Water delivery perfomance

Understanding and measuring performance is fundamental to the development of methodologies which can be used by researchers and by irrigation managers to find answers to specific problems. Work is needed in performance evaluation to identify both the appropriate dimensions and measures of these dimensions. Examples of these dimensions include: ■ water delivery performance; ■ agricultural production performance; and ■ social performance in terms of achievement of the systems’ social objectives. In the process of manipulating resources, outcomes are generated which, when observed, can be expressed in a form of some level of performance. The level of performance has to be measured and quantified for it to be useful. This then calls for the determination of performance indicators and the determinants of performance that relate to a given activity through which a specific resource is manipulated.

A research paper on measuring agricultural and water delivery performance in Zimbabwe. Proceedings of two workshops held in Harare and Juliasdale, Zimbabwe, 3 - 6 August, 1993.