Community management of the access to irrigation water in the north of the Province of Cordoba, Argentina. ¿Is water a scarce resource? (in Spanish)

This publication belongs to Volume 6, No 2, of the WATERLAT-GOBACIT Network Working Papers Series (http://waterlat.org/publications/working-papers-series/)

This article presents a case study in an area of agricultural production which reflects asymmetric power relations between family farmers and new territorial corporate actors producing commodities that concentrate land and monopolize water by various means. The central issue is the access to water for food production by family farmers in Paloma Pozo de Cruz del Eje, in the northwest of the Province of Cordoba, Argentina. The focus of the work was on farmers’ perceptions of water availability, the concept of scarcity, and the access to water. We used the participatory action-research method in our work with family farmers, researchers and agricultural extension agents. The process enabled participants to reinterpret the concept of water scarcity in relation to physical availability and propose community-based solutions to problems of water infrastructure based on water availability.