Social capital and farmers’ participation in multi-level irrigation governance in Thailand

Irrigation governance in a community often involves multi-level interactions between formal and informal institutions. Collective efforts by multiple actors at the local level, particularly farmers, encourage participation in irrigation governance. The literature has explored that social capital influences irrigation and water management, but it has not looked in detail at how social capital components may differ for different levels of governance. This study fills this gap by looking at how cognitive and structural social capital can be a contributor to farmers' participation in multi-level irrigation governance (constitutional, collective choice, and operational level). The aim of this paper is to investigate the role of social capital on farmers’ participation in multi-level irrigation governance in the Upper Pasak irrigation project, Lomsak district, Phetchabun province of Thailand. A mixed methods approach was adopted. Data were collected by means of a survey of 345 randomly selected farmers along with in-depth interviews with 14 key informants. Our findings show that a high level of trust within the community and between communities resulted in a low level of farmers’ participation in rule-making. The frequency of the interaction between farmers and governmental officials increases their participation in rule-making and decision-making in irrigation management. The study recommends that encouraging activities to enhance experiences, knowledge, and understanding within the community, boosting the communication and public relations about irrigation management, and promoting a greater role of agriculture-related government agencies in cooperating with irrigation projects will combine to provide sustainable irrigation management and reduce conflicts of interest.