiformation about Bank should support drinking water projects and optimum irrigation techniques, agricultural encourage user participation in labor- and other innovations, modes of crop diversification, and project-related costs. Encouraging schooling for nonagricultural income-generation possibilities is not children aged 6 to 14 should be made a high priority. available. Oniy 18 percent of the households were A subsidy scheme for the poorer segments of the able to obtain any information from one of the population, in which a small long-term loan extension agencies (agronomists in the Provincial (repayable after the child completes schooling) could Agricultural Directorate, in the Village Services be given to families to compensate for lost labor. Directorate, and the Land Reform Directorate). Irrigation water is insufficient mostly due to the lack Land Improvement of knowledge of irrigation techniques and efficient Consolidation of plots has been a success and is water use. More information would likely result in essential to justify decades of investments made in more people contributing to the overall cost of the the region. Irrigation, land consolidation, leveling, project. drainage, and improvement of in-farm roads should be seen as integrated components of a unified Recommendations development package. To enhance equity in the distribution of state- and Bank-financed investments, The stakeholder consultations support a rich list participation of landowners should be secured and of recommendations. Those that are of particular labor intensive modes of production should be relevance for the design of the proposed Bank project emphasized. The willingness of the local population include the following: to contribute to the project's costs and labor requirements of in-field development projects falls Agriculture short of the actual costs of improvements. Irrigation increases incomes and benefits the entire population. Its expansion should be expedited Institutional Development and its management improved. The implementation Improved coordination is also needed. The lack of of irrigation systems should be accompanied by information about farming technology and cropping effective extension services that offer information decisions needs to be addressed. While the SAP about optimum irrigation techniques, intensification, project foresees a development of labor-intensive and the cultivation of crops other than cotton. The farming, farmers lack basic information about cultivation of such labor-intensive crops as different crops, irrigation techniques, water use, and vegetables and fruits that do not require much land market opportunities. Frequent over-irrigation may increase benefits to those with little or no land hinders development sustainability. Finally, and enhance the potential for nonagricultural cultivators should be better informed about the activities such as packing, cleaning, drying, canning, operations and plans of the agencies that deliver and and freezing. coordinate SAP services so farmers can make independent and optional decisions. A similar argument holds for raising livestock, especially cows. In addition to raising crops for Water-user associations are potentially the most human consumption, animal feed can be grown important participatory structures constituting the intensively. This could create employment interface between irrigation technology and farmers. opportunities for landless laborers and increase their Ideally, these associations would be encouraged to income-earning potential. Credit schemes that target take on responsibility for a wider scope of activities, this population would help provide the required involving not only the distribution of water but also initial capital. the technology of water use, field management, and cropping decisions. Eventually they may evolve into Village Infrastructure purchasing and marketing cooperatives. At the Safe drinking water emerges as the most crucial moment, however, water-users associations are input into the welfare of the population. Its ready believed to work unfairly. These associations should availability will improve health conditions, be encouraged to work in a more democratic and contribute to the eradication of diseases, lower infant participatory manner to foster trust and help ensure mortality, and improve women's quality of life. The predictability in their operations. Social Development Notes are published informally by the Social Development Family in the Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development Network of the World Bank. For additional copies, contact Social Developmnent Publications, The World Bank, 1818 H Street, NW, Washington, DC 20433, USA, Fax: 202-522-3247, E-mail: sdpublications@worldbank.org @ Printed on Recycled Paper 4