A public–private partnership experience in the management of an irrigation scheme using decision-support tools in Burkina Faso

Within the framework of a national policy on food sufficiency dating back to the late 1960s, a 1200ha State-run irrigated rice scheme, called the ‘Kou Valley’ scheme, was established in south-western Burkina Faso. Jointly managed over a long period by State officials and a series of international development agencies, all aid ended abruptly in 1993, leaving the farmers and their hastily assembled Water Users Association (WUA) poorly prepared to assume management of the scheme.