Policy and Institutional Determinants of Wastewater Use in Agriculture

We describe policies, interventions, and institutions pertaining to wastewater use in agriculture, with particular emphasis on low and middle income countries. Designing policies and implementing interventions are challenging in such countries, where most of the wastewater used for irrigation is untreated and much of the use is informal and unintentional. Farmers, communities, and consumers are at risk from harmful constituents in the untreated wastewater, yet each group also obtains important benefits. There are no simple or easily affordable policy choices regarding the use of untreated wastewater in developing countries, particularly where the institutional support for wastewater collection, treatment, and reuse also is not yet well developed. In many countries, the responsibilities for wastewater management are shared among several ministries or agencies, and there is too little coordination regarding policies and programs pertaining to wastewater. Legislation alone is not sufficient in motivating or enabling greater use of wastewater in agriculture. Guidelines or regulations regarding specific water quality criteria, monitoring programs, and enforcement plans also are needed to provide farmers and consumers with the information and assurances needed to engender widespread support for wastewater irrigation.