Purpose of this manual

The Irrigation Manual is designed to serve as a reference resource for trainers involved in irrigated agriculture training for Peace Corps. The Irrigation Manual consists of two parts: (1) the Irrigation Training Manual, and (2) the Irrigation Reference Manual. Individual sections of the manual can be used to supplement a wide variety of technical training programs, or the entire manual can be implemented as a specific irrigation training course. The complete training course should fully prepare Volunteers who will serve as irrigation specialists to plan, implement, evaluate, and manage small-scale irrigation projects in arid, semi-arid, or sub-humid tropical and subtropical climates. The manual is also designed to serve as a technical reference for trainers, Volunteers, or other professionals who may be seeking solutions to specific irrigation questions or problems.

The manual is designed to support trainers carrying out pre-service or in-service training courses for Peace Corps Volunteers who will apply irrigation practices in some part of their work service. The manual is also designed to provide continued support to Volunteers during the course of their service through the technical reference sections. The technical reference will replace several manuals that Volunteers who work in irrigation commonly use. In addition, the technical reference sections focus on small-scale projects, in contrast to most other irrigation references that are available. The manual is structured to cover the following materials: