Abstract

<strong class="journal-contentHeaderColor">Abstract.</strong> The growing competition for finite land and water resources and the need to feed an ever-growing population require new techniques to monitor the performance of irrigation schemes and improve land and water productivity. Datasets from FAO's portal to monitor Water Productivity through Open access Remotely sensed derived data (WaPOR) are increasingly applied as a cost-effective means to support irrigation performance assessment and identify possible pathways for improvement. This study presents a framework that applies WaPOR data to assess irrigation performance indicators, including uniformity, equity, adequacy, and land and water productivity differentiated by irrigation method (furrow, sprinkler, and centre pivot) at the Xinavane sugarcane estate, Mozambique. The WaPOR data on water, land, and climate are in near-real time and spatially distributed, with the finest spatial resolution in the area of 100 m. The WaPOR data were first validated agronomically by examining the biomass response to water, and then the data were used to systematically analyse seasonal indicators for the period 2015 to 2018 on <span class="inline-formula">∼8000</span> ha. The WaPOR-based yield estimates were found to be comparable to the estate-measured yields with <span class="inline-formula">±20</span> % difference, a root mean square error of <span class="inline-formula">19±2.5</span> t ha<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−1</sup></span> and a mean absolute error of <span class="inline-formula">15±1.6</span> t ha<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−1</sup></span>. A climate normalization factor that enables the spatial and temporal comparison of performance indicators are applied. The assessment highlights that in Xinavane no single irrigation method performs the best across all performance indicators. Centre pivot compared to sprinkler and furrow irrigation shows higher adequacy, equity, and land productivity but lower water productivity. The three irrigation methods have excellent uniformity (<span class="inline-formula">∼94</span> %) in the four seasons and acceptable adequacy for most periods of the season except in 2016, when a drought was observed. While this study is done for sugarcane in one irrigation scheme, the approach can be broadened to compare other crops across fields or irrigation schemes across Africa with diverse management units in the different agroclimatic zones within FAO WaPOR coverage. We conclude that the framework is useful for assessing irrigation performance using the WaPOR dataset.

Highlights

  • Increasing agricultural production to feed the growing global population can be achieved through either expanding agricultural land or by increasing land and water productivity of the existing agricultural areas

  • The ETa is the highest at fields irrigated by centre pivot followed by sprinkler and furrow

  • The four-season average actual water consumption of centre pivot remains the highest followed by sprinkler and furrow, except for 2016, when the sprinkler normalised ETa is at the same level as furrow ETa (Figure 6)

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Summary

Introduction

Increasing agricultural production to feed the growing global population can be achieved through either expanding agricultural land or by increasing land and water productivity of the existing agricultural areas. With growing competition and scarcity of the finite water and land resources, and the environmental and social costs of expanding agricultural land (Hess et al, 2016), improving land and water productivity has a clear preference. The increasing global demand for sugar is reflected in the steady increase in sugarcane production in Mozambique at an average annual rate of 10 percent (FAO, 2019). The majority of this increase comes from expanding agricultural land (Hess et al, 2016). Raising sugarcane productivity per unit of land and water on existing croplands needs to be explored by conducting irrigation performance assessment

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