A considerable amount of water loss occurs from the old community water courses due to their poor maintenance and deterioration over time. This results in severe water shortages at the farm level. However, this loss can be reduced sufficiently by improving the water courses. For this purpose, a four-year National Programme for Improvement of Water Courses (NPIWC) was launched in 2004 in 28 districts of the Punjab and was funded by the Federal and Provincial Governments. The project was launched in collaboration with the Agriculture Department to improve 2000 water courses in both the irrigated and barani (rain fed) areas at a total cost of Rs 2.31 billion and under which the regional staff worked with the Water Users Associations (WUAs). PRSP had divided the work with NRSP that was also involved in this project. The key objectives of the project have been to reduce the loss of irrigation water, increase overall water conveyance efficiency, increase overall yield/production of the farmer and increase employment opportunities. Moreover, the project’s expected outcome have included the formation of 1,127 Water Users Association (WUAs), brick lining of 20-30% of the length of each of the 1,127 WCs and earthen improvement of the remaining length while ensuring community contribution in the form of labour (36%) and material (64%). Till June 2008, 1,127 watercourses were completed against the target of 3,000. In the canal irrigated areas, 414 WCs against the target of 2,000 were completed while in the barani (rain-fed) areas, 713 WCs against the target of 1,000 were completed.