Many poor producers are unable to access government support programmes because they lack the necessary capital to contribute the required investment costs. Supporting the organisation of irrigation units and increasing investments in these structures would allow members to jointly apply for government resources and facilitate monitoring functions. The Lerma River, with a length of 750 kilometres, is originated in Mexico’s central high plateau at an altitude beyond 3 000 metres above sea level and ends in Lake Chapala, the largest tropical lake in the country. Between 2002 and 2005, the Lerma Chapala River Basin Council, in its search for a solution to the depletion and contamination of Lake Chapala, entered into a negotiation process to reach a new water allocation agreement.