This paper provides a statistical approach to evaluate the prospects of farmers' water management using survey data from the Office du Niger irrigation scheme in Mali. In the Office du Niger, irrigation management transfer made farmers responsible for water management at the tertiary level. This transfer was a part of broader institutional and economic reforms, which have opened up economic opportunities. Using this approach, it can be shown that farmers are diversifying their income at the expense of agricultural activities and rice farming in particular. This trend brings along an increased employment of wage labourers, who have water management among their tasks. It appears, however, that wage labourers are far less motivated to cooperate with fellow farmers, which might jeopardize the prospects for farmers' water management. Based on the analysis, some policy recommendations are formulated.