As water scarcities increase, nations throughout the world are in search of better institutions to manage water resources. India has been making substantial efforts to develop its water management systems since independence and significant increases in irrigated agriculture have taken place through both public and private initiatives. However, scarcities are increasing and major problems presently confront the management of water resources and irrigated agriculture. Resolving these problems is crucial for the future. The main purpose of this book is to provide a new approach for the analysis and design of water institutions that govern the use and development of water resources, particularly for agriculture which is the largest user. Drawing on the theory of New Institutional Economics and comparisons with Australia (as a developed country) and other less developed nations in Africa and Asia, the authors present original empirical data from three Indian states. Detailed analysis of these data is used to identify and recommend attributes and features of water management institutions that are conducive to effective resource management, its long-term success, and its best contribution to development.

Futures markets offer numerous advantages in the marketing of agricultural commodities, and in this context, the book examines the major factors and issues that determine the participation of India's farmers in the futures markets. These include the efficiency of the futures markets in price discovery, the convergence of spot and futures prices, the dissemination of spot price information, and the socio-economic and exchange-related issues affecting farmer participation. It also examines the factors affecting the demand and supply of participation, and the access to futures trading services. The purpose is to identify different factors that can enhance or constrain farmer participation in the futures markets, which may include market characteristics, institutional features, socio-economic issues, and behavioural aspects of farmer participation. A number of organizations related to rural development, as well as farmer producer companies have sought to facilitate farmer participation in the forward/futures market through offering aggregation and other trading services, and the book also examines these efforts towards the exchange-traded derivative markets and the direct and indirect benefits that accrue. The book also studies the efficiency of futures markets in price discovery and price dissemination applying co-integration tests, and error correction and volatility models, using available data of wheat, rapeseed-mustard, cotton, guar seed, castor, cumin and coriander futures contracts traded in the largest agricultural commodity exchanges in India. Besides, case studies are used to examine and understand the institutional roles of aggregators in aggregation efforts towards the forward/futures market. This book covers several states and locations in India to enhance the representation and validity of the findings. It also examines representative farmer organizations which have obtained institutional membership in the forward or futures markets, and identifies areas of further research. In the current scenario, the book would be of immense importance and relevance to governments, commodity exchanges/markets, aggregators, many private and development organizations, as well as interested researchers and students.

As water scarcities increase, nations throughout the world are in search of better institutions to manage water resources. India has been making substantial efforts to develop its water management systems since independence and significant increases in irrigated agriculture have taken place through both public and private initiatives. However, scarcities are increasing and major problems presently confront the management of water resources and irrigated agriculture. Resolving these problems is crucial for the future. The main purpose of this book is to provide a new approach for the analysis and design of water institutions that govern the use and development of water resources, particularly for agriculture which is the largest user. Drawing on the theory of New Institutional Economics and comparisons with Australia (as a developed country) and other less developed nations in Africa and Asia, the authors present original empirical data from three Indian states. Detailed analysis of these data is used to identify and recommend attributes and features of water management institutions that are conducive to effective resource management, its long-term success, and its best contribution to development.