Participatory approaches to irrigation water management have attracted increasing attention internationally, yet policy concerns in this area have not been systematically addressed. This report, based on interdisciplinary analysis of 50 cases of irrigation management worldwide, augmented by information from experience in other irrigation schemes, identifies policy issues relevant to farmer participation in irrigation management. Arguments in favor of farmer participation (in particular, a positive cost-benefit ratio) are presented first, followed by an analytic framework which conceptualizes farmer organization and participation with regard to: type; mode; level of operations and organization; participant characteristics; and context. Policy and programmatic implications relating to each of these components are discussed. A final section presents an overarching strategy for enhancing farmer participation, within which specific project efforts would be tailored. A list of the cases analyzed and a 7-page bibliography are included.