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Title: A CASE HISTORY OF MANAGING CHANGE IN IRRIGATED AGRICULTURE

Author
item Dedrick, Allen
item Bautista, Eduardo
item Rish, Shirley

Submitted to: Irrigation and Drainage International Symposium Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/7/1995
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Enhanced long-term management of water and other natural resources, farmer profitability, and overall social well-being are essential to a sustainable irrigated agriculture. Because approaches to these objectives are often uncoordinated, even conflicting, all agricultural stakeholders--farmers, irrigation districts, other support and regulatory organizations, and other interested parties--need to interact proactively to address these needs. To this end, the Management Improvement Program (MIP), a management process similar to those used to improve the performance of corporate organizations, was applied to the business of irrigated agriculture in the Maricopa-Stanfield Irrigation and Drainage District (MSIDD) area in central Arizona. The three-phase MIP process is a structured effort comprised of 1) analysis of the current performance of the agricultural system, on- and off-farm, to get a common, shared understanding; 2) cooperative development of alternatives to address identified opportunities for improvement, and 3) collaborative implementation of plans. This paper provides a brief background for and describes the MSIDD-Area MIP, its impacts, and implications for future MIP applications.