Institutional Performance of Collective Irrigation Systems: A Fuzzy Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis in the Nile Delta of Egypt

Abstract

Egypt, akin to many countries in the global South, has striven to promote collective management to overcome the challenges of irrigation management since the 1990s. Establishing shared pumping stations (SPSs) has been one of the cornerstones helping farmers better manage water for irrigation. Operating SPSs successfully poses collective action problems, for which there is no single set of solutions. This paper utilizes fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to identify which conditions or configurations are sufficient or necessary for well-operated SPSs. The study draws on empirical data gathered through semi-structured interviews from 45 cases, located in Kafr El-Sheikh Governorate in Egypt’s Nile Delta. Results show that three different paths are sufficient to ensure well-operated SPSs. These are: (1) the condition of effective rules related to allocation, monitoring, and sanctions; (2) the configuration of small group size of SPSs and large irrigated sizes of SPSs; or (3) the configuration of adequate water supply and appropriate location of the SPS command area. The paper concludes that neither group size nor resource size alone explains the outcome of collective action, while a combination of both factors does. Similarly, an adequate water supply is essential to enhance users’ engagement in collective actions only when resource location characteristics do not provide alternative water sources for irrigation.