Demonstrated Benefits from Social Capital: The Productivity of Farmer Organizations in Gal Oya, Sri Lanka

TLDR

Farmer organizations were created in the Gal Oya irrigation scheme in the early 1980s, combining roles, rules, norms and values that enabled mutually beneficial collective action. The study presents an analytical construct of social capital and applies it to a case study of these farmer organizations in Sri Lanka. The organizations improved system performance and efficiency, achieving a better‑than‑average harvest in the 1997 dry season and demonstrating ethnic cooperation through equitable water sharing.

Abstract

An analytical construct of social capital is presented, followed by a case study from Sri Lanka. There, farmer organizations were established in the Gal Oya irrigation scheme in the early 1980s with a combination of roles, rules, norms and values that supported mutually beneficial collective action. This produced measurable improvements in system performance and efficiency. In the 1997 dry season, after farmers were told there was not enough water in the reservoir to grow a rice crop, they achieved through their organizations a better-than-average harvest from 65,000 acres by efficient and equitable distribution. Ethnic cooperation was demonstrated by upstream Sinhalese farmers sharing water with downstream Tamil farmers.