On the rationalization of water management for food production

Abstract

This paper, the second of two (the first published in Water Resources Management3, 1989), sets out to specify the ways and means of defining a water management strategy for food production as an ordered set of principles and measures designed to exploit and/or operate the system of irrigated agriculture in the optimum manner in order to achieve the predetermined objectives and maximum economic results. To this end, alternatives with regard to project size, irrigation method, mode of operation, cropping pattern and calendar should be evaluated by means of simulating irrigation system operation and agricultural performance. The optimum scenario is selected by analyzing the balance of water resources and irrigation needs as well as by comparing the expected relative crop yield and the guaranteed rate of target yield achievement of different scenarios. Irrigation and crop production regines are then defined for the selected scenario, taking into account the expected water availability and/or scarcity. Furthermore, short- and medium-term measures, designed to optimize the operation of the system and its agricultural performance, are outlined. Finally, the paper identifies the aim of long-term measures as the stabilization of the system's overall performance, balancing the effects of expected population growth (especially in developing countries) and ensuring the positive biogeochemical development of the land.