Modernization and users participation, a key issue towards irrigation sustainability in Valdichiana, central Italy

Water supply for irrigation purpose can be done either by individual users or through collectively managed structures that deliver water from the intake to the farm inlet. Due to a number of reasons, such as ineffective cost recovery or limited participation, worldwide experience on transformation from individual to participate irrigation is not always success stories on irrigation performance and agricultural productivity. Modernization can play a fundamental role, on condition that users are trained on infrastructure use and informed on the expected benefits. In Valdichiana, an irrigated area of inland Central Italy, after decades of uncontrolled individual water withdrawals mainly from in-farm wells, a new piped network to deliver high quality freshwater for irrigation, available under pressure at the farm hydrant, was completed. Conversion towards collective management began in 2012 under the Reclamation and Irrigation Consortium named Alto Valdarno 2. At the end of 2018, collective water management involved around 20% of the irrigable area, a rather low value despite the benefits offered such as the low or nil energy cost for lifting. However, compared to previous individual withdrawals, the average supplied volumes decrease considerably. This work aims to provide a brief overview on the evolution of irrigation during the initial 7 year collective management, focusing on the evolution of climatic conditions, cropping pattern and irrigation systems, in addition to farming constraints and users attitude, in order to collect information to assess whether participation can actually support the achievement of expected individual and collective benefits.