A decision support model to improve water resources management in agriculture: evaluation of the drip irrigation efficiency in the Ait Ben Yacoub region, East of Morocco

A. Aghzar,A. Godoy Faundez,D. Rivera Salazar,Driss Ouazar,Ihssan Elouadi,L. El Youssfi,Lahcen El Youssfi,M. Farissi,O. Seidou,S.I. Cherkaoui,T.O. Sogbanmu,W. Doorsamy,Y. Ouaggajou

doi:10.1051/e3sconf/202018302006

Abstract

Globally, climate change is projected to exacerbate water scarcity and increase the recurrence and intensity of droughts. These circumstances call for methodologies that can support the design of sustainable water management policies. Improved irrigation efficiency has been cited as an important way to adapt to climate change. This paper illustrates the potential of hydro-economic modeling for integrating the multiple dimensions of water resources, becoming a valuable tool in the empowerment of sustainable water management policies. The modelling framework is used also to analyze the impacts of climate change-induced drought on water uses in the Ait Ben Yacoub region (the East of Morocco). The evaluation of the conversion process from flurrow irrigation systems into drip irrigation by using the model showed that this policy has some positive effects on the agricultural gross margin and contributes to slightly moderating the impact of climate change on farmer’s incomes. Moreover, aoptimal efficiency of drip irrigation will inevitably result in a decrease in the volume of infiltrated water and therefore a very likely drawdown of the groundwater level. This result demonstrates the limitation of this policy and the necessity to accompany this irrigation system by measures of improvement of water supply. It concerns rainwater storage basins that should be covered by the polyethylene geo-membrane as example of promising measures.

Highlights

Along the last decades, recent research on climate change has approached the assessment of impacts, vulnerability and adaptation under biophysical component focusing on one specific dimension of climate change, such as the agronomic dimension [1,8], or the hydrological dimension [9,10]
This paper evaluates the impacts of a severe climate change scenario and simulates the effect of Drip Irrigation System as a Climate Change Adaptation Measure on Ait Ben Yacoub region
A better efficiency of drip irrigation will inevitably result in a decrease in the volume of infiltrated water and a very likely drawdown of the groundwater level. This result demonstrates the limitation of this policy and the necessity to support this irrigation system by measures of improvement in water supply

Summary

Introduction

Recent research on climate change has approached the assessment of impacts, vulnerability and adaptation under biophysical component focusing on one specific dimension of climate change, such as the agronomic dimension [1,8], or the hydrological dimension [9,10]. In line with this, varied types of integrated modelling frameworks have been developed to address the different scales (from the crop to the river basin) and the different dimensions of climate change, water and agriculture (hydrological, agronomic, and socio-economic). This paper presents a novel application of a hydro- economic modelling framework that is used to assess climate change impacts and adaptation in the Ait ben Yacoub region The novelty of the approach presented here lies in the capability of this integrated framework to take into consideration agronomic, economic and hydrologic processes that take place at different scales.

Results

Conclusion